I don’t know too many people who say they are not concerned by recent world events, the economy, and the current political climate. In fact, most people I know spend a lot of time being angry or frightened (or both) about these things and so much more. Yet, the Bible tells us that, as believers, we are not to worry. About anything. How can we do that?
In the modern vernacular “worry” means to be anxious or disturbed. The Greek word translated as “worry” is merimnao, which also means to be anxious and that comes from the word merimna which means “to be divided or pulled apart”. This is appropriate because worrying about things outside of our control will only pull us apart from God and the peace He promised us.
Philippians 4:4-9 says,
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. (NKJV)
Let’s pick that apart and take a closer look.
First it says we are to rejoice in the Lord always. Why? If we feel the world is falling apart around us, what is there to rejoice over? For one thing, this world is temporary but we, as children of God, have an eternal home with Him. Jesus died and was raised again to insure that promise.
For another, God created this world and everything in it. We believe God is in control … even when things look to be out of control. They may be out of our control, but not God’s. We must trust that God knows what He’s doing, even if we don’t.
When we can be calm and unafraid in the face of such turmoil people notice. When we explain that our peace comes from the promises of God, we serve His purposes. When we serve His purpose, He in turn blesses us.
And finally we are to choose the things we allow to occupy our minds. This is not to say we should be oblivious to the world around us – we must live in this world, at least for now – but we must not be part of the world. We must not conduct ourselves as those of this world do. We can avoid the pitfall of worry and stress not by shutting out the world but by focusing instead on the good things to be found in this world that God created, not the negatives that man has added to it.
Not only is worry counterproductive, it is also a form of disobedience. God has told us not to worry, so to worry is to rebel against His guidance. We don’t usually think of worry as sin, but it is! Confess it as sin. Choose to obey God and depend on Him for the ability.
Plan a time daily when you can spend some time—even if it’s only fifteen minutes—reading the Bible. Think about what you read, and go over the phrases. Put your name in place of the pronouns, applying each verse to specific situations in your life. Memorize passages that will help you. God’s Word is powerful – it will renew and protect your mind in times of distress or crisis.
The apostle Peter once walked on the sea in the middle of a storm. He succeeded as long as he focused on Jesus. When he looked instead at the waves, be began to sink. Be aware of what’s around you, but focus on Jesus, not on the storm.
