“Paul and the Philippians and now we are invited not to push that [healthy] concern into a debilitating anxiety that pulls us in a direction the opposite of our hope in Christ. Paul. . . was inviting us to rid ourselves of the stranglehold of worry because he was confident that God is greater than all our troubles. . . . So, what is the alternative to worry? The simple answer: prayer. The way to be anxious about nothing is to be prayerful about everything.”- Randy Frazee
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything.”- Philippians 4:4-6 (NIV)
In Principle #17: Give What Troubles You to God of The Joy Challenge, Randy Frazee notes that, in the above text, Paul invites us to rejoice. Not once, but twice. Because Paul wanted to stress through intense repetition: “You really need to get good at this!”
Furthermore, Randy observes, to jazz up the invitation, Paul states that the Lord is near. Here, Paul refers to time or space or both:
- space – since the Lord is close to us, we need to be mindful of our actions.
- time – the imminent return of Jesus to earth. Certainly, we don’t want Jesus to catch us behaving like Eddie Haskell.
In conclusion, in verse 6 Paul commands us not to be anxious about anything. Here the Greek word for anxious means pulled in different directions. Hence, our hopes pull us in one direction. However, our fears pull us in the opposite direction. Worry strangles the life out of us.
Certainly, God knows what troubles consume us. But He wants us to speak our troubles to Him. And couple thanksgiving to our prayers, petitions, and requests. Karl Barth once eloquently wrote:
“We begin by praising God for the fact that in the situation as it is, he is so mightily God. Such a beginning is the end of anxiety.”
Today’s question: What Bible verses most help you loosen the stranglehold of worry? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Three walnuts or no walnuts?”