As I look about our world, skim the massive number of ads in the Sunday paper and watch the faces of shoppers going about their last mad dash before Christmas day arrives... I am reminded that his season of peace, joy and good cheer does bring a certain increase in anxiety for many people.
"Will John get along with my mother this year?"
"The stores are all sold out of that toy junior had first on his Christmas list!"
"How in the world are we going to fit forty three people in our house for Christmas dinner?"
Then there is the young man who said to his pastor, "I am going to give my girlfriend an engagement ring for Christmas."
"What a wonderful gift," the pastor replied. Then the young man with anxiety written all over his face continues, "I don't know what I will do if she says no!"
This year when I read the lectionary epistle reading for this Sunday the words jumped right off the page: "Do not worry about anything..." There you have it people. Advice right from the pages of holy writ. Actually the Apostle writes these words in the imperative mode. This is an injunction. "Do not worry about anything..." And Paul is not alone. Three times in Matthew six, Jesus says, "Do not worry." [vv.25,31,34]
Amazing! Don't you think?
If you listened closely, the way Paul expressed the imperative that we are not to worry takes us to what would seem to be the realm of the impossible. It isn't simply that he says, "Do not worry..." It is, "Do not worry about anything!" How, pray tell can that be accomplished? The fact is that there is a very clear and specific set of instructions in the epistle reading.
The Preface
There is a kind of preface to Paul's instructions for gaining the peace of God. The first quality we are to embrace is that of a joyful attitude. We are to "rejoice in the Lord always," In fact, the scripture says a second time, "Rejoice." The sense is that as children of God who have come to know the deep love of God through Jesus Christ, we are called to live - even now - in light of God's sure eternal reign over all creation. Trials and troubles are but temporary bumps and obstacles on a road that leads to certain peace.
A second quality is that we are to let our "gentleness" be known to everyone. "The word signifies a humble, patient, steadfastness, which is able to submit to injustice, disgrace and maltreatment without hatred and malice, trusting in God in spite of it all."¹
The reason we are able to embrace these qualities is a wonderful Advent theme. "The Lord is near." How can we rejoice in the face of trial? "The Lord is near." How can Christian people be steadfastly patient -- even in the midst of injustice? There is solid comfort in the assurance of the words, "The Lord is near."
The Program
The sixth verse of our scripture reads like a formula which we can treat as a basic program on reduction of anxiety:
1. "Do not worry about anything..." So - how much of a role should worry play in our lives? (None) Let's try this as a litany. I will suggest some things that would concern most people and you reply with the words, "Do not worry about anything!"
"Paul, I am worried about some bad news I received about my health."
"Do not worry about anything!"
"Paul, I am anxious about our economic situation."
"Do not worry about anything!"
"Paul, I am worried about the friends my son is choosing."
"Do not worry about anything!"
You get the idea. The point is that we are to worry about - how many things? (Nothing at all!) Fortunately Paul does not stop with the injunction to stop worrying. (You likely have some people in your life who have said, "Don't worry," but they offer no help in actually making the worry go away. Instead of worry, Paul gives us this:
2. "...but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
The remedy for worry is a universal remedy. That is, this applies to every possible worry. "In everything..." There is nothing that is exempt from this remedy.
In everything that comes our way, we are to turn first to the only One who can do something about our circumstances. In absolutely everything, we are to use:
a) Prayer: Meaning continuous, conscious contact with God in all things - and -
b) Supplication: Meaning specific petitions in which we turn the difficulties over to God - with -
c) Thanksgiving: Meaning - we rest assured that God is taking care of the situation. We may not have the answer we desire, but we can rest in the ability of God to bring about the divine intent for our lives. It is as though we called a friend who had both the ability and authority to take care of a tough problem and the friend said, "Don't worry about it - I will take care of it." It is the assurance of 1 Peter 5:7, "Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you."
Why is it we are asked to pray and petition God in all things? Does God not know our trials and difficulties? Of course God knows, our prayer and petition is not to inform God of our difficulties, but to commune with God and with ourselves.
It is important to say that this is not an instant plan for anxiety reduction, but a program we will need to build into our lives. The more we have allowed anxiety and worry to become a part of our personality, the more we will have to "work" the plan Paul outlines.
The Promise
There is a wonderful promise connected with the plan - namely - when a worry or anxiety comes, instead of worrying we pray with an attitude of gratitude for God's intervention in our situation and then: "...the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Specifically this translates to: Peace: The result of knowing that God has promised to be in charge of the situation. Transcends all understanding: Means that this peace is beyond human comprehension. It is not based on human rationality and indeed goes counter to human reasoning. The problem may seem insurmountable to the human mind but, "with God nothing shall be impossible!"
Guard your hearts and minds: This is an interesting word study. The word for "guard" means to guard before hand or to stand outside the door and kept the intruders out. The peace of God stands before your emotional and intellectual worry habit.
Here's the key. Mark it down well: The effectiveness of God's anxiety reduction program and the degree of spiritual peace you will discover is directly related to the degree you work the plan.
There you have it. God's anxiety reduction program. A wonderful gift for this Advent season and this Sunday when we explore the joy of God's salvation.
[1] Fritz Rienecker and Cleon Rogers, Linguistic Key to the New Testament, Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1980