The Cure for Anxiety

The Cure for Anxiety
Phil. 4:5-9
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

With all the uncertainty of life, it is easy to become worried and anxious about the future.  The command is very emphatic, “Stop being anxious about even one thing.”  As the Christians in Philippi were facing the challenges of the day, they were becoming gripped with worry and anxiety.  We like life to be predictable and controllable.  We want order in our lives so that we can anticipate and respond to every situation we face.  But life is not always predictable.  We encounter circumstances outside our control, and the outcome is uncertain.  As a result, we become gripped by feelings of fear and uncertainty.  We fear the outcome due to the uncertainty of our lives.  For many of us, the command seems to be an impossibility.  How can we have confidence and security in a world of uncertainty?

For Paul, inward peace and tranquility start with the praise and worship of God.  In verse four, Paul gives another command, “Keep on rejoicing in the Lord at all times.”  In other words, Paul commands us to find joy in every circumstance and situation in life.  This joy is not based upon our circumstances but upon the person of Christ.  We no longer need to be anxious about anything because of Christ and His activity and work in our lives and our relationship with Him. We can rejoice because no situation, event, or challenge threatens our relationship with Christ.  To have Christ is to have everything.  Because of our relationship with Christ, we do not need to be afraid, for we face no circumstance or struggle that undermines our security in Christ.  Because of Christ, what we fear becomes insignificant.

The second reason we do not need to be fearful of the present or future is that God invites us to place the very situations we fear in His hands so that they are under His sovereign control. Prayer is not just a hopeful request that God will act. It is the absolute confidence that the God who created the universe, the God who is so immense in His being and power, that the expanse of the universe is merely the measure of His hand; this God is the one who governs our life and our circumstances. Through prayer, we are empowered to trust in His sovereign control and rest that His purpose is for our ultimate good.  The infinitely powerful and wise God controls every situation and determines the outcome; therefore, we can, through prayer, place the things that cause us anxiety under His sovereign control.  Because He establishes the outcome, we can have peace, for we are assured that the result will be positive. Anxiety comes because we fear the effect of the circumstances will harm our lives.  But in Christ, we have the assurance that the outcome will always be good, even though the process may be uncomfortable.  As Paul writes in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  God has already revealed to us the end of the story.  Therefore, we can rest in him even when the present seems uncertain and fearful.  Instead of anxiety, we can experience inward peace because we know the ending.  While the journey may involve unpleasant events, we do not need to fear for the outcome will achieve our ultimate good.   When life becomes uncertain and fear starts to grip our souls, we can rest, for with God, there is no uncertainty or insecurity.  Therefore, we can pray, trust, and relax, for God is the unseen hand moving in our lives, orchestrating all things to achieve the greatest good.  This is a cause for rejoicing in every circumstance.