Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
...About anything...
It has been said that prayer and worry are as mutually opposed as fire and water. One cannot exist where the other resides. If the fire is strong and hot, it will vaporize all water. Where there is water in abundance, it will douse the flame. I'm not sure which is which, but the message is clear: prayer and reliance on God's provision should always quench any worry, ANY worry, we might have. Jesus made this a very clear point in his sermon on the mount. In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus tells us that just as God the Father provides for the plants of the field and the birds of the air, so will he provide for our needs. In other words, let's run after him, and his will for our lives and not worry about all the fluff that this world constantly throws at us, and he'll provide us with what we need.
In light of this, why is it that we worry so much about all the little things, and worry even more about the basics (ie big things)? In American culture today, daily life is devoted constantly to getting more stuff, more things, more more more. And the instant something happens to keep more from coming our way, we freak out. Often anger or anxiety or even depression will set in. Perhaps you try to hide it for a while, and you might do a pretty good job at it. But eventually it begins affecting your demeanor, the way you interact with people, and close relationships. As Yoda would say: "fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering." At the root of it, when we become worried that we can't get more, or that we won't have enough, we give into fear.
Worry = Fear
Fear can be absolutely detrimental to our well-being. We each react to it differently. Some of us get angry at every little thing. Some of us seclude ourselves, opening the door to deep-seated depression. Fear can be crippling, in every way. Most of the time, though, worry is just a small amount of fear. It looks like we can probably manage it on our own, so we start to fight what we are fearful of. In this context, we work harder and harder and harder to get more and more and more. We let this worry, this fear, that God won't provide for our needs consume us, and we depend on our own strength rather than his.
It's interesting that God saw all this coming. Throughout his Word, he repeatedly encourages us, commands us to "Fear not."
The command to "fear not" is the most repeated throughout all of scripture. And how do we follow it? Check out Philippians 4 again: in everything, through prayer and petition, present your requests to God. He has this amazing thing called omnipotence; he's in control of everything. And he has the capability to flood us with this amazing sense of peace amidst the chaos of life. And then, he provides in ways we couldn't even imagine. All the more reason to trust him, and fear not.
To sum everything up: God can and will provide, we should therefore fear not, and instead of worrying, pray. If you're constantly tempted to worry, Paul says it best in 1 Thessalonians 5:17:
Fear can be absolutely detrimental to our well-being. We each react to it differently. Some of us get angry at every little thing. Some of us seclude ourselves, opening the door to deep-seated depression. Fear can be crippling, in every way. Most of the time, though, worry is just a small amount of fear. It looks like we can probably manage it on our own, so we start to fight what we are fearful of. In this context, we work harder and harder and harder to get more and more and more. We let this worry, this fear, that God won't provide for our needs consume us, and we depend on our own strength rather than his.
It's interesting that God saw all this coming. Throughout his Word, he repeatedly encourages us, commands us to "Fear not."
Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
-Isaiah 41:10
The command to "fear not" is the most repeated throughout all of scripture. And how do we follow it? Check out Philippians 4 again: in everything, through prayer and petition, present your requests to God. He has this amazing thing called omnipotence; he's in control of everything. And he has the capability to flood us with this amazing sense of peace amidst the chaos of life. And then, he provides in ways we couldn't even imagine. All the more reason to trust him, and fear not.
To sum everything up: God can and will provide, we should therefore fear not, and instead of worrying, pray. If you're constantly tempted to worry, Paul says it best in 1 Thessalonians 5:17:
Pray Continually
1 comment:
That's good stuff. I love how you move from worry to fear to prayer. Good progression and a biblical progression.
I love how Jesus understands humanity and understands that we will struggle with these things and that we are human. It's pretty cool.
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