11-You Dont Have to Worry
Chapter Eleven
If anybody had an excuse for worrying, it was the apostle Paul. His beloved Christian friends at Philippi were disagreeing with one another, and he was not there to help them. We have no idea what Euodia and Syntyche were disputing about, but whatever it was, it was bringing division into the church. Along with the potential division at Philippi, Paul had to face division among the believers at Rome (Phil. 1:14–17). Added to these burdens was the possibility of his own death! Yes, Paul had a good excuse to worry—but he did not. Instead, he took time to explain to us the secret of victory over worry.
What is worry? The Greek word translated “careful” (anxious) in Philippians 4:6 means “to be pulled in different directions.” Our hopes pull us in one direction; our fears pull us the opposite direction; and we are pulled apart! The Old English root from which we get our word worry means “to strangle.” If you have ever really worried, you know how it does strangle a person. In fact, worry has definite physical consequences: headaches, neck pains, ulcers, even back pains. Worry affects our thinking, our digestion, and even our coordination.
From the spiritual point of view, worry is wrong thinking (the mind) and wrong feeling (the heart) about circumstances, people, and things. Worry is the greatest thief of joy. It is not enough for us, however, to tell ourselves to quit worrying because that will never capture the thief. Worry is an inside job, and it takes more than good intentions to get the victory. The antidote to worry is the secure mind: “The peace of God … shall keep [garrison, guard like a soldier] your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7). When you have the secure mind, the peace of God guards you and the God of peace guides you (Phil. 4:9). With that kind of protection—why worry?
If we are to conquer worry and experience the secure mind, we must meet the conditions that God has laid down. There are three: right praying (Phil. 4:6–7), right thinking (Phil. 4:8), and right living (Phil. 4:9).
1. RIGHT PRAYING (4:6–7)
Paul did not write, “Pray about it!” He was too wise to do that. He used three different words to describe “right praying”: prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving. Right praying involves all three. The word prayer is the general word for making requests known to the Lord. It carries the idea of adoration, devotion, and worship. Whenever we find ourselves worrying, our first action ought to be to get alone with God and worship Him. Adoration is what is needed. We must see the greatness and majesty of God! We must realize that He is big enough to solve our problems. Too often we rush into His presence and hastily tell Him our needs, when we ought to approach His throne calmly and in deepest reverence. The first step in right praying is adoration.
The second is supplication, an earnest sharing of our needs and problems. There is no place for halfhearted, insincere prayer! While we know we are not heard for our “much speaking” (Matt. 6:7–8), still we realize that our Father wants us to be earnest in our asking (Matt. 7:1–11). This is the way Jesus prayed in the garden (Heb. 5:7), and while His closest disciples were sleeping, Jesus was sweating great drops of blood! Supplication is not a matter of carnal energy but of spiritual intensity (Rom. 15:30; Col. 4:12).
After adoration and supplication comes appreciation, giving thanks to God (see Eph. 5:20; Col. 3:15–17). Certainly the Father enjoys hearing His children say, “Thank You!” When Jesus healed ten lepers, only one of the ten returned to give thanks (Luke 17:11–19), and we wonder if the percentage is any higher today. We are eager to ask but slow to appreciate.
You will note that right praying is not something every Christian can do immediately, because right praying depends on the right kind of mind. This is why Paul’s formula for peace is found at the end of Philippians and not at the beginning. If we have the single mind of Philippians 1 then we can give adoration. (How can a double-minded person ever praise God?) If we have the submissive mind of Philippians 2, we can come with supplication. (Would a person with a proud mind ask God for something?) If we have the spiritual mind of Philippians 3 we can show our appreciation. (A worldly minded person would not know that God had given him anything to appreciate!) In other words, we must practice Philippians 1, 2, and 3 if we are going to experience the secure mind of Philippians 4.
Paul counseled us to take everything to God in prayer. “Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything!” was his admonition (see Phil. 4:6). We are prone to pray about the “big things” in life and forget to pray about the so-called “little things”—until they grow and become big things! Talking to God about everything that concerns us and Him is the first step toward victory over worry.
The result is that the “peace of God” guards the heart and the mind. You will remember that Paul was chained to a Roman soldier, guarded day and night. In like manner, the peace of God stands guard over the two areas that create worry—the heart (wrong feeling) and the mind (wrong thinking). When we give our hearts to Christ in salvation, we experience “peace with God” (Rom. 5:1), but the peace of God takes us a step further into His blessings. This does not mean the absence of trials on the outside, but it does mean a quiet confidence within, regardless of circumstances, people, or things.
Daniel gave us a wonderful illustration of peace through prayer. When the king announced that none of his subjects was to pray to anyone except the king, Daniel went to his room, opened his windows, and prayed as before (Dan. 6:1–10). Note how Daniel prayed. He “prayed, and gave thanks before his God” (Dan. 6:10) and he made “supplication” (Dan. 6:11). Prayer—supplication—thanksgiving. And the result was perfect peace in the midst of difficulty. Daniel was able to spend the night with the lions in perfect peace, while the king in his palace could not sleep (Dan. 6:18).
The first condition for the secure mind and victory over worry is right praying.
2. RIGHT THINKING (4:8)
Peace involves the heart and the mind. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isa. 26:3). Wrong thinking leads to wrong feeling, and before long the heart and mind are pulled apart and we are strangled by worry. We must realize that thoughts are real and powerful, even though they cannot be seen, weighed, or measured. We must bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).
Sow a thought, reap an action.
Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny!
Paul spells out in detail the things we ought to think about as Christians.
Whatever is true. Dr. Walter Cavert reported a survey on worry that indicated that only 8 percent of the things people worried about were legitimate matters of concern. The other 92 percent either were imaginary, never happened, or involved matters over which the people had no control anyway. Satan is the liar (John 8:44), and he wants to corrupt our minds with his lies (2 Cor. 11:3). “Yea, hath God said …?” is the way he approaches us, just as he approached Eve (Gen. 3:1ff.). The Holy Spirit controls our minds through truth (John 17:17; 1 John 5:6), but the Devil tries to control them through lies. Whenever we believe a lie, Satan takes over.
Whatever is honest and just. This means “worthy of respