PHILIPPIANS 4:4-7 – “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 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.”
THEME OF THE DAY: SLAYING THE BEAST CALLED “ANXIETY.” Each of us must battle against the beast called “anxiety.” The conflict is intense in some, and not so for others. Our temperaments also contribute to the severity of our bouts as do life’s varying circumstances. Yet, no one is totally free from the grips of this beast. And battle it we must. God doesn’t give us a pass in this war. Jesus gives us the command “Don’t be anxious” three times in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:25-34) so to allow it to paralyze us or rob the joy of the Lord from us is sin. Why? Jesus’ command, “Don’t be anxious”, means to be anxious is to disobey Him. I know. I know. That is a hard pill to swallow but take courage. When God gives us a command to obey, He gives us the strength to obey.
Apart from Jesus’ Sermon the Mount, today’s scripture is the lengthiest section of scripture in the New Testament dealing with anxiety. From the Apostle Paul’s pen, we are given at least three instructions to battle against anxiety and defeat it. If we learn to obey these instructions, we will slay this powerful beast.
The first step toward overcoming anxiety is worship. Yes, worship – rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice. Paul emphasizes the command twice because of its importance. What anxiety does is seek to make life and our circumstances all about us, and when we make anything about us, welcome all kinds of spiritual problems, especially anxiety. Rejoicing in the Lord draws our attention away from self and onto Him and that sets us on the path to defeating anxiety.
Next recognize we are not alone in the battle – the Lord is at hand. Remind ourselves often, even constantly, that Jesus is with us, in us, and for us. Never alone defines our experience as Christians and the more we believe this by faith, and not give into anxiety by feelings, the greater will be our victories over this beast.
A third instruction is to pray and not just any type of prayer – in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. We are to offer God prayers of thanksgiving. Seems odd in the midst of gripping anxiety, doesn’t it? We are more prone to offer prayers of desperation for deliverance. But here is a most important tactic to defeat anxiety – give thanks to God for the cause of our temptation to be anxious. In doing so, we acknowledge God’s sovereign control in our lives, and when we live in that realm, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And it is His peace that slays the beast of anxiety.
May the Lord teach us to apply His truth when anxiety seeks to cripple us. He will, if we are willing to put faith above feelings and be taught.
PRAYER: “Father, remind me often I am incapable of handling all the anxieties and cares of living in a fallen world.”
QUOTE: “Anxiety never achieves anything except steal your joy in the Lord and drain you of all your strength.”