God Urges Us To Be Careful For Nothing
As I leaned into Jason’s sweet embrace, he commented, “I can feel the muscles in the back of your neck twitching. That’s nothing but stress.”
He wasn’t being cruel or argumentative. He was making a point. I need to learn to relax. The terrible thing was I didn’t even realize I was stressed at the moment. Sure, there’s been a lot on my plate lately, but I thought I was handling it all pretty well with the Lord’s help. But when Jason pointed out my stressed-out muscles, I realized I wasn’t doing as well as I thought I was. While I was functioning and completing my tasks, my thoughts were still full of anxiety. At that point, I did what I usually do when I realize I’m stressed out—I started stressing about my stress!
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. ”
The word “careful” in this verse means “anxious.” So, God is telling us, “Be anxious for nothing. Don’t fret about anything. Don’t stress. Don’t worry.” Does anyone else find this extremely difficult?
I often read that verse and say, “But Lord, you don’t understand. I have so much to do, and time is running out. I don’t feel as well as I could, and that’s slowing me down even more. Oh, and I thought I had enough money in the bank to pay that bill, but it turns out I didn’t, and now the bank account is overdrawn. And. . .”
Sound familiar? There’s just a couple of problems with my well-meaning (and heartfelt) excuses. First off, God does understand. We made that clear yesterday. Nothing is hidden from Him, including the source(s) of our anxiety. He gets it, probably even better than we do. But also, if we’ll look at our key verse one more time, we’ll see it doesn’t matter what our circumstances are. Be careful for NOTHING. Or let’s turn it around and say, “Don’t be anxious about anything!” Don’t be anxious about your to-do list. Don’t fret about your health. Don’t worry about money. Don’t stress about anything.
That’s a tall order! In my warped thinking, if I don’t stress over it, it won’t get done. But the truth is, stressing has never helped anyone. Anxiety only robs us of sleep, our health, and eventually our sanity. No, worry isn’t the answer. So, what is? When life feels overwhelming, and we can’t figure out if we’re coming or going, how can we remain calm and peaceful? Fortunately, God tells us in the same verse and the verses that follow.
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”
Scofield calls this "the secret of the peace of God." According to the above passage, here's how we can stop stressing and live peacefully no matter our circumstances:
1. Don't worry
2. Take it to God in prayer
3. Be thankful
4. Think positive
5. Consistently do what we’ve learned
Instead of being anxious, we need to take the situation to God and leave it there. We can then be thankful for such a loving, caring Father who bears our burdens, and we can trust that He will work all things for our good and His glory. After that, we do what we know to do and stop stressing about what we don’t know. And we repeat that process over and over again.
I won’t tell you it will be easy, especially at first. But it is possible. And the more we practice this plan for peace, the easier it will become. Imagine if this five-step formula was our first response to a crisis instead of our last. How much happier and calmer would we be? Let’s find out!
Revisiting Bad Habits
Yesterday was such a gorgeous day that I couldn't resist the urge to do some of my work outside. With notebook and pen in hand, I set up my outdoor chair in the sunshine and sat down to do some serious writing.
The work session would have been more successful, I dare say, if Mitch had not decided that he wanted to be a clown. Excited to be outside in the beautiful weather, he ran and jumped and danced and, of course, rolled over and over again in the dirt. Mitchell is all boy!
After one of his rounds of "dirty dancing," he walked over to me, presumably to show me how filthy he was. Needless to say, I was not amused. Well, that's not entirely true. I was actually quite amused at his antics, but I wasn't pleased with the amount of grass and leaves he had managed to acquire in his coat.
Setting my work aside, I rubbed my hands repeatedly down his back and sides, ridding him of as much of the loose debris as I could. Then I grabbed his face in my hands, placed a kiss on top of his head and told him to go play so I could finish my work. Evidently, we have different definitions of the phrase "go play," for as soon as I issued the command, he dropped down on the ground and proceeded to roll around in the dirt again. Then, just as quickly, he jumped up and ran in the house before I could stop him. Guess what I found all over the couch when I finally decided to go inside! Rotten dog!!!
But truth be told, I don't have any room to talk because I've been known to do the same thing. Not roll in the dirt--yuck! But return to my dirty habits. How many times have I run to Jesus, ashamed of something I'd done, only to have Him wipe me clean and send me back on my way? And how many times does my way lead me right back into the very thing that brought me trouble to begin with? Let's face it, some habits are really hard to break.
Take, for instance, the habit/sin of worry. I know it's wrong. I don't want to do it. I don't even mean to do it. But, just like Mitch, no sooner have I been cleansed of my lapse in trust than I return to the same old ways. Fretting over the bills. Fearful whether or not Jason will have work tomorrow. Wondering if my health will ever improve. Anxious over every decision. It's enough to make the Charlie Brown in me shout, "Good grief!"
But this post is not intended to make you feel guilty or ashamed. If you're anything like me, you're already there. Instead, I believe we could all use a blessed reminder of how God handles our relapses. Is He pleased with our behavior? No, just as I wasn't pleased with Mitch's return to the dirt pile. But do you know how I handled Mitch's second round of "dirty dancing"? I went in the house, brushed him down (again) and cleaned up the mess He had made on the floor. . .and the blanket. . .and the couch. I didn't fuss. I didn't give him the silent treatment or explode in anger. I loved him in spite of his wrongdoing and cleaned up both him and the mess he made.
Now, I cannot assure you that God will always clean up our messes. Sin has consequences, and often we're left to face them. However, despite what we've done, God's love for us never falters, and He longs to clean us up and set us back on the right path. Knowing this doesn't give us a license to sin, mind you, but rather it helps us to understand how much our Father loves us and how far He's willing to go to help us succeed. I don't know about you, but that makes me want to try that much harder to please Him.
Now, if you'll excuse me, another beautiful day is beckoning me, and I fancy a walk with my Lord.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. - I John 1:9