Anxiety

Philippians 4:2-7

² Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. ³ And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life.

⁴ Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! ⁵ Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Do not be anxious about anything is Paul’s instruction to the church in Philippi. This is not an overbearing command, but an invitation, in love, to life free from the overwhelming grip of worry.

Yet today, it is estimated that in Australia that up to 1 in 4 people with experience a clinical level of anxiety at some point in their life. The rate is higher among people under 25.

Paul’s instructions are helpful – Present your requests to God. And let the peace of God which transcends all understanding, guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. This is easy enough to say, but in my experience, it takes years of practice to really get this to work. It also involves getting to a point where you can actually stay calm enough for long enough to really learn how to make this biblical process work.

As a church, we can stand in the gap in prayer, we can show love and support and we can offer acceptance, belonging, purpose and hope to those who are struggling with worry and anxiety.

Lord, I pray for those who read this who are impacted by anxiety. Lord, may they find peace.

Written by Ps Justin Ware

Paul gives clear instruction, rapid fire yes, but really clear instruction on how to get the peace of God active in our lives.

Rejoice – not sometimes, not occasionally abut ALWAYS!

Be gentle – so gentle that people can see it and experience it!

Don’t be anxious but with thanksgiving prayer, faith filled prayer – make your requests to God!

And by doing these things, rejoicing, being gentle and prayerful – peace will flood your soul!

I don’t always achieve this – but the more I practice these disciplines the more peaceful I am and am becoming!

Father, help me to live in peace by rejoicing; being gentle and praying with thankfulness and faith!

Written by Ps. Richard Botta