Do Not Be Anxious About Anything
I remember driving home from an intense day at college, cruising down Southern Parkway. It was a sunny day, windows were down, the beauty of Iroquois Park loomed in the distance, children squealed as they ran out of the middle school toward the line of buses, celebrating freedom. All around me was joy and delight, yet I had a death grip on the steering wheel, brow furrowed, shoulders tensed, and teeth clenched like a Baptist on a donut. Too many assignments piled up, car problems lingered; I wasn’t sure how to get everything completed. It all seemed so overwhelming. I thought, “this is not good! You should not be this stressed!” I began to breathe deeply and slowly, trying to let the stress melt away.
Looking back, It seems crazy to think I could have been that stressed, during what should have been one of the most carefree seasons of life. Anxiety, stress, worry– these can hit in any season of life. In fact, sociologist Jonathan Haidt makes the case that this is one of the most anxious generations in modern memory. Even if we aren’t facing the threats of previous ages (starvation, physical attack, etc.), our lifestyles are still generating serious stress.
This is partly why our memory verses for November are Philippians 4:6-7. It starts with the command, “Do not be anxious about anything.” That word “anything” is a hard word for us. Really? Anything? Surely there is something worth being anxious about? Paul was likely writing from prison in Rome. When he first came to them, he had been beaten and jailed in Philippi. He knew the Philippian church was under attack both from without and within. If he can say “anything,” it at least covers the things most of us face day to day.
There is much to be gained from meditating on these verses. I have printed them on index cards and placed them at my desk at church, in the car, at my home desk, and in the bathroom, all as reminders to be working to memorize these verses. But not just memorize, but also ingest and meditate on the meaning. We all probably know not to be anxious, yet we really need to believe that anxiety can be put aside as we focus on prayer, thanksgiving, and dependence on Christ.
Last Sunday we looked at Paul’s directions to two women in conflict within the church. This Sunday we will study these two memory verses in depth. If you’ve been struggling with anxiety, you won’t want to miss!
Photo by Alex Shute on Unsplash