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How do you respond when your own personal concerns about friends, family and life circumstances begin to creep into your joy? My response when I notice my heart is beginning to feel heavy and overwhelmed, is to dig into a well-known section of scripture once again. It is incredible how a child of God can repeatedly visit the same verse through the years and be encouraged by new and different insight. It is not that the Word has changed, but our experiences of God’s faithfulness, and hopefully our own spiritual growth, causes us to see more. God has lovingly placed in our hands His inerrant Truths. His warnings and promises in the Bible are His historical guidebook on how He works, who He is, what He has done and what He will do. The Bible is our manual on how we are to live – who we are in Christ and without Christ, what we have because of Christ and what we forfeit when we reject Him. For the umpteenth time I have needed to reset my sights on what is genuinely important and valued, giving less regard to worldly concerns. I am so thankful to my Lord and Savior for His tender care for my soul. Grab a cup of coffee and let us unwrap the priceless package of God’s word together.
Focus Heavenward, Sharyn.
Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
Notice the action in Psalm 55 – cast your burden, meaning to throw out, down or away. Picture casting a fishing line into the water. However, in this case you would cut the line having no desire to retrieve it. We are to get rid of our burdens, placing them in the hands of God who is more than willing and capable to handle them. It is then no longer I who is scrambling to solve a problem, it is God who is sovereign over all things, knows all things, and can do all things. This truth creates a sigh of relief and peace in God’s children.
Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the LORD, and your plans will be established.
Again, we see action in Proverbs 16 – commit. We are to remove, literally roll, our burdens to the Lord. When all of our concerns are placed in Christ’s hands, we can take a deep sigh of relief. I will share part of my testimony here for sake of illustration. Years ago, I was unfamiliar with any specific scriptures in the Bible. However, when God determines it is time to open the eyes of one of His own, He orchestrates the circumstances. I was alone late one evening, my children were upstairs sleeping, and I was literally at the end of my rope. I had done everything I could possibly think of to change the direction of where we were headed. Nothing had worked. My life was in shambles, I had three children depending on me, I was scared, alone, felt hopeless, worthless, and ashamed by failure. As hot tears and silent sobs filled the dark night, I was led to take the blanket off the back of the sofa and lay it out on the floor. I then threw in my burdens, all of them, crying and telling God that I could not go on – it was all His. I was too weak to carry the load. I am sure if anyone had seen me talking to what looked like no one and pantomiming the placement of things in the middle of a blanket on the floor, I would have been carried off for evaluation. I rolled up the blanket and held it with both hands as high as possible and asked God to take all that was within and help me. In that moment of giving up of self and rolling my burdens to God, relief poured over me. A quietness I had never known settled in my soul and the peace of God’s care assured me that somehow, we would be okay.
Matthew 6:25 "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, [as to] what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, [as to] what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?
Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. [Each] day has enough trouble of its own.
Luke 12:22 And He said to His disciples, "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for [your] life, [as to] what you shall eat; nor for your body, [as to] what you shall put on.
1Peter 5:7 casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.
Do not be anxious for your life, do not be anxious for tomorrow, do not be anxious for what you shall eat, do not be anxious for what you shall wear – Be anxious for nothing!
Be Anxious <merimnao> to be anxious about, take thought; through the idea of distraction.
When we are worried or bothered about something, it is what we think about most. In fact, just listen to others. Most often, they talk about what is bothering them. It does not take long to find out what is troubling to any of us as we are usually ready to share with those who will listen. Consider how you might mull over a situation again and again in your mind. When this happens, we find it difficult to concentrate on other things, even those things that are most important. We can become distracted; our attention can be drawn away from God rather than towards Him when our focus is diverted.
Is your soul distracted or troubled?
When Jesus sent the twelve disciples, He told them they would have difficulty, yet they were not to be anxious about all the details. Matthew 10:19 "But when they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what you will speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak.
When Martha was complaining about the things that needed to get done, Jesus addressed her, Luke 10:41-42 But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but [only] a few things are necessary, really [only] one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
Read an account of what the interaction between Martha and Jesus may have sounded like, written by Philip Doddridge in his New Testament notes, “But let me tell thee, my dear friend, that there is one thing absolutely necessary, and of infinitely greater importance than any of these domestic and secular cares; even the care to have the soul instructed in the saving knowledge of the way that leads to eternal life, and to secure a title to it: and Mary is wisely attending to that; therefore, instead of reproving her, I must rather declare that she has chosen what may eminently be called the good part, which as it shall not be finally taken away from her, I would not now hinder her from pursuing; but rather invite thee to join with her in her attention to it”.
For nothing <medeis> not even one, anything, none at all.
In nothing be anxious, in other words, stop being anxious. Not that we do not care spiritually for one another. We need to exercise what is right, being diligent in our responsibilities. This is not license for a carefree, slothful life.
Romans 12:11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
2Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone will not work, neither let him eat.
2Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.
We are to work hard, making the most of our time, using our resources for the encouragement and service of one another. We are not to be distracted and anxious for worldly cares. Picture a squirrel running to and fro, easily distracted by every noise, breeze, smell, and sound. This is the opposite of what our focus should look like. We often try to figure out that which is not ours to care for. For some reason, we quickly take the burden of fixing those things which are God’s to fix and direct. We constantly need to remember that we are not the ones in control. Then our focus can become what it should be – a life honoring to God, taking care in all things to give glory to His name. Sometimes quick action is required, certainly service to one another is necessary, but frequently prayer is the answer as we wait upon God and trust in His work.
Psalm 127:1-2 Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved [even in his] sleep.
But – instead of being anxious and distracted
In everything <pas> including all the forms of declension (downward slope, worsening, decline); all, any, every, all manner, whatsoever, whosoever.
Even when circumstances seem dire, like they will never be resolved, or it seems that things are getting worse and we begin to feel fear rise up in us. Even when we are certain we cannot go on – God can.
All the big things, all the little things, great and small – God cares! In necessity, in prosperity, in adversity, in everything, every time, every condition and every occasion. (cf. Matthew Poole’s Commentary)
Do you trust all things to God?
If someone were to ask, ‘Do you trust God’, many of us would quickly reply with an affirmation that indeed we do. But consider what is behind your most troublesome and heart-wrenching cares. We are to trust God with the impossible. I must admit, often it boils down to a lack of complete trust, I can lose hope and the word ‘quit’ enters my mind. I can readily forget where my sight needs to be centered. Oh Lord, give me a heart to immediately remember Your faithfulness in the past and build my trust in Your faithfulness for the future.
Matthew 17:20 And He *said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you.
Matthew 19:26 And looking upon [them] Jesus said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Mark 10:27; Luke 1:37; Luke 18:27Psalm 62:8 Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please [Him], for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and [that] He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
By prayer <proseuche> prayer, worship, pray earnestly,
The answer to solicitous care or anxiousness, is fervent prayer. To pray earnestly means to take prayer seriously. This is more than the quick obligated words you may hear at times. It is understanding the value of prayer and the One to whom you are praying. Coming before the throne of God is not to be taken lightly. When I think of who I am, who God is and what He has done for me in spite of my sin, my heart is clothed in humility and gratitude. Then I am prepared to worship and bring my requests before our Almighty God.
When the Amalekites raided Palestine and David was distressed, he found solace in God, 1Samuel 30:6 Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.
Luke 18:1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,
I have noticed a pattern in my life. Years ago, I spent time studying prayer as I was convicted of the need to develop a deeper, more complete time of praising God verbally, confessing my sins, thanking Him for countless blessings, and of bringing my own requests and the concerns of others before Him. I was intrigued by the stillness of the very early morning and the void of distraction and was challenged to ask God to help me seek Him through prayer when I awoke at these early times. Our God is faithful to answer the requests that cause us to rely on Him more deeply. I now often find myself wide awake in the wee hours of the morning and have come to treasure these sweet quiet times of prayer. I do not even question why I am awake any more, I just spend time in prayer. I am personally thankful for God’s faithfulness in developing a deeper time of prayer in my life.
Fervent prayer, which always pulls my focus back where it belongs, is the key to overcoming frequent worry. Sincere prayer causes us to remember who God is. When we focus on God, we cannot help but be silenced in our worry. Think of some of His attributes: He is light in darkness, He is without sin, He is everlasting, His strength is beyond comparison, He knows all things, He defines wisdom, He is holy and perfectly just. He loves us, He is good, gracious, faithful, merciful, patient, and compassionate.
I believe it is impossible to encompass my thoughts with the worship of God and be worried at the same time!
And supplication <deesis> a petition, prayer, request, supplication (asking God’s help, a humble request for help, plea)
Think of the scenario of a child needing their parent for something. You can hear the desperate sound of their voice as they plea for help. At that moment, only Mom or Dad have the solution to their call. We are to call to God, our heavenly Father, with the understanding that He alone has answers. Our plea to Him is one of dependence and trust in His faithfulness and power to overcome our trouble or see us through it.
When the king of Assyria taunted the people of Jerusalem, Hezekiah and Isaiah prayed, 2Chronicles 32:20 But King Hezekiah and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed about this and cried out to heaven.
Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.
It is no surprise that we need God! His intervention in our lives is the only reason we have hope for our future and success in the present. There is a popular saying, ‘Know God – know peace’. How true this is. Right now, during this world-wide pandemic, in which 2020 will be noted for in history, circumstances seem downright confusing. However, there is no confusion on God’s part. He has the answers, He is guiding His people, and His glory will prevail. We are reminded to be on our knees as we seek His help in this desperate time. I pray you see this as a blessing! God is at work in the world.
Things may not turn out the way we think they should, but they will turn out the way God has intended. We may not get what we want but we will get what God has planned. We may not receive what we think we need but we will be blessed with what God knows we need in order to grow in His likeness and glorify Him.
With thanksgiving <eucharistia> gratitude; grateful language to God as an act of worship.
Bottom line – we do not deserve one ounce of any type of blessing God has bestowed on us. What we do deserve is death – instead, we have life eternal. What we do deserve is confusion – instead, we have the promise of His direction. We have peace instead of chaos, hope instead of fear, comfort in the midst of sorrow, joy in all circumstances, and forgiveness rather than condemnation.
Thanksgiving to God for His answers means you are resigned to your need of His care. It is trusting that God’s will is best; it is relinquishing your plan for His. He understands and knows all things. He is in complete control of all things and has allowed all things for your good and for His glory. We are to pray with grateful acknowledgement of mercies given, benefits bestowed, and God’s saving grace in all circumstances. We are to be thankful for the growth that results from affliction, for God’s strength to be sufficient when we are tempted, for His faithfulness when we fail and for our future and certain hope in Him.
Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with [an attitude of] thanksgiving;
Ephesians 5:20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
Let <gnorizo> to make known, give to understand
This is a small word with significant meaning. First, God wants to hear from us! He anticipates our dependence on Him and our desire to love Him. He wants us to voice our struggles and concerns to Him. He sent His only Son to suffer and die because of His great love for us. He wants us to have a relationship with Him. Second, we are to make known our concerns but then we are to give them to God for His understanding. We are unable to figure everything out, but God will allow us the information we need to honor Him. I like to know the beginning from the end, the expected result, the exact direction. But this is not my story, it is God’s. He will reveal to His children what is needed. The result is His to know.
Is your relationship with God hit and miss – there when you need Him but out of sight and mind when you believe you have things covered?
Do you lay your petitions and concerns at the feet of the cross – and leave them there, trusting in God’s direction and plan?
Earnestly seeking to know God day by day, moment by moment, and trusting in His knowledge and plan for all things, produces a heart of peace.
Your requests <aitema> a thing asked, petition
Does God care about my petitions, my thoughts, my cares, and concerns?
God tells us to bring our cares to Him. He desires our earnest need for Him. When we share prayer requests with others, we might struggle with what words to use or how it may sound. We may even hesitate to share certain things. God already knows our deepest thoughts, there is no surprise about our struggles, and He understands what we really need (which does not always match with our own thinking). Conversing with God in prayer, supplication and thanksgiving is the hallmark of our dependence on Him. It is the characteristic of an authentic relationship. Compare the idea of having the whole of your relationship at a facility where ‘church’ meets once or twice a week. God is not contained in a building. He resides in a believer’s heart and soul 24/7. Read the verses below. Notice the description of continually bringing your requests before the Lord.
1Chronicles 16:11 Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually.
James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises.
Be made known to God. (with generous, filial, unreserved confidence; not keeping aught back, as too great, or else too small, to bring before God, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary)
“They who by a preposterous shame or distrustful modesty, cover, stifle, or keep in their desires, as if they were either too small or too great, must be racked with care; from which they are entirely delivered, who pour them out with a free and filial confidence.” John Wesley’s Notes on the Old and New Testaments
Do you present your concerns to God?
We sometimes readily and even eagerly share our prayer requests with others. God desires us to come to Him, to kneel before Him and pour out our concerns no matter how small. When we acknowledge our need for Him, seeking His counsel, His peace and comfort, trusting in His ways, He is glorified.
Picture the time you might spend with a close friend. You readily share even the smallest details of circumstances to explain your thoughts, whether they are funny, sad, encouraging or challenging. God cares about the details. This is not that we go to Him with a light-minded attitude, but with an understanding that He absolutely loves us, cares for us, has created us, and desires us to desire Him.
Does God really care about all my concerns?
Luke 12:7 "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows. - every hair on your head is numbered.
1Peter 5:7 casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you. – all means everything.
Go back to the beginning of Philippians 4:6 which says, - in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Psalm 139:1-3 O LORD, Thou hast searched me and known [me.] Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar. Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, And art intimately acquainted with all my ways.
1John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us [in] whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
“Resigning yourselves to the disposal of God, be anxiously solicitous about nothing; but in every difficulty, by prayer for what is good, and deprecation of what is evil, with thanksgiving for mercies received, make known your desires to God, who, if He see it fit, will grant your requests. Or if not, these devout exercises will enable you to bear with patience whatever affliction God allots to you.” Macknight on the Epistles
What is the result of practicing Philippians 4:6?
Thanksgiving results in prayer which replaces anxious thoughts with resounding peace.
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Only a child of God can understand this peace. It cannot be explained. But when it is realized, it trumps all anxious thoughts as our soul is guarded by Christ Jesus.
Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the LORD, and your plans will be established.
“Both our bodily and spiritual interests will be safe when we place them in the Lord's hands, and, through the peace which will result from our faith, our thoughts will become steady, calm, resolute, and joyful”, Spurgeon Devotional Commentary.
