There’s a verse in Philippians 4 which can cause you to shake your head and say, perhaps sarcastically, “Yeah, right!” Here is how it begins: do not be anxious about anything. You probably know the verse; maybe you’ve heard sermons on it. Just telling you, “Don’t be anxious about it.” Or in today’s vernacular: “Don’t worry; be happy”—as though some well-crafted and well-meaning words can solve the problem!
And if you’re in a dilemma—one that bugs you to death and one you cannot get out of your mind—your response might be something like: Is that it? Is that all you’re going to tell me? Just “do not be anxious about anything”? Doesn’t seem like a very helpful formula for dealing with the anxiety that bombards your mind and your life right now, right?
What is anxiety, after all? Well, the American Psychological Association says anxiety is “a normal human emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like a faster heartbeat.” It’s associated with fear because fear is certainly a part of anxiety, but often it has a future aspect to it more than fear does. Fear can be more sudden and sometimes even helpful. But not anxiety; it’s nothing but trouble. It hangs around longer, creeps into your mind throughout your day, keeps you awake at night—a pesky, all-consuming emotion that seems unavoidable and can be very depressing.
But if you’re a Christ follower, you’re supposed to be able to deal with these emotional plagues and somehow, not worry and be happy, right? Is it really possible for you, because you are a Christian, to deal with anxiety according to what the Bible teaches? Do Christians have ways to cope with anxious thoughts and acute tension and depressed feelings that are available to us simply because we are Christians?
I’m sure you know I’m going to answer that question with a hearty, “Yes!” Yes, we have power to deal with anxiety in ways that are not available to unbelievers. We have the power of God’s Spirit alive in us. That’s how you know you’ve been born into God’s family—you have become a new creation and God’s Holy Spirit dwells in you. And that gives you an amazing advantage. Shall I quote a few verses that tell about this power?
Ephesians 3:16: …out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being…
2 Timothy 1:7: For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
Romans 15:13: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit strengthens your inner being—on the inside. That spirit of fear is not from God; you have a new spirit now, one of power, love, and self-discipline. And because of the Holy Spirit, you can—you should—abound in hope. And that kind of assured hope wipes our anxiety.
However, I can imagine you may be thinking that you know you have been born into God’s family through faith in Jesus as your Savior, but you still find yourself bombarded with anxiety at times. Why? What’s the answer?
It’s in that same verse in Philippians 4:6, which goes on to say: but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Paul gave us three things as the answer to anxiety: Prayer, petition, and thanksgiving. But they are just words on a page until you and I, as children of the Almighty God, learn to follow the formula and simply obey. Let’s take a look at those three words.
Prayer—Any time anxiety becomes an issue for a Christian, the first response must be prayer. The problem is, when you’re anxious you don’t feel like praying. How many times a day do you have to do something you don’t feel like doing? I could name a dozen things I do each day that I don’t feel like doing. In fact, I try to do them early each day so they’re behind me. Like, for instance, taking my vitamins. I hate taking my vitamins. They don’t go down easy; I sometimes choke on them. Honestly, every morning I just do it—and I am never happy about doing it. But I do it because it’s good for me.
So, you don’t feel like praying when your mind is clogged with anxious thoughts and worry. I understand, but you do it anyway. Isn’t it good that you don’t have to feel like praying to go into God’s presence. Nobody stops you as you start to enter the throne room where your Heavenly Father waits to be gracious to you—nobody stops you and says, “Wait a minute; I sense you don’t feel like praying today, right? So, come back when you feel like it.”
How many times has the enemy of your soul stopped you from praying because you didn’t feel like praying? It’s one of his favorite tools to cripple you, to keep you mired in anxiety and worry.
So, step one to defeat anxiety is to pray. And that prayer needs to begin with worship. Declaring the goodness and holiness of your Father God. Focusing your mind on how good God is, how holy he is; praising him for his faithfulness and his love for you. You start with a prayer of worship because you need to get your mind on God and off whatever is causing you anxiety.
