(Read Philippians 4)
For years, one of my friends has asked my wife, Jennie, what her story or testimony is. Not every believer has an earth-shattering, lightning strike, bottom-of-the-barrel experience, but if we have a relationship with Jesus, we have a story to tell. A Christian testimony is a personal account of how God has worked in your life. It is a way to share your faith with others and encourage them in their faith journey. It has become a bit of an inside joke because he keeps asking, and Jennie keeps insisting she doesn’t have one.
Before I headed out this morning, I asked her for one thought about Philippians 4:6. Just one thought, with no preparation. “What comes to your mind from this passage?” I asked. Over the next fifteen minutes, she was gushing insights, stories, and revelations I’d never heard from her. Jennie was following me around the house with additional things that came to her mind. It was beautiful! “Wait! What just happened? You just gave me your testimony.”
Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6
Paul used this verse to teach about the importance of prayer and trust in God. It is a reminder that we cannot carry our burdens alone. Instead of carrying our worries on our shoulders, we’re told to bring them to God in prayer. Paul didn’t mean never to worry, but instead not to allow anxiety to control us and to bring our anxieties to God in prayer, trusting Him, and thanking Him for what He has already done for us.
When I asked Jennie about this Scripture, her first reaction was a laugh, not at the passage but at herself. “My Mom,” she chuckled. “She would always point out to me that I worried too much. That I worried about nothing or that I worried about everything.” It’s true. I met Jennie in college, and at the start of each semester, we would be given a syllabus for each course. She would freak out seeing all the assignments and content we would cover. “I can’t do all this!” she’d exclaim. I would scan it, fold it in half, and place it in my book, never to reread it, while Jennie would retain it as a horrifying reminder of something she would never be able to accomplish.
“I knew better, but from my freshman to senior year, I never learned,” she said. That sheet of paper symbolized worry when not applied to putting things into God’s hands. For our first apartment, her Mom gave us a sign still hanging on our bathroom wall.
“I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.”
Mark Twain
Her Mom knew how to handle worry and anxiety. She was one of the sweetest, joyous, loving, and spiritual people I’ve ever known. She was hugely instrumental in my faith life and even more important in Jennie’s. The spring after Jennie and I met, her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Over the next six years, she experienced more worry, anxiety, and pain than most, but she never kept it to herself.
Jennie’s Mom prayed all the time. She served in leadership roles at her church, sang in choir, and participated in prayer groups with her Pastors. I believe that one of the reasons she needled Jennie so much about her struggles with worry was her way of pointing out that worries belong to God.
In Philippians, Paul calls us to pray with thanksgiving. Even when facing difficult circumstances, we should still be grateful for God’s blessings. This is because we know that God is good and loving and is working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). Even when we are anxious, we can learn to trust that God will care for us.
A different translation of Philippians 4:6 reads:
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
This translation offers a little more insight into Jennie’s story. It impacts the picture of God’s plan in greater detail. “Did you know to pray with thanksgiving, presenting your requests to God, when you were younger?” I asked.
“Maybe, but I didn’t,” she answered. “I know now to pray to God for His help. That He has this, He knows things I don’t. I used to feel so overwhelmed with things that seemed so big or out of my control, but now I know that with God, He will be there with me.”
“Now, how do you deal with things that cause worry?” I asked.
“I feel like I have to do things in pieces. When I was younger, I tried to take on, or thought I had to take on, massive tasks all at once. That caused me so much stress. But now, I see that I can do things in pieces. I can handle things in pieces.” Next, she referred to something we’ve been discussing in our small group. “It’s just like how God can’t reveal everything to us at once. We wouldn’t be able to handle it. We wouldn’t understand. Instead, He has to reveal a layer at a time for us to grasp it and have meaning.”
When we have something huge ahead of us, God prepares us in steps to face it. You’ll understand if you’ve ever seen the smooth, polished stones along the shore break in the ocean. Once, they were sharp, craggy rocks, like what we find in our yards or beneath the ground. But after thousands of years, the edges are sanded and refined. God works according to His time and reveals things to us according to His time and His plan.
As believers, we are encouraged to trust in God and not to let anxiety consume us.
“But in every situation” emphasizes that we should bring all our concerns to God, regardless of their nature or significance. God is interested in all aspects of our lives, not just the major problems.
I recall many times when my mother-in-law teased and sometimes corrected Jennie for her constant worry. As a Mom, she knew things about Jennie that Jennie didn’t know about herself, but I think the passion from her guidance came more from a Godly perspective. We need God’s word, the church, prayer, the Holy Ghost, and people with Christian views to steer us on the right path. Her Mom knew this. She lived this.
When we pray “with Thanksgiving,” we recognize God for what He’s done, who He is, and what He will do. We’re letting go of our control of taking on a beast before us and letting God do the heavy lifting. Anxiety begets anxiety. My wife is the same lovely, loving, beautiful girl she was when we met 40 years ago. But she’s also so different. Through petitions to God, she doesn’t have to take on these enormous problems of the world or even little problems. She turns to Him first now for help and comprehension. She now trusts in God for relief, not a spiral of worry. She’s infinitely wiser and stronger now!
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Application:
- How do you do with anxiety? When faced with stressful situations, try applying Philippians 4:6 by choosing not to be consumed by your anxieties and turning to prayer and supplication to find peace and relief from your worries. The next worrisome thought that comes to mind, pray and ask God to handle it for you and with you. Then, thank Him!
- Be thankful. Even when things are tough, we still have things to be thankful for. Focusing on our many blessings puts our problems in perspective and reminds us that God is good.
Where else in your life can you live out the teachings of Christ? Look for next week’s Devotion.