This morning, I am continuing in a sermon series through the New Testament book known as Philippians, which is a letter written by the Apostle Paul from a Roman prison to a church in Philippi that he had started. This morning, I will be in 4:4-9:
Philippians 4:4-9 - Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 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. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Apparently verses 6-7 are the most highlighted verses in the entire Bible. Do not be anxious about anything… what does that tell you about how many people struggle with anxiety? I am sure I don’t need to convince you of how prevalent anxiety is in most if not all of our lives. As Max Lucado writes in his book Anxious for Nothing, “Anxiety and fear are cousins… fear sees a threat. Anxiety imagines one. Fear screams, ‘Get out!’ Anxiety ponders, ‘What if?’” Anxiety is what keeps you awake at night, tightens your chest, persistently distracts you from the task at hand. Anxiety over losing a loved one, or potential financial or job loss, or difficult conversations or meetings, or any number of things that we think could go wrong in the future. For some of you, your anxiety gets so bad that it can be hard to get out of bed in the morning. It’s no wonder that anxiety is so prevalent; with so much change and uncertainty in our world, it’s hard not to feel like life is out of control. Yet somehow Paul has the audacity to tell us to not be anxious about anything.
