Although I don't make it a regular practice, I confess that I can sometimes be a worry wart. It's not something that I'm proud of. After 3 decades of being a Christ-follower, I still have those moments when I lie awake at night, tossing and turning, apprehensive about what the future holds for me, worrying if the present will all work out, and reminded of the failures of my past. Sigh. The thing that really gets me is what God instructs us to do regarding worry in Philippians 4:6 -
"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."
"Why are my responses not in tune with what the Bible says here?" is certainly a question I have to ask myself.
Take a closer look at that verse. Did you notice those two words ANYTHING and EVERYTHING? Oh, they drive me crazy. (No disrespect meant toward God in that last statement. It's just that I dont' seem to be able to do what it says!!) First God asks us to not be anxious about ANYTHING. Let's just make a short list of "ANYTHINGS" that could surprise any of us in life...cancer, divorce, death, unemployment, flooding, car accident, foreclosure, adultery, and the list goes on and on. Yet, despite those immensely huge ANYTHINGS, God still says to not be anxious. (This verse makes me want to lift my voice to heaven and shout, "Really, God? Are you kidding me? How do You expect me to do that?) Are any of you like me out there or am I the only one struggling with this?
Recently a friend learned of their spouses unfaithfulness. Another learned he has cancer. Those are two "ANYTHINGS" in life...two "anythings" about which God asks us to not be anxious. So, I have really begun thinking hard on what God has to say to us here in Philippians 4. He truly asks us to not be anxious. Although I (at least at this point) don't know how to do that when the tidal waves of life hit, I am on a journey to figure it out and invite you to join me in this quest toward "Worry-Free Living."
The first step is to read the rest of the verse in 4:6. God goes on to say that in EVERYTHING I should be on my knees, praying and petitioning God. Praying and petitioning are conversational, confident, heartfelt conversations with our loving God. Notice how it does not say that we have to beg, plead, or sacrifice our first-born to evoke His favor when we talk to Him. (Because, then, of course, that type of energy to get His attention would be based on the fact that we were worrying He wasn't listening or He doesn't care...and we're not supposed to be worrying, now are we??) LOL. Anyway, I've concluded that a life without being anxious as God prescribes here means that I take time every day, in every situation, to lift up my concerns to God. Doing that means setting aside time to STOP and really pray...really lay my concern or dilemma before God. If it has been a while since you've done that, stop and pray right now. Commit that thing to God.
Philippians 4 also tells us to lift up those prayers with a certain attitude...thanksgiving. It's amazing how unworried your heart and soul feel when your focusing on thanking God rather than on the difficult circumstance life has presented. It's then, and only then, that we acquire His peace, which passes all understanding, and it fills our hearts and minds. Ahhhhhh. That's how I want to live...filled with the peace of God. If it has been a while since you've taken time to give thanksgiving to God, stop and do that now too.
See how much less worried you feel already? :-)
Here's my real-life story from last week that showed me how futile my worrying was. It's a small example, but, at the time, it meant a lot to me and I truly was not living out the "Worry-Free" principles that God instructs. It all began when my Blackberry phone died. I've had it less than 6 months and it decided one night to quit working and never turn on again. Weird. Frustrating. I believed that a phone that was less than 6 months old should be fixable so off I went to my local Verizon store. The first 30 minutes in the technicians hands seemed like there might be a way to make it work again. After 90 minutes, hope of repair was growing dimmer. Finally, 3 hours and two stores later, the technician pronounced my phone irrevocably dead. Replacing the phone was not a problem...it was still under warranty. The problem was the hundreds of contacts (from my former life and colleagues in Chicago/St. Louis and my new life and colleages and Indianapolis) that were lost and never to be retrieved again. It sounds like a silly thing to be anxious about, but I was truly worrying. I had not ever backed up my phone. As I travelled from one store to another, I was so upset and worried about the time and effort it would take to re-create all those contacts that I actually stopped the car, laid hands on my phone and prayed. (Hey, Pastor Craig had just recently taught on spiritual warfare and I was inspired to "do some battle" for my contacts!) Anyway, even after praying, I was still worrying. (No thanksgivng was offered up to God this night, sorry to say.) I left the Verizon store worrying. I went to bed worrying. I woke up worrying about how I was going to replace those 500+ names and information. Low and behold, while I was worrying, God was working. (Go figure!) As it turns out, my contacts had been saved through the server at work and, to my surprise, when my phone was reconfigured the next morning, all of my contacts were there...bold and beautiful. All the worry and anxiety from the night before and earlier that morning was a waste of time. God had been working on my behalf taking care of even the small things that meant a lot to me. (He even took care of me when I was worrying. What a great God.) Although this example is a simple one and, with some effort, could have been resolved on its own, God reminded me that HE really wants me to not be anxious or worry about anything. It humbled me and I am grateful for the reminder.
So, worry warts out there - join me in the "Living Worry-Free" challenge. I'm sure we'll all be challenged to truly trust God, but the benefits of His peace to guard our lives will be well worth it! Let me know how you're doing!
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