THE ANXIETY THAT WILL NOT QUIT

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Hello everyone. This is Pastor Dean Thompson with a word of hope anxiety that will not quit. Philippians chapter four verses six and seven. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. There is a kind of anxiety that comes and goes. The bill that worries you for a week, the diagnosis that loops through your head until the test comes back. And then there's a kind of anxiety that has moved into the house. The three AM anxiety. The mind that will not quiet, the body that vibrates with a fear it cannot name. Some Christians live with this most of their most of the days of their lives. They love Jesus, they believe the Bible, and still the worry will not let them go. Paul's command in Philippians 4 verse 6 has been used many times as a club against many anxious believers. If you only had more faith, you would not be so anxious. But that is a misuse of the verse. Paul does not say do not be anxious because anxiety is sin. He says in the place of your anxiety, do this. He gives a path, not a verdict. The verb in Philippians 4 verse six Merry Merry now to be pulled in many directions, to be divided, to be torn. It is the same verb that Jesus uses it uses in in Luke chapter ten, when Martha's anxious and trouble Martha was anxious and troubled about many things. It pictures the soul as a piece of fabric being yanked at every corner. Paul's prescription is not try harder, not to feel anxious. It is a four step liturgy by prayer, turning the anxiety toward God, and supplication making specific requests, with thanksgiving, anchoring the mind in what God has already done. Let your request be made known to God, leaving them with him. And the result is not always that the circumstances change. The result is that the peace of God comes and stands guard. The Greek verb really is a military verb, a send like a sentry posted at the city gate. The peace of God puts itself at the door of your mind and refuses to let the marauders of fear back in. Paul says this peace surpasses all understanding. This Greek phrase really means that it exceeds every mind. Some commentators have noted it that it could mean surpasses our power to understand it, and equally it could mean stands above our minds and protect them. Both are true. The peace of God is bigger than your worry, and it is positioned over your mind to guard it. Our minds. Saint Augustine, no stranger to a restless mind, wrote in his confessions You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. John Calvin observed that the peace of God is more excellent than all the comforts in of this world, not because it removes our troubles, but because it carries us through them. And the modern pastoral writer Edward Welch in Running Scared writes Fear is not just a foe to be fought, it is also a window into what we are loving and trusting. Trace your fear back to the loved or trusted thing and bring that to Christ. If anxiety has moved into your house, here are some pastoral words. First, take it seriously without taking it as an identity. You have anxiety. You are not anxiety. You are a beloved child of God who, like many beloved children of God, is wrestling with this thorn. Second, do the liturgy of Philippians four. When the wave of worry comes, name it specifically. God, I am afraid that. Turn it into a request. Will you handle this for me? And bracket it with thanksgiving. You were faithful in last year's storm. The order matters. Most anxious Christians stop at the worry. Paul calls us through it. Third, look honestly at body, mind and habits. Sleep matters. Phone mat phone use matters. Exercise matters. Counseling matters. Medication, when wisely prescribed, can be a kind grace. Anxiety often has both spiritual and biological roots. Treat the old person. Fourth, do the casting of first Peter five verse seven. Peter says cast your cares on him. It means to throw, to hurl, not slide, not place gently. Hurl the way you throw a heavy bag, heavy bag off your shoulders, because he cares for you. Fifth, remember the one in the boat. The disciples in Mark chapter four were anxious in the storm. Jesus was asleep. Your anxiety was their anxiety was the proof that they had not yet learned who was on the boat with them. And remember, just know this, he is on the boat with you. Oh God, you see the worry and the problems that wakes us that wake us up at night. We cannot quiet ourselves. And so give us the grace and help us to truly cast these things on you the names, the bills, the diagnosis, the unknowns. And set your peace, O God, as a sentry at the gate of our minds. Help us to take the next faithful step today and trust you with this with with the steps beyond. In Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you, brothers and sisters.