Be Anxious for Nothing…25 Years Later
Twenty-five years ago, I threw my entire library into a trash dumpster. It was an exasperating time in my life. I was a successful young businessman, but some people were telling me about Jesus Christ and salvation. It was clear I was missing something because I understood what they were saying, but I did not have what they were talking about. I had spent the previous couple of years attending a church where they actually preach the Gospel, and it lit my nominal Christianity on fire. As I sat in the ashes of three decades of vanity, I feared I would never have whatever “it” was that I was missing.
Anxiety is the fear of missing out on something one deems important. The academic fears being left out of the academy. The glass ceiling is there in business. What does a star athlete do when he does not make the professional cut? What does a failed politician do next? Of course, anxiety is not just about oneself; it is our children failing to meet our parental expectations. Expectations unmet drive us insane. We have not learned to be content.
Awhile back, I sat in church and listened to a sermon on the Bible passage instrumental in my conversion (Phil 4:6–7). I realized it was the first time I had heard the text preached in the twenty-five years since my conversion, which came at the end of the season of my exasperation. Conversion came to me while reading my Bible on a Transworld Airlines flight from St. Louis to Honolulu. Circumstances had gone from bad to worse on that flight. We had been cooped up and not fed for six hours, on the tarmac at St. Louis. It was cold outside, and the jumbo jet was filled with people looking for salvation from the frigid winter. Engine problems prevented our departure, but no one guessed it would be six hours of delay, so they kept us inside the plane with no food service. People became anxious. Some were superstitious about the omen of our delay. They were sure the plane would crash en route to Hawaii.
I was strangely oblivious to the whole situation. Just eleven days earlier, I had made the commitment to read the Bible for the first time in my life. Having dispensed with my secular library for failing to give me whatever “it” was that I was missing, my library now only consisted of one book. I had vowed to read nothing else except the Bible during 1996. My rankled plea was, “God, if you are real, you have to show me…I will give you one year.” God was gracious to meet me on that plane, on that day, in that seat, under those circumstances. I did not have to wait 365 days. God appointed eleven days to pass, and He then opened my eyes and my heart to “it.” He answered my prayer and gave incomprehensible peace.
Christians attest to circumstances when time disappears in the presence of God. I had been reading the Bible for six hours straight. This was a miracle in itself, for I had only opened the Bible for the very first time eleven days prior. Now I was raptured unaware. Being caught up in the presence of God is like basking in an environment of love, joy, and peace all at the same time. Chaos reigned all around me, and at one point I looked up and surveyed my fellow passengers, who had become a bit unruly. I looked down at my Rolex and realized to my surprise that six hours had elapsed. I then took up reading where I had momentarily left off. At Philippians 4:6–7, I read, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Anxiety is a curse of the fall. Sin fuels our cares in this world because we anticipate death, judgment, hell, and the lake of fire. For the unbeliever, of course, this must be diluted or denounced as fiction. Still, unbelievers are filled with fear. The fear of death is a powerful motivation. It is the ultimate loss. Man fears eternal deprivation. First, he misses out on the rest of his life. Second, he has heard he may miss out on heaven. He is anxious whether he confesses it or not.
The apostle Paul wrote from his prison cell in Rome, to the church at Philippi in northern Greece. It is a letter of joy. Rejoice in the Lord, always, and again I will say, ‘Rejoice!’ (Phil 4:4). How can a man who had suffered so much in his life write these words? The answer is that he had been given “it.” What is “it”? It is the peace of God, which is incomprehensible (4:7).
God is peace (Eph 2:14), but man is greatly agitated. Unless God gives man peace, man will continue the course of this world in the futility of his workaholism, alcoholism, gluttony, hoarding, pornography, and strife with his neighbor. She will murder her baby to alleviate any competition for scarce resources. He will rage with anger at his child’s pee wee football game. She will gossip to destroy, and he will wear the colors of his chosen gangland.
Curing the curse of anxiety is a trillion-dollar industry; yet, one cure costs nothing, and getting the cure is only a matter of asking for it. The perfect standard of attainment is “anxious for nothing.” The cure is revealed in this same text, “peace of God.” Prayer is the action that brings the cure for the curse of anxiety. Anxiety is natural to sinful man, but prayer is supernatural. It is our communication link with heaven. Prayer invokes the peace of God to guard against fear caused by anything.
It is assumed by sinful people that they have God’s ear if they want it. Prayer is idolatry for most people. Vain repetition is popular among the superstitious, as they pray in the direction of certain places of idolatry. The world is filled with false religion, and false religion is filled with people who pray. The Bible warns us, by teaching us about the holiness of God, that Almighty God does not hear prayers which do not come through the mediation of Christ Jesus. Prayer is not heard without blood sacrifice at the place of meeting between man and God. Only the blood of Christ garners true communion.
