“Be anxious for nothing, 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 comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7, NASB).
Most would agree that the world today is full of turmoil and things appear unsettled. This is due in part to the drastically different candidates we have running for the office of President. Almost all agree, our country will look very different four years from now. We worry about how this will affect our lives, our jobs, our churches, our health care benefits, etc., each and every day.
This passage in Philippians helps us to alleviate our fears.
It is not sinful to be concerned. In fact, it would be wrong for you not to take your concerns and use them to help you to prepare for the future. It is perfectly natural for you to have a degree of anxiety, fear, or concern when you are at risk of being downsized, your children are hanging out with the wrong group of people, or your anticipation of any number of other situations.
Paul’s command is not against this type of “anxiety”. What he actually says: we are not to be overly concerned for these things. He actually commands us not to be obsessed with these things. He tells us this for our own benefit. God is in control.
When you get concerned, you must remember that God is sovereign over the entire universe. He is the one to whom you are to bring your request to about the future because He loves you and wants the best for you. By being overly concerned about the future, we are failing to trust in the Lord. By casting aside this type of sinful anxiety, we are blessed with a renewed sense of peace as we allow the Lord to shoulder these burdens for us, rather than trying to carry them ourselves.
Give yourself grace, but do not allow your anxieties to control you because God is ultimately in charge.
Devotional by Dr. Drew Curley, Professor of Biblical Languages