The Cost of Anxiety

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Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV)

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Devotion:

            These verses above are often quoted but have yet to be lived out. Why is that? One primary reason for this disconnect is that Christians more often conform to the world than we are transformed into Christ's ways. The world, through our media, tries successfully to get our eyes turned toward the stories that keep us anxious and unsettled. If Christians are not careful about what media we pay attention to, we can often fall prey to their schemes to keep us anxious and depressed.

            One only has to pay attention to the statistics about anxiety and depression and how they have risen dramatically over the past few years. Our young people are disproportionately affected due to their dependence on social media as the sole source of information. Our young people are leaving organized religion in droves, which only serves to increase their isolation and dependence on the bad news the world provides them on TikTok and similar social media applications.

            The solution to this situation is given plainly in the scriptures. Prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving can dislodge anxiety from our hearts and minds. If we are given the spiritual cure for our anxiety-ridden society, why do most people ignore this cure? I suggest a lack of faith in God’s power to deliver us as the main reason. Rather than trying to let God be the source of peace in facing the world’s problems and our private anxiety, we go to doctors who prescribe potent drugs that treat only the symptoms of our sickness. (God can use all medicines to help us, but the problems occur when we go exclusively to pharmaceutical  solutions.)

            This scripture promises that if we go to God with our anxiety and leave it in His hands, we will experience peace. This peace is greater than any peace we can experience through any drug or talk therapy. God promises that the peace He gives will be able to guard our hearts and minds, something medical intervention cannot promise. True freedom from anxiety comes only from walking with Jesus and trusting Him to overcome our worries and fears. We must honestly believe that Jesus can provide healing for our minds as well as our bodies. Let us go before the throne of God, trusting Him for deliverance from fears and providing us peace, which really does surpass our understanding.

Prayer;

            Lord, we admit that we are a fearful and anxious people. Teach us to rely on your solution provided in today’s scripture. Increase our faith so that we will genuinely trust your promises. May we become a living lesson to our watching world that the answer to anxiety and depression does not come from a prescription bottle but from faith in your loving care for us. Let the peace we receive from you flow like a great river as a witness to the power of new life in Christ. Amen.

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