Prayer is what Christians need in a time of fear. We must pray in the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:26; Eph 6:18; Jude 1:20), through Christ our Mediator (1 Tim 2:5), to God the Father, who listens and answers prayer. He encourages His children to cast all their cares upon Him, for He cares for them (1 Pet 5:7). Comfort flows from our communion and communication with God. God tells us in His Word, not to be fearful. So, we pray with thanksgiving for His care. In everything, we give thanks for God’s providence…past, present, and future (1 Thess 5:17–18).
Our quest is peace, and prayer is a claim of dependence upon God. He is sovereign (Ps 115:3; 135:6), and nothing thwarts His position or plans (Rom 8:28; Eph 1:11). When Christians recognize their life-course is directed by the power and wisdom of God, then peace becomes that reality that surpasses understanding.
The struggle is to have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16), who was not anxious, even when he fought the devil in the wilderness (Mt 4; Lk 4). He Himself is our peace (Eph 2:14), and this is manifested by the Holy Spirit, who gives us peace (Gal 5:22). We must have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 5:1), and then we have the peace of God, which is God Himself in us. Peace flows like the river of life from the temple of His presence through our life circumstances (Ezek 47).
Before my conversion, every salesman and every advertisement offered peace for the price of a product or service. Peace, peace, but there never was peace. Everything promising peace was costly and never delivered the desired result. Fear reigned in everything. Fearful thoughts could be heard through my fearful words; and fear inspired my accumulation of insurance policies, guns, retirement investment accounts, Y2K food supplies, and legal documents from Bigger Barns Estate Planning Co. All of these promised to protect me from mayhem, but the elusive nature of peace without God persisted. I was not in good hands, until the hand of God reached out to me “to save me more than 15%.”
With the alleviation of fear in our hearts and minds, God spurs us to ask for what we need. It is prayer and supplication. To supplicate means to ask for something, and Jesus instructed his disciples to ask God for anything in His name (Jn 16:23). In Jesus’ name, prayers are heard, even answered. Jesus’ promise of answered prayer was pretty profound, too. Our heavenly Father does not have a reputation for giving bad gifts to his children (Mt 7:11; Lk 11:11).
Children ask from a state of dependence, and parents answer their request with the wisdom of what is best from their present supply of resources. God is the giver of every good and perfect gift (Jas 1:17), and the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it (1 Chron 29:10–12). Therefore, we approach infinite supply to meet finite needs, and the economy is dictated by our wise and benevolent Father. We have what we need for today. No worries (Mt 6:25–34).
Peace stands guard (4:7c). It protects a treasured territory. By implication, Christian hearts and minds are vulnerable. Fiery darts from the evil one can ignite flames of despair and depression. The Christian mind needs the knowledge of God’s perfect love to cast out fear (1 Jn 4:18). The Christian heart needs to feel God’s indwelling love (Rom 5:5; 8:9, 11; 2 Cor 5:5). Satan was not stirred up to punish Job, but the testing of his integrity was to see what kind of substance from which God had created him. Faith is tested in people to show the kind that is from God. The love of God inspires faith in God; but the refiner’s fire proves its quality (Zech 13:9).
The peace of God stands steadfast and immoveable in its employment as the watchman over naturally fearful hearts and minds. Confidence is hardly thwarted when a saint is on her knees in prayer to God. Fear thunders like an encroaching storm, but in the boat with Christ is the best place in the world. Fear-filled prayers sound familiar, “Lord, wake up, would you have us to perish?” “Lord, save me!” “Not so, Lord!” “Sir, my child is in peril of death!” But the response is always, “Peace, be still.” The result is always life-giving calm; and the rebuke is ever-loving, “O ye of little faith.” It does not take much to spook sheep, except when they abide in the presence of their Good Shepherd.
My circumstances remain hauntingly familiar. I live in a world of fear. Why this fear and unbelief? My faithful Deliverer leaves me with only one viable option for facing problem palisades. First, I will give thanks in prayer for God and His faithfulness. Second, I will pray in faith because faith pleases Him. Third, I will pray in the Spirit who comforts me and helps me. Fourth, I will pray in Christ because He already prayed for me (Jn 17), my protection and my sanctification. Fifth, I will pray because the fear of man is a snare, but the one who trusts in the Lord will be exalted (Prov 29:25).
Father, here are my cares and my prayers. Grant me peace and guard my soul as you answer my requests according to your perfect will, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
David E. Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
January 29, 2021
