The Real Reason We Don’t Have to Worry
Endless opportunities for worry…
- The state of our nation.
- Cyber attacks.
- Teenagers texting and driving.
- Loved ones addicted to destructive substances.
- Layoffs at work.
- An unwelcome diagnosis.
Some days, some years, it seems that fresh opportunities for high anxiety arrive with every phone call, text, or news report.
Why shouldn’t we worry?
Philippians 4 offers a hopeful response to anxiety, but it seems sometimes it is tossed out as a purported quick-fix remedy for all our worry. When we hear an abbreviated version, divorced from its context, which I believe I actually cross-stitched and framed for my mom once,
“do not worry about anything; instead, in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God…”
it can potentially put more pressure on us….We can end up worrying about our worry.
Learn how not to worry about your worry! #anxiety Share on XWe need “the whole story”…
We need to read more of Philippians 4 to know why we shouldn’t worry. We really need the entire book of Philippians, if not the entire narrative of Scripture :-), but just one more verse will help.
Recently, I discovered a little clause I had not paid much attention to before. (Side note: don’t you love it when the Spirit reveals new insights as you study Scripture?!) I don’t remember ever seeing this little clause included on a memory verse card.
Here is the part most-often-quoted:
“do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Phil. 4:6-7
Please excuse me if I turn into an old-school English teacher for a moment:-)! Ready for a little quiz?
No grades, no red pens, just fun pre-smartphone grammar involved. What’s wrong with the first word of the first sentence —do?
If you gleefully shouted, “Oh, I know — it’s not capitalized!!” you probably were born before 1996 and might actually capitalize letters in text messages:-)! And that is the correct answer if verse 6 is an entire sentence.
The real reason we shouldn’t worry…
There is actually another clause in the sentence. It comes at the end of verse 5, and in the ESV is separated by a semi-colon (;) (yes, that little mark I always forgot to use instead of a comma to avoid run-on sentences! The whole sentence says,
“The Lord is near; do not worry…”
In the original languages, the Bible did not have punctuation; translators inserted it along with the chapters and verses. Some translations do have these two clauses as separate sentences, but I think the NRSV and the ESV get it right.
Enough grammar lesson — here’s my point —
QUESTION: How in this crazy world can we not worry about anything?!
ANSWER: Because, the Lord is near!
What does it mean that the Lord is near, when I can’t see him or touch him? The gospel story tells us:
- He has come to earth in the form of a man, Jesus Christ – Immanuel. The Lord is near; do not worry.
- Christ’s life, death, and resurrection has brought his kingdom near. Death is being defeated, and all of creation is being renewed day by day. The Lord is near; do not worry.
- The Holy Spirit, Comforter, Guide, and Agent of Hope, is in us. The Lord is near; do not worry.
- Christ is coming “soon” (Rev. 1) to finish the redemption work. Then God will be with his people, and his people will be with him finally and forever.The Lord is near; do not worry.
The Lord’s nearness helps us not to worry…
The Lord’s nearness gives us…
- the confidence to pray and petition,
- the reason to thank when our circumstances seem thankless,
- and the peace that guards our hearts and minds from worry.
This is our good news today: Go in peace!
For Reflection: How have you experienced the Lord’s nearness and peace that surpasses all understanding in situations that would usually bring anxiety?
Photo by Amy Treasure on Unsplash