“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 comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Phillipians 4:6-7 (NAS)
This scripture in Phillipians is one of my favorites. It’s probably one of the first verses I memorized as a teen to help calm the worries inside. I’ve repeated it thousands of times since, but only recently understood its full meaning and power.
This verse is a clear reminder that we don’t have to carry anxiety, but instead offer up our anxious thoughts and requests to the Lord in prayer- with thanksgiving. But what does that even mean? Could the remedy for anxious thoughts simply be prayer and thanksgiving? Let’s unpack this idea further.
The word for anxious is directly translated from the Greek word merimnaó. The definition of this word is “to be over-anxious; to be anxious about, distracted; care for.” But ‘care’ is a tricky word for us to look at. Isn’t that often how anxious thoughts are disguised, something that needs our care or attention but becomes a burden and takes on a life of its own?
This word merimnaó stems from the Greek word mérimna meaning, “a part, as opposed to the whole”. When used in a positive sense, this means to effectively distribute concern or care in proper relation to the whole picture. When used negatively, it means to be divided into parts going in opposite directions, or distracted. Anxious thoughts can certainly make our minds feel divided, distracted, and separated from the whole. In this context, there is an unhealthy focus on the negative thoughts without a full picture of the whole.
Merimnaó is the same word used in Matthew 6:25-28 where Jesus tells us “not to worry about what we will eat or drink” or “what we will wear”. This is a clear instruction to choose to not let our thoughts be divided and distracted towards the things that can pull us away from looking at the whole picture. That whole picture is one of God’s sovereignty taking care of even our smallest worry. Just as He does of the lilies of the field, just as He does to the birds of the air. Day after day, year after year He proves Himself faithful over and over again.
Moving through this same verse, we’re instructed to offer up anxious thoughts, worries, and cares in prayer and petition, WITH thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving, eucharistias in the Greek, means thankfulness, giving thanks, and gratitude. We can balance these negative leanings, worst outcome scenarios, and ‘how am I going to meet this need’ worries by lifting them up to the Lord with thanksgiving. We’re instructed to offer up our prayers and supplications with thankfulness, giving thanks, and gratitude. The scripture goes on to say that when we do this, the ‘peace of God, that surpasses all comprehension, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (verse 7). That seems like a pretty good exchange to me!
This scripture presents a clear choice in our thought life. We can choose to apply the proper care and attention to concerns or we can choose to allow our thoughts to be divided and negatively focus on the things that are out of our control. We can choose to put boundaries around our negative thoughts and worries, presenting them as requests rather than dwelling on them all day and allowing them have influence over other areas of our life.
We can choose to put boundaries around our
negative thoughts and worries, presenting them as requests
rather than dwelling on them all day and allowing
them have influence over other areas of our life.
When we are looking at concerns from a clear perspective- the picture as a whole and that God is in control- we can fulfil the necessary care required of us in a healthy way. We can view relationships, finances, work related issues, or parenting without carrying a burden of worry. This isn’t burying our heads in the sand or pushing things under the rug, this is taking the steps that the Lord leads us to one day at a time. More often than not, putting things in their proper place looks like letting go of the situation altogether and continually lifting it up to Him. When we give the negative thoughts too much attention- you guessed it- this is a recipe for worry, anxiety, fear, and depression to set in.
So what are we to do if we are in a constant battle in our minds to ‘be anxious for nothing”- even after we have made these requests in prayer with thanksgiving? If we read on to the next two verses we can find another helpful step we can take.
Verses 8 and 9 state, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Here Paul is encouraging the believers to think on things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, commendable, of excellence and worthy of praise. He says ‘think on these things’ and ‘practice these things’. Perhaps he knew all too well our tendency to lean towards the opposite in our thought lives.
In our modern world we are encouraged to journal and make gratitude lists at every turn, especially this time of year. Science has even proven that practicing gratitude can aid in a healthy thought life. Perhaps you face insurmountable problems today with relationships, grief, work/income, or parenting. Perhaps these suggestions seem without substance or too fluffy for your challenges. Let me encourage you that these words of encouragement from centuries ago are a powerful remedy for whatever you face.
By choosing to acknowledge our worries to the Lord and exchange the negative and overwhelming thoughts that run through our minds, we are acknowledging that He is in control. We are acknowledging that only He can make certain things right and that so much in this world is not within our responsibility to repair. By choosing gratitude and thinking on things that are the opposite of our worries, we are actively fighting. We are actively choosing faith over fear. We are obeying the words of Jesus in Matthew and Luke were He repeatedly reminds us to “not worry”.
By choosing gratitude and thinking on things that are
the opposite of our worries, we are actively fighting.
We are actively choosing faith over fear.
This beautiful chapter in Phillipians ends with these verses “And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Verses 19-20).
Can we believe that today? Can we believe that God will supply all our needs no matter how big or small? He is faithful and trustworthy.
May we invite Him into our thought life. May we present our requests in prayer and petition with thanksgiving. May we actively choose life giving thoughts, may we ask and receive discernment for each day of what needs our balanced care and attention and give the rest to Him. May we see His goodness unfold in our lives and the endless supply of things that we can thank Him for.
Response: Start with a simple prayer, written or spoken, thanking God for everything you can imagine in your current circumstances. Where has He shown up and been faithful in this current season? Next, list the things that are worrying you and weighing you down. Lastly, invite the Lord to inspire a new thought list. List all the things you can think of that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. Post this new thought list in your workspace, your fridge, or on your phone. Recall them each time the negative thoughts try to overwhelm your mind today. Trust that He has everything else in control. Repeat each this morning. 🙂
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamantations 3:22-23