“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7).
So the Bible says "Be anxious for nothing".....is this really possible? I mean, we have mounting medical bills; kids under peer pressure in high school and college; the mortgage is due; grandma's blood work did not look so good this time and Medicare does not want to pay for granddad's surgery; the car has an oil leak and the washer/dryer is acting funny....and "you're telling me be anxious for nothing?? NOTHING??!!"
Er....yes!! Yes, indeed and I quote Jesus here from Luke 12:25 "And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?" The natural reaction is to accuse me of quoting the Bible again and that would be correct. But if one rethinks that position, it would be blatantly obvious that individually and collectively, we are basically not in control of any of those life situations I just described, in the natural. We sure can worry, fret, fuss, get anxiety attacks and post endless tweets about our problems but in the end, what we are really demonstrating for the world, our friends and family - a complete lack of Faith!
People like me have preached for years that the best way to turn things around, when under heavy personal attack and such, is to do something for someone else...to look outside yourself. This is contrary to the corruption of some people in the west, who "get their 'zen' on" and mix eastern mysticism with their "Christianity" by turning inward for answers to their problems, when nothing good can come from what God calls "the deceitful heart" (Jeremiah 17:9). Therefore, what can we do? The answer is so simple, that most ignore it and/or run right past it. The answer is given to us by the Word of God right here in this most popular verse of Amazon. This is the formula:
THE PREMISE: "CUT IT OUT AND ENOUGH WITH THE ANXIETY/WORRY/PANIC ALREADY"
THE PROPOSAL: "GIVE THANKS (to God)!! What?! Are you nuts, Bernie? Why should I thank God for all these problems that are causing me to panic? That is correct- this is not human thinking. We are in search of the divine solutions because we have no good answer within us. So we MUST give thanks!
We give thanks because we are alive and are standing downright upright.
We give thanks because we are alive and are standing downright upright.
We give thanks because we can identify each problem and we can acknowledge the one who allowed these things to happen.
We give thanks because He has given us the Spirit of Truth at the moment of regeneration, when we were born again. This is the biggest trump card we have over the rest of mankind, who has rejected Christ. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God Who lives NOW in every believer, is our direct connection to the One Who can solve all our problems by directing us to the natural solutions. The Supernatural Power of God to remove all our anxiety and give us answers, direction and send provision and people into our lives to keep deal with anything the evil world throws at us.
Just like our first examination on this verse, where we discovered we have to go through Jesus Christ, we now have to do something even MORE radical - give thanks for our trials. But this thanksgiving is one of recognition! It is a recognition, in total gratitude, that we have Kingdom Authority in us (in the form of the Holy Spirit of God), Who now enables us to take the next step away from being "anxious for thing".
This next step is PRAYER, SUPPLICATION AND MAKING REQUESTS KNOWN TO GOD. These three will be examined in the third and final part of this short series. So think on these things, as we press on - giving thanks to Almighty God is better than fake religion. Giving thanks - is the key to unlock the mystery to supernatural intervention in whatever ails us.
