10/13/2022
One of the most frequently observed character flaws that one observes in Christians is anxiousness. It seems that as hard as we might try to suppress it we find it bubbling right back up. So what can we do when things around us begin to make us anxious? We know that God is there to help us, so why do we worry, fret, and become anxious? Yet we do, and quite often it isn’t just the big things in our lives that cause this, but the small and trivial ones too. So we turn to scripture for hope, and find three ways to combat this… prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving. In this way we ask God that His will be done, and to take away whatever is making us anxious.
“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Philippians 4:6 ESV
Sometimes we are overcome with worry and helplessness despite all the reassurances from God that He is there. We forget about the wonder we find in His presence, and assign too much importance to the happenings of this world; we find ourselves overcome by our daily lives, and suffering from fear and anxiousness. We do this even though we are told from the distant times of Isaiah not to be this way…
“For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.””
Isaiah 41:13 ESV
To the New Testament times when Peter, the rock on which the church is built, reiterates to us the fact that God wants us to give him all the things that worry us, cause us to be anxious, and make us afraid…
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV
We know that this is God’s desire, and that He wants to take our burdens, because Jesus tells us so, but for all the reassurances we read in scripture, and our belief that they are true, we still find ourselves anxious… why? It is because of the greatest weapon of Satan… doubt. You see, even a smidgen of doubt can taint a world of faith. It undermines trust, hope, and our belief in God’s promises, with its worldly power, which is the one power that Satan has over us. In doubting we find that fear is unleashed in our minds, and our anxiety is allowed to step out of every shadow. How terrible is this beast we call doubt! By yielding to him we lose the strength we have in Christ when He tells us…
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.””
Matthew 11:28-30 ESV
So, how do we overcome the world as Jesus did? How do we believe without wavering an iota in the face of temptation, and when the dark one attacks those things we value so much in our lives… our loved ones, our homes, our jobs, our subsistence, our health, and even our belief? How do we maintain our focus on God and Jesus Christ, the giver of life, and our amazing savior, when we find ourselves faced with death? How do we remain at peace in this chaotic world when doubt, fear, and anxiousness cast their nets over us? We do so as Paul told us in our opening verse today… by making everything known to God in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.
Are we ready to lean on God in this way when the world attempts to frighten us into submission, when it does its best to destroy our hope, and blinds us with doubt as it enters into our lives carrying with it the seeds of anxiousness?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for hearing our prayers, of supplication, and thanksgiving as we come to you in the most dire times of our lives, and even for hearing us in the subtle times of hardship when Satan is attempting to cast his seeds of doubt in hope that they find fertile ground in our troubles and suffering. Take away our fear, and anxiousness as we pray, and transform even the faintest scent of doubt in our lives into the strong sweet smell of our faith, and your grace. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who calms, and brings peace to your people. Praised be your name for defeating the doubt and fear in our lives, and replacing our anxiousness with joy. Merciful are you Lord who pours your grace over us through the blood, and New Covenant, of Jesus, who is our vessel of hope, and amphora of redemption. Wash us thus in His blood, and cleanse us of all sin. Transform us from creatures of a fallen world, made fearful and anxious by the dark one, into righteous saints, standing in the brilliant glow of your presence… you who brings us peace, and calms us in the face of every tribulation. Lift our faces on the day of judgement, and see the image of Jesus there. Call us your children, and announce us at your table as righteous, eternal, and worthy. Thanks be to you our God, who was, and is, and is to come.
Rich Forbes