Don’t Worry?

“Don’t worry about anything, but in everything through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 CSB)

Do you know of anyone who never worries? Everybody worries, at one time or another, in one form or another. Some worrying is self-centered (“What’s going to happen to me?”), and some focuses on others (“What’s going to happen to her?”). Worry is an experience common to every human being. It is an anxiety that is derived from a problem or predicament that usually involves an uncertain and fearful potential outcome, often one that appears beyond our control. The degree of worry is directly proportional to the degree of a fearful outcome. Illness, money, decisions, directions, and such are simple examples of some of the sources of worry.

Some who read Paul’s words tend to think he is saying that a really spiritual person does not worry. That is not what he is saying. In fact, Paul himself admitted to worrying daily about the welfare of the churches he started. All of them were having problems, and he was fearful that the churches would take negative rather than positive directions. What Paul is saying is that we should not remain in a state of on-going hand-wringing worry, as if there were no hope. We move away from that state of worry when we move to prayer (talking with God), to petition (asking God), thanksgiving, and bringing our requests to the Lord. We entrust our worries to the Lord, and as we do so God’s peace, in ways that are unexplainable, will guard (literally, “build a fort around”) our hearts and our minds in the sovereign and redemptive Christ Jesus.

Worry we will. Inevitably. But the point is that we do not have to stay there. We can move from the discomfort of anxiety to the comfort of peace by taking our worries to the Lord and entrusting the outcomes to Him. He may then point us to a solution. Or, He may provide a solution. And then, He may just say, “Trust me.” Taking our worries to the Lord will help provide us with some perspective.

Lord, We really do not like the feeling and discomfort of worry or the stress it brings to our lives. Sometimes we even worry about worrying. We recognize that the real solution is to turn to You with these heavy concerns, so we bring them now to You. We ask You to point us to solutions or provide solutions. But mainly, we just express our trust in You. Amen.