Do Not Be Anxious

Have you ever read these verses and really thought about each word and the message of its command? We are commanded not to be anxious about anything. Instead, we are to pray, lay our thoughts and actions before the Lord, and thank Him for everything. It’s three steps.

So how does one stop being anxious? Is there really a quick switch to flip that activates no anxiety? In Greek, the word “anxious” in this verse carries the sense of being fractured — of not trusting God. We aren’t even supposed to worry. Instead, what are we to do in everything? Pray. When you feel that anxious thought come on, pray instead.

I’m currently studying biblical counseling, and in counseling we are taught to replace invasive thoughts with God’s Word. So replace the fractured and destructive thoughts that creep into your mind with God’s Word.

Something like this. Say you are thinking about whether your son or daughter is safe in the war zone, and the next thing you know you’re fixating on a dangerous scenario for them. Instead of that, replace it with:

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

Sometimes I just keep repeating that last part — take every thought captive to obey Christ — so that what I’m thinking honors Christ and is in line with His Word. Pray God’s protection, peace, presence, and provision over them instead.

Lay it down

Next, it says to supplicate oneself: lay your worries down before God. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you do this. You can say, “Holy Spirit, please help me lay my worries down to you right now, over fear for my son or daughter, where they are and what they’re doing.”

Then thank God for all He provides. Thank Him for your communication with Him, for His steadfast love, for His guidance, for His words that come to mind when all other ways of communicating fail to help. Thank God for your son’s or daughter’s courage to be serving their country. I want you to envision God’s kingly throne in heaven and see yourself kneeling and laying down your worries for your child at His throne.

This surrendering all to Him isn’t easy. Moment by moment, we must commit to surrendering all our thoughts to God. It’s almost like a form of control when we continually worry and fixate on our kids’ safety. Sure, we want them to be well and safe — but the fatalistic worry is what I’m addressing.

What God says next

So what does God say to us once we aren’t anxious, we’ve surrendered all in prayer and supplication, and we’ve thanked Him? We will know His peace.

This isn’t the same peace as visiting a spa or taking a vacation. While those might be nice things, this peace is otherworldly. It’s ethereal. We can’t even comprehend it. This peace will guard our hearts and our minds — the very place our worries exist — like a soldier guards a fortress. The Greek verb for “guard” in Philippians 4:7 is phroureō, a military term meaning to garrison, to mount guard as a sentinel, to protect as with a military force to prevent hostile invasion.

The very God of the universe is protecting us and our thoughts in Christ Jesus.