Do Not Be Anxious
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4
Have you ever played the game Whack-a-Mole? It used to be in all the arcades. You would whack a mole with a club, and as soon as you knocked one down, another one would pop up. Years ago I took care of lawns for a living and moles were one of the hardest things to get rid of. Usually we would just try to get them to move to the neighbor’s lawn. (But that doesn’t work with loving your neighbor.)
For many of us life is like playing Whack-a-Mole. We just fix one thing in life and another problem pops up. Like a never ending struggle to try to stay even. The Bible tells us in Philippians 4 not to be anxious about anything. If we turn to God, He will hear our petitions and concerns and give us peace. So then why do we feel like we are playing Whack-a-Mole all the time?
Paul also says we need to be thankful. I think it’s because we are not thankful and we are not seeking God’s peace that we get anxious. For most of us, if we started counting our blessings before we ask God, we would not only realize how we are blessed, but also that many of the things we stress about are not as important as we sometimes make them out to be. If you won’t even think about something in three weeks, it’s not worth being anxious about today. And most of us simply have too much in our lives. God’s peace doesn’t come with more stuff, more prestige, more money, or praise. It comes with more of God. Paul also tells us in Philippians 4 that he knows the secret of contentment, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
The easiest way to beat the Whack-a-Mole game was to find a partner to hit the moles. In Genesis, “It isn’t good for us to be alone, and we need a suitable helpmate.” I think someone to help us along in life and getting rid of some of the moles, is what we can do, but listening to God, and trusting God, will give us some of that peace… Don’t be anxious about anything.
Pastor Tom