Anxiety - Pt 6

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9 ESV).

We started our look in 1 Peter 5:6-11 several days ago. It was a look at conquering our anxiety through humility. I used the illustration of a porcupine and transitioned to several other examples from the animal kingdom. It is appropriate to come back to our prickly little rodent. At least one of the most unusual things about the porcupine is the high levels of antibiotics found naturally in their skin. It seems they prefer to eat the tender buds and blooms on the ends of branches that are often too weak to hold their weight. As they climb further out on the weaker limbs, the limb breaks and they fall, often injuring themselves with their own quills. Some might say that they ought to have evolved better by now. Well, the same might be said of humans. It is insanity that we keep doing the same things and expecting different results. God is not requiring a change in behavior for us to conquer our anxiety; he is looking for a change in belief. Let me make the transition clear. We often trust God in the abstract. Yes, he is a trustworthy God. Yes, he can save sinners in general. Yes, he will work it all out, generally speaking, for my good. But Peter indicates that we take a more specific route. We ought to trust him specifically that he cares about us. When it says that he cares, it means he will not stand by and let things develop without his influence. It means he will act. He will work. Not always the way we would. He's God. He sees a thousand connections we don't see. Casting our anxiety on God means trusting him for handling specific situations. If we believe that he cares, and believe that he is God, then our fears will be lifted. There is one other thing to say about this act of casting anxiety on God, namely, the connection with prayer. This is the meaning of our reading. So 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast your anxiety on God by trusting that he cares for you." And Philippians 4:6 says, "Cast your anxiety on the Lord by praying and letting your requests be made known to him." The connection is simple. Trusting that God cares about your anxiety is expressed in prayer. Prayer is the trust turned toward God and spoken. Be a porcupine!