The second step is petition. Wait a minute—isn’t that prayer? Yes, but it’s a specific kind of prayer. It’s the act of asking or begging for something earnestly and humbly.
You begin with worshipful prayer, blessing God for who he is, then you get to the petition prayer. You ask; you beg earnestly and humbly for God to intervene in whatever it is causing you to be anxious. The prayers of David are helpful as you ask and beg God for help:
Psalm 86:1: Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
Psalm 130:1-2: Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD; Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
A prayer of petition is often a lament—a crying out to God for help. So, you spell it all out to God. Be honest; tell God how you feel. Beg God for help—he invites you to do this. This passage from Ephesians is an instruction to let your requests be made known to God. Of course, it’s not because God needs to know. He already knows what’s going on inside of you. He knows your thoughts before you think them. But you need to make your need known to God, as honestly and candidly as you can. You need to say out loud what’s lurking in your mind and heart. Say it so your ears can hear your petition. It is for your good to make your requests known to God, in detail and with honesty.
With thanksgiving—that’s the final step. The Bible says we are to give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
But here we go again: you don’t feel like giving thanks, especially not for this worrying thing you’re dealing with. I know; I’ve been there lots of times. But you must do it anyway; say the words you don’t feel like saying: “Lord, thank you for….” Do it as an act of obedience, not a reaction to how you feel. Thank God that he is with you through it all and you are trusting him to deliver you from these anxious thoughts and worrying cares.
Peter wrote: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). You need to close your prayer time by throwing all your anxiety on God. It is a choice you make to stop carrying the weight yourself and trust that God really loves and cares for you. I would encourage you to do something physically to emphasize that you are casting that anxiety on God—maybe write the problem on paper, then wad it up and throw it in the trash or put it in the paper shredder. Whatever you can do to solidify the decision you have made—to cast your anxiety on Jesus.
That will help you because I can assure you that Satan won’t give up easily. He will continue to try to flood your mind with anxious thoughts. So, you need to emphatically and openly resist him. The Bible promises that if you resist him, he will flee from you (James 4:7). So, literally do what the Bible says to do: resist the devil—out loud if possible. Tell him you are aware of what he’s trying to do, but you’re no longer a victim. You are resisting him as God tells you to do, and therefore you can demand that he flees from you—flees from you! Goes away fast.
No matter how many times you need to declare the victory that is yours in Jesus—to stop and take these three steps: Pray, petition, and give thanks—just keep obeying the Word of God. You won’t feel like it; you don’t have to feel like it. Just do what God says to do. Trust him and obey. It may sound too simple, but friends, we often just complicate everything by trying to figure things out for ourselves, by going to some earthly counselors who may or may not give us biblical help, or by wallowing in the anxiety and going downhill spiritually.
You remember the story when Martha was all upset because Mary wasn’t helping her in the kitchen and she appealed to Jesus to make Mary help her. And here’s how the Lord answered her: “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one” (Luke 10:41-42).
And what was that one thing? Stopping all the activity and spending time in the presence of Jesus.
Is God’s Spirit calling your name today and saying to you, “You are anxious and troubled about many things, and you’ve neglected what is really important.” I tell you, this is a lesson I have to re-learn many times. You, too? It’s not like you finally let go of one anxious situation and now you’re free from all anxiety. No, as long as we’re in these earthly, sin-prone bodies, we are vulnerable to anxious thoughts and worries and discouragement and depression.
But each time it happens, we have an opportunity to simply obey God, do what the Word says to do, and then wait for his answer, his solution. And each time you are building spiritual muscle so that the next time you take those steps much sooner, you learn that you do it despite your feelings, and you trust God and obey.
Simple—trust and obey, and as the old hymn says, “there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.” That really sums up our walk with God—the spiritual journey we’re on this side of Heaven. Just those two words—learning to trust God no matter what and obey him even when we don’t feel like. Trust God that he has answers for your anxiety and he cares and obey his Word to pray, supplicate and give thanks.
Might be a good idea to memorize this verse from Philippians 4:6: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. It’s not a suggestion; it’s a clear directive from God’s Word. I pray you will simply do what it says—just trust and obey.