6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
In our verses for today, Paul warns believers against yielding to disturbing and perplexing worries and anxieties over our needs and difficulties this life continually presents. He issues the great antidote to worry - prayer permeated with petitions and thanksgiving. This keeps our minds steadfastly focused - in perfect peace - trusting and leaning upon the One who has control over all circumstances. Isaiah states:
3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)
Those who trust in the Lord enjoy a complete and genuine peace – not the paste gem variety which the world offers. This inner tranquility encourages believers to continue to trust in the Lord – even through trying circumstances - whereas worry robs us of peace and leaves us anxious, fearful and distraught. The more we focus on the problem or on the crisis the greater and all-consuming the issue becomes. The magnifying effect it has on our attentions cannot be overstated – the problems often seeming much larger than reality – particularly when we are facing them in our own weak strength. We begin to sink in the mire and the deep pits of our troubles and despair or fall into a sinful spiral in choosing the wrong paths. Jesus speaks towards the fruitlessness of worry in the Sermon on the Mount:
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” Matt 6:25-30 (NIV)
Worry is a form of atheism, for it betrays a lack of faith and trust in God.” Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
At the very essence of our anxious thoughts is wrongly imagining that we are wiser than God and we thrust ourselves in His place reckoning to do for Him which He has undertaken to do for us. It is great presumption in intruding upon His providence and it is sinful. We work as unto the Lord and calmly leave our affairs in His hands. He is in charge of the results of our labors. It’s as if we believe we are ultimately responsible for the outcome or we are fearful that God won’t give us the results we desire. It is a lack of trust in the fact that God always has our best interest at heart and if we receive a “No” in our petitions it is for a far greater “Yes”.
18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! Isaiah 30:18 (NIV)
“All worry is a desperate wanting of my own way.” Ann Voskamp
Our focus in times when we are tempted to wring our hands over all the worries of this fallen world is to have a dramatic shift of focus - our eyes and hearts need to be off the problem and on the Provider. We are to turn our full attention and trust to the all-sufficient One in prayer and in gratitude. His hand is not too short to save and He is ever compassionate and willing to be our great defender still. It is not only important for us to seek His limitless supplies of good but to recall His past mercies as well - acknowledging them in constant thanksgiving.
18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thess 5:18 (NIV)
“Cultivating a grateful heart is not just an add-on nicety, a civil tip of the hat to God as we steamroll through our day. A posture of purposeful, perpetual thanks to God is absolutely central to Christian character. It gives glory to Him. It is the key defense against Satan's temptations to despair, distrust, dysfunction. It protects us from sin and self. It is the hallmark of heaven. It does not exist in hell.” Ellen Vaughn
The effect of gratitude brings true peace to our hearts. This is no ordinary tranquility rather a peace which passes all human understanding that garrisons our hearts and minds. Jesus tells us in John:
27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27 (NIV)