Pastor’s Corner: “Don’t Worry about Anything”
Psalm 4:8 (AMP) – In peace [and with a tranquil heart] I will both lie down and sleep,
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety and confident trust.
Many of us have “anxiety dreams.” For example, we dream that we show up to a school exam unprepared and only half–dressed. Or our ex–spouse is in the next room as we are about to get married. Or we miss our bus or train and are late for an important meeting. Yesterday’s regrets and tomorrow’s worries fill our thoughts. When I am experiencing stress, worry or anxiety, my go to dream puts me back in the kitchen. Although it has been over 20 years since I have been a chef, this scenario is what plays out in my mind. I am in the kitchen and orders are coming in and piling up. I can’t keep up with what is coming in and I seem to be moving in slow motion and I don’t have the ingredients to fill the orders. This is the worst feeling to me.
Unconsciously my dream is reflecting and amplifying my waking emotions of stress, anxiety and worry. There are the rare occasions that in my stress dreams that I can pull my mind to the realization that it is just a dream and not real. Then I can walk away at peace. We need to have the same epiphany in our waking moments of stress worry and anxiety. Reading scripture like Psalm 4:8 reminds me of WHO is charge and to change my perspective.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT) – 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. These verses are an invitation to check our hearts. Notice how we’re not rebuked or berated for our anxiety or fear, we’re redirected. Paul is saying “instead of being anxious or fearful about your present circumstances, lift your eyes and your perspective to the one who is ultimately in control.”
When anxiety and fear set in, we are offered an opportunity to examine where our trust is placed. Are you trusting in yourself in this situation? Are you busy trying to control outcomes? Do you have faith that God is as good as He says He is? Do you trust that God is a good Father who loves his children?
You see, I’ve learned that unbelief is the perfect breeding ground for anxiety. When we lack faith, we’re inviting fear into our hearts and asking it to take up residence. But this isn’t something that’s fixed by sheer willpower; it comes from spending time with our Father.
This change from anxiety to belief, from fear to faith, only comes through Holy Spirit, who transforms our hearts and minds. Paul didn’t write in Philippians 4 that when we pray God will magically fix things. Instead, he wrote that God’s peace would flood our hearts and minds and an impossible level of calm will surround our emotions and our thoughts. When our minds and hearts are in a state of chaotic, anxious fear, God’s peace supersedes it. God’s peace destroys chaos.
When anxiety and chaos surround us, it’s my prayer that we would set our minds on the things above (Colossians 3:2) and come to God with our problems and our worries and our fears because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).It’s my hope that we would begin to understand the things that are in our control and exert our authority over them and give the rest over to God. This isn’t easy, giving everything over to the Lord, but He is a professional at showing up in places where you actually give Him room to work. Let’s choose to submit and surrender today!
Prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton