June 2, 2022
Be Ye Anxious For Nothing
Philippians 4:6 says “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
In this verse, “careful” is translated in the context as anxious or distracted to the point of being fearful. In other words, be anxious for nothing or don’t be fearful about anything. Quite often this is easier said than done because the mind has to direct this.
Anxiousness can lead to fear and fear prevents us from being as productive as we’d like to be. Everybody has to deal with fear and some deal with it easier than others: although some are very good at hiding it. In Matthew 14:25-31 is a record of Peter walking on the water. Reading the record one could be fascinated with the miracle of defying gravity. A spiritual work is a spiritual work and it’s wonderful that in this situation, we see Peter operating manifestations to respond to Jesus Christ’s invitation to join him on the water. The revelation was there and he acted on it.
The record does end in Verse 30 with Peter becoming distracted with the circumstances and with his believing dropping. This record does show us that it is available to believe to the point of walking on water and in the same time period, to let it get away from you. Peter could have walked back to the boat with Jesus, but unfortunately, his fear prevented him from doing so.
The record however, does not tell us that he spent time in self condemnation because his believing dropped.
There are scores of records in the Old Testament and the Church Epistles that encourage us to work past the anxiousness that produces fear.
2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and love, and of a sound mind.” This promise is a keystone for people born again of God’s spirit. The world is moved greatly by fear. It’s such a way of life that the common man, even those born again, but not knowing any better, just flow with it.
In Acts 27, Paul was in a ship in the Mediterranean in the midst of a typhoon. The typhoon extended itself for quite a while. There were 275 people with him in the ship who were dealing with helplessness. In Verse 20, we read, “And when neither sun or stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was taken away.”
This was a very challenging time for Paul, because not only did he have to deal with the temptation of anxiousness, but he had to deal with the intense fear surrounding him. It’s not like he could just walk away; it was very tight quarters.
Yet, in Verses 22-25, God gave him hope through revelation, telling him that nobody was going to die. In Verse 26, “Wherefore sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.” That’s pretty good encouragement, wouldn’t you say?
So it is with us. God is a faithful and personal God and He will work with our strengths and weaknesses. We read in 1 Samuel 30:6, that in a moment of great distress, David encouraged himself in the Lord. When we have anxious moments we need to encourage ourselves in the Lord. There is no reason we have to fear their fear and be afraid.
So, let’s not be anxious, but let’s encourage ourselves in the Lord.
Funglimpses to all. Thanks for reading. Respectfully submitted! Will Grove