Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. the Lord is at hand.
Philippians 4:4-5 NKJV
Anxiety is a problem many of us suffer with today. Philippians 4:4-9 tells us how to be less anxious. The first step to easing your anxiety is to rejoice. That may sound ridiculous because of course when you are anxious or worried about something, how do you rejoice? Remember the Lord is with you. Rejoice because the Lord is near. We are told He will never leave us nor forsake us and no matter how bad it gets, He is right there with us.
We are told in Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” In Isaiah 43:12, God said, “When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.”
We serve a God who is here for us. As long as our sin doesn’t block our prayers, He hears our prayers. We are told in Isaiah 59:2 that our sin creates a boundary between us and God. And in Psalm 66:18 it says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.”
So, we are to trust in the Lord with all our heart and not lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).
Going back to Philippians 4 verses 6-7 tell us not to be anxious about anything but to pray with gratitude and let our requests be made known to God and the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard our hearts and our minds. It’s important to guard our hearts and our minds against the anxious thoughts the devil tries to entice us into. When Paul listed the armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18 he listed the helmet of salvation to protect our minds against evil thoughts and the breastplate of righteousness to protect our hearts against becoming hardened.
And then in Philippians 4:8 Paul tells us to focus on all that is good. When bad thoughts creep into our minds, we are in danger of letting those bad thoughts lead to sinful actions. We are told in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. When thoughts creep in that cause us anxiety or worry or to say things we shouldn’t say, we can take these thoughts captive before they get to that point. We can make them obedient to Christ. To do so, we must be diligent in Bible study and prayer.
The Bible verse that is often said to be the cure for anxiety is Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be provided for you.”
The anti-anxiety business is a multi-billion-dollar industry in the U. S. According to the American Psychological Association, medical spending for mental disorders including anxiety totaled 106.5 billion dollars in 2019. I’m not saying all mental disorders can be cured with prayer and Bible study. But for those of us who get bogged down by worry that leads to anxiety and depression, I think Bible study and prayer can go a long way to help ease anxiety.
When you feel yourself becoming anxious, stop and pray about it. Trust God to take care of it. We can’t have the peace of God without having faith. Focus on all the good that God has done for you and provided in your life. Be thankful to Him for these things and trust Him to take good care of you.
In verse 9, Paul encourages the Philippians to do all the things they have learned and saw him do and the God of peace will be with them. God wants us to have peace and joy in our lives. The only way we can truly do this is through Him. Psalm 55:22 says cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you.
So, don’t worry, rejoice knowing He’s got this.
Have a great day!