Guest Blog with Lacey Rae Crews
Peace and Trust are the Opposite of Anxiety
(4) “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. (5) Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; (6) Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (8) Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whichever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:4-8, ESV)
I know we've all been anxious, especially this year. At least I have, I'll admit it. The election, the unrest in our country, the pandemic, lost jobs and lost lives cause us to see that we clearly are not in control.
What is the human reaction to seeing you're not in control?
Anxiety.
We see the world falling apart more every day, and knowing we're not in control, we worry about the outcome and its consequences. That's the only action we have at that point, or at least that's what we think in the moment. God's Word gives us a much better option.
Verse 4-5 is the goal: rejoice! Rejoice always. Just in case we didn't let it sink in the first time, he repeats himself. Also, we are to always have a gentle spirit about us and be known for being reasonable. This is the goal we should always be striving for in all circumstances.
Sounds easy, right? It is so difficult with the barrage of evil in our world.
We serve such a good and loving Father that He knew we would fail at times and therefore showed us how to escape and leave behind that anxiety! Verse 6 tells us how to do that: "Let your requests be made known to God." He even gives us a step-by-step explanation of how to do that! We are instructed to pray about everything, asking humbly and thanking and praising God.
An open Bible on a picnic table.
He already knew you would be anxious right now.
He knew before you were born everything that would happen in your life and how you would react to each of those situations. He planned for Paul to write these words thousands of years ago, not just to help the church in Philippi but also to help you. He knew you would need the help only He could provide.
Verse 7 tells us what God replaces that anxiety with once we trust Him with our worries: unexplainable peace that could only come from Him. We have to give those worries to Him through prayer and never pick those burdensome worries back up. Take yourself to the cross, drop those burdens at His feet, and leave them there.
God tells us in verse 8 what to think about the moment we start feeling anxious. There is something we can do to retrain ourselves not to worry. We can put those anxious thoughts out of our minds and dwell instead on things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, have a good reputation, excellent, and worthy of praise. It will take work, but God has already promised to help. He never goes back on a promise.
My question is always, "Why does it matter?"
Anxiety can take over and destroy a Christian life if we are not careful. Once it gets to a certain point, it can cause physical harm, such as panic attacks, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attacks, and death. This is a serious issue, and we need to start treating it as such.
Again, the Lord in His goodness has already given us the answer to my question in the latter part of verse 5.
Philippians 4:5b: "The Lord is at hand"
Because God is with us, God is for us, and God is good, we have no good reason to be anxious about anything!
That sentence can be reversed too. If we are anxious, that tells the world that you don't believe He is with you, for you, and fundamentally good. Understand now that those are lies from the enemy and must be treated as such.
Our beliefs always show through our actions and reactions. Our beliefs about God being for us, with us, and fundamentally goodwill show through our actions and reactions to situations and people, not with anxiety, but with trust and peace.
What are you believing about God today that has shown through your actions and reactions?
Take comfort and find His all-consuming peace in this Truth:
He is with you, He is for you, and He is good.
Edge of a keyboard, pens, and a notepad.
About today’s guest blogger:
“Lacey moved to Mt. Zion, Georgia after graduating from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2018 with a Master's degree in Biblical Counseling. Her passion is biblically counseling young women to help them grow closer to Christ with her blog, BuildingLois.com. During the Fall, she avidly cheers on the Georgia Bulldogs as an aluma. She loves attempting to bake, binge watching on Netflix and Disney+, and elephants.”
Follow Lacey’s journey by visiting her website: www.buildinglois.com, Instagram: Building Lois Ministries, and Facebook: Building Lois Ministries
