“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” – Philippians 4:6
Over the last few days, we have talked about the consequences of worrying. We have learned that worrying does us no good. Almost half of the things we worry about never happen, and the other half we cannot change the outcome. We have also learned that worrying can lead to physical, emotional, and spiritual destruction.
So the question is, what is the plan for overcoming worry?
Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” With that verse, Paul gives us the answer. He says that the way to escape the cage of worry is to pray about everything.
He says to worry about nothing and pray about everything. That’s it. Some of us hear that and think, “Surely, Paul didn’t mean ‘anything’ here. Surely he wasn’t saying that we should worry about nothing,” because the reality is, we have some things in our lives that are naturally worrisome.
You might have major health concerns…loved ones on the brink of death…people with major family issues…relationship problems…friends and family members caught up in all sorts of sin, loved ones that are running away from the Lord…and the list goes on.
Surely Paul isn’t saying not to worry about these things or people. Surely he isn’t telling us to wear rose-colored glasses and ignore the reality of the problems around us.
Maybe you are wondering today, “does God really expect us to worry about nothing?” And the answer is YES. He does.
Listen, Paul knew that we would have problems and issues and sins to deal with. After all, he did too! But he tells us, “We are to worry about NOTHING because God expects us to pray about everything.” You cannot do both. You can’t give a burden to God and also keep that burden for yourself. You’ll either do one or the other.
So the question is are you going to worry about it or are you going to pray about it?