Word of Encouragement (5/31/2021)
Today, we will continue with Phil. 4:6-7: “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Paul tells the Philippians not to be anxious but to pray. Prayer is the antidote to anxiety. Why do we feel anxious? I recognize that anxiety can be caused by a chemical imbalance, which may require medical attention. Here, I’m not speaking of “clinical” anxiety but the general feeling of fear all of us feel when the future seems uncertain or perilous. It seems all too natural. Who of us has not felt anxious about something?
But anxiety is not something we should take lightly. Even the “general” feeling of anxiety is due to two major, closely related factors. One is the fear of losing control or something we value. It is only natural to feel anxious if we sense a major change or loss in our life. This is almost reflexive. But if we can see that we overreacted and accept it, then we will not be anxious anymore. But if we refuse to accept, or adjust to, the change, our anxiety will persist. This kind of anxiety may point to an idol in our hearts, which is a serious problem that will lead to all kinds of danger, not to mention the persisting anxiety.
The other cause of anxiety is a lack of trust in God. This, too, is a serious problem. If we can’t trust God, is there something better we can trust? If we can’t trust an almighty and all-wise God, who loved us enough to sacrifice His Son for our salvation, whom can we trust? Not to trust God is like a mouse starving to death in a barn full of grain. How foolish!
Prayer is a perfect antidote to anxiety. In prayer, we acknowledge our helplessness to God and transfer our trust from ourselves to Him. In doing so, we avail ourselves of God’s almighty power and infinite wisdom and measureless love for us in Jesus Christ. When we start to trust God, we begin to see that our problems, while overwhelming to us so as to cause much anxiety, are nothing to Him. He, who calmed the raging sea simply by saying, “Peace! Be still!” can breathe peace to our anxious soul.
But if prayer cures our anxiety, it is not by getting God to help us keep everything we want. We do not trust Him as our Butler or a genie in the bottle, who is there to help us keep control over our lives. We are to trust Him as our sovereign Lord, to whom we surrender ourselves and the throne of our hearts. As long as we try to keep control in this vast and unpredictable world, we cannot escape anxiety. But when we trust God as our Lord, we can have “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.”
Are you anxious about anything? Why don’t you pray? But are you praying because you want to keep control over your life with God’s help? May you come to experience “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” as you pray in confident trust of, and in humble surrender to, God’s good and gracious will toward your life!