Wow! Who lives without anxiety? Yet, in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us, “Do not be anxious,” three times in nine verses. Then Paul in Philippians 4:4-7 expands the command by adding, “so do not be anxious about anything.”
Let’s look at what anxious really means here. Can we find a loop-hole, or better yet an antidote?
The original language for anxious means to ruminate on something. So, when we take a concern, and constantly turn it over in our minds, that turns to worry and anxiousness.
Ruminate is what cows do. They have three stomachs. They chew their grass and swallow it. It mixes with the stomach acids and at that point we call it cud. What do Cows do with their cud?
They vomit the cud up to their mouth, where they chew the semi-processed food some more. After a bit they swallow it into the next stomach.
That process repeats to move it along to the next stomach and through the digestive tract. The final digested food comes out as waste at the other end.
When we ruminate on our concerns and fears, we achieve similar results. We keep bringing up things God does not want people to be concerned with. For some, that can lead to panic attacks, and extended anxiety often leads to health problems.
In the end our ruminating is a waste of time and energy, because God already has it all covered.
I do not see a loop-hole that makes living with our worry a good thing, but I do see alternatives and antidotes.
In verse 4, Paul precedes, “do not be anxious,” with, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.” I think he and Jesus are fully aware of our desire to be in control and figure out our problems.
Personally, I find worship, exalting the Lord, to be a wonderful antidote to being anxious.
Matthew 5 and 6:1-24 Jesus is teaching how to live by God’s radical Kingdom principles. From there he shifts to our natural human response. “Therefore, do not be anxious. . . .” And certainly, do not heap future concerns on today. Let’s take one day at a time.
Paul’s antidote for anxiety is to pray about everything, with thanksgiving, laying out all our requests to God. This is where we fully, or at least increasingly, believe God is really God, so we can trust and let go.
Instead of ruminating, talk to our loving Abba about it. Besides, He already knows our needs and fears. Let’s give God control so it can be taken care of perfectly.
From my experience, the most important antidote is to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. It is good to choose alternatives to ruminating before we get started. Memorize the Word. Think about who God is and His promises far more than what throws us off balance when we ruminate.
When we do that, we will receive the peace that passes all understanding.
Now THAT is a wonderful exchange!
Who lives without anxiety? I am still in process. I am thankful there are real alternatives. Below are just a few passages which help me remember where our real help comes from. I would love to hear about other passages that help you!
Revelation 4: 11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
1 Chronicles 29: 10 – 13
Colossians 1:15- -20
PS Do not be anxious. My dog did not wear her heart ears any longer than needed to capture the photo! Followed by a treat!
