When Christmas Hurts

PEACE

Day Two

Anxious for Nothing

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 understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

~ Philippians 4:6-7

Wow. Now there’s a promise.

It’s hard to imagine being anxious for nothing, isn’t it? Worry and anxiety play a part in all our lives to some degree. They rob us of fully embracing life, and can steal away our joy and contentment. Anxiety and worry, like almost all negative emotions, are driven by fear. In Matthew 6:25 Jesus tells us not to worry about our life. He points out that it’s pointless and of no value because of our security and provision in God.

The definition of this word worry in the Greek language states: “to be anxious about, take thought; from a root word that means to disunite, divide, be different from through distraction, care, concern.” Interesting. When we worry, we become distracted and concerned, but have you ever thought you were disunited? Think about it. When we worry, fear takes the place of our faith and we begin to disunite from our connection with God. There is interference in the link between us.

Isn’t it interesting how we learned yesterday that the Greek word for peace means “to join?” Here we see worry, one of the opposites of peace, that means to disunite. Our peace depends on our unity with God, and our unity with God depends on our ability to dispel fear and worry with faith. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they experienced fear and worry for the first time. They disobeyed and broke the unity they had with God and immediately started to be anxious about their nakedness, fussing about how to cover themselves. When they heard God coming, they hid. First time for that too.

God called to them saying, “Where are you?” (As if He didn’t know.) Adam replied, “I heard your voice and I was afraid.” Up to this point we find no evidence of fear or anxiety with Adam or Eve. Once they sinned, fear stepped in as a result of their separation from God and you probably know the rest of the story.

So it goes to say that fear, worry, and anxiety separate us from the outpouring of God’s power and his attributes, including his grace. Fear has always been in competition with our faith, even in the beginning. Satan tempted Eve with the fear of missing out on something better, which prompted her to momentarily abandon her faith in God’s advice and provision and take the route of disobedience.

Fear and worry separate us from grace and truth. Faith brings connection, peace, and grace (divine influence) through the Holy Spirit. Philippians 4: 6-7 (above) gives us great instruction on how to replace fear and worry with faith. Here’s the plan:
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Pray about anything and everything.
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Let God know the requests of your heart.
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Thank him for who he is, what he has done, and what he is able to do.
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Keep your mind focused on truth.
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Don’t allow imaginations or presumptions to occupy your thoughts.

The verse that follows finalizes the instruction: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8). The reward? The peace of God that exceeds all understanding will be with you guarding your heart .

Today’s Peace Challenge: If you find you are anxious or worried about something, try this plan as mapped out for us in this Word from Philippians. Remember, faith is like exercise. The more we do it, the better the results. Don’t be discouraged by first steps.
Further Reading: Proverbs 12:25, Psalm 94:19, Matthew 6:25-34, 2 timothy 1:7