Be Anxious For Nothing

Devotional Reading: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Philippians 4:6 NLT

People saying, “Don’t be anxious,” when we are anxious is like saying, “Just fall asleep,” to someone struggling to fall asleep. It doesn’t help. If we could just stop, we would.

We are anxious not because we are faith failures but because we don’t know how not to be.

The word the Bible uses most often for anxiety, worry, and anxiousness is the Greek term merimnao, which means dwelling on or pondering fearful or anxious thoughts.

When the Bible says, “Do not be anxious” in Philippians 4:6, it is not saying, “Don’t have anxious thoughts.” That’s impossible. We can’t just not have those thoughts.

Rather, it’s saying, “Do not meditate or dwell on those anxious thoughts.” That is possible; we can choose not to continue ruminating on anxious thoughts. Think of it like this: you may not be able to stop a burglar from bursting into your house, but you can choose not to invite him to sit down and stay awhile.

The most repeated command in all of Scripture is “Fear not.” God tells us not to fear more than he tells us not to murder, commit adultery, or steal. God tells us not to fear more than he tells us to pray or love our neighbor.

God invites all of us into lives marked by his peace instead of our panic and tells us how to get there. That’s what we’ll be exploring this week.

You may think you don’t want to live in fear anymore. God wants that for you even more.

Prayer and Confession
Lord Jesus, help me to embrace fully the peace you have given me instead of the panic the world brings.

Further Reading: Matthew 6:23-25