High Anxiety?
Posted By Joe on May 6, 2009
I heard a message today partially on Philippians 4. It comes at a poignant time in my life as this month I'm facing a salary reduction as a cost-cutting measure at my "tent making trade." Part of me is concerned because I know it's going to be painful. But then part of me is putting it in God's hands as that is where it should be.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. --Philippians 4:4-5.
Several months ago, I did a study on this and the following verses in Philippians as part of post on President Obama. While circumstances haven't changed that drastically for our country or my family since that time, the subject is still timely. The first and most crucial thing we can do is rejoice in the Lord always. Paul says "rejoice" twice. That's the key. Everything else that follows flows from our rejoicing in the Lord and our worship of Him.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. --Philippians 4:6.
As I mentioned in that previous post, so many times we only quote the first part of that verse: "Be anxious for nothing." That's not as it should be because it's not the complete thought. It begs the question: "how!" How? In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, we need to let our requests be made known to God. Pay close attention to that verse. It's not a matter of complaining to God, but thanking God for the circumstances in which we are making our requests known to Him! Again, it's praise and worship!
Now that we get the complete thought, watch what Paul says will happen:
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. --Philippians 4:7.
What is this peace of God? It defies explanation! It's supernatural. If we do what it says in verses 4-6, this supernatural peace of God will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. If we are praising God and making our requests made known to God, they He will guard our hearts and our minds which causes us to not be anxious!
This really means that we need to be humble in the sight of God and seek His will for our lives, not ours!
...and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. --1 Peter 5:5-7.
I just love 1 Peter 5:7. This verse simply humbles me to know that the Creator of the Universe wants me to cast my anxiety on Him. Why? Because He cares for you and me! If He is telling us to cast our cares upon Him, why would you keep them? Why, oh why, must I continue to think I can handle things without Him? Why would I continue holding on to all these worries when He is telling me to give them to Him? Does that even make sense? Sounds like insanity to me. At the very least/worst it's pride.
May we keep these verses clearly in mind when our worries come rumbling up to the surface, seeking to rob our joy in Christ Jesus.
May He Increase!
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"Why would I continue holding on to all these worries when He is telling me to give them to Him? Does that even make sense? Sounds like insanity to me. At the very least/worst it's pride"
For me, it has always been the fact that His answers to prayer don't always match mine. If I need more money the answer should be more money. If it has to do with my wife's cancer than the answer is to remove the cancer.....right?
God is sovereign and we must bite the whole apple. Even when the cancer doesn't go away or the money doesn't come flooding in..............He is still sovereign. His ways are not our ways and "we" can thank Him for that!!!
Ike,
You hit the nail squarely on the head. God does remind us that His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). So many times we want God to take away the situation, the pain, the suffering, the lack, etc. But sometimes we fail to realize that not only is His grace sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9), but as Job learned, God is trying to purify us of the things that pollute our lives or to teach us something in the midst of the circumstances.
Thanks much for the response.