Steven Knight, Family Life Pastor
Have you ever been worried before? Anxious about what might happen next in life? Anxious about what is happening right now in your life?
There are different worries that we deal with in our lives. Most of the time, anxiety strikes when we get surprised by different situations in life. An unexpected bill. Health problems. Car trouble. Financial difficulty. Relationship issues… the list could get pretty long!
In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul writes about the topic of anxiety. How should Christians respond to anxiety? Should we be worried about certain things in our lives? Let’s take a look at what the Bible says:
Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. – Phil. 4:6-7
Our response to uncertainty in life should be to lift our requests to God, so that we can have the peace of God as we place our trust in Him during the trials of life. God cares for us and is able to provide for our every need. In fact, Matthew 6 shares how God cares for us:
“This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these!If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you—you of little faith? So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore, don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:25-34
God is our Provider. Even through the difficult times, we can trust Him to lead us, guide us, and provide for our every need. In this process, He calls us to focus on today and not worry about tomorrow. He isn’t saying we should never plan ahead but is instructing us to not worry about what lies ahead, because God will care for us. We can respond to anxiety by placing our trust in God and lifting our requests up to Him in prayer. After all, the Father takes care of the birds of the air and the flowers of the fields – certainly He will take care of you as well.
If you would like others to pray with you, consider sending your prayer requests to our prayer chain email: office@fellowshipwaco.org. Please keep in mind, these prayer requests are made public to the church. If you could use one-to-one care, consider reaching out to our Care Ministry or connecting with a Stephen Minister to walk along side you: care@fellowshipwaco.org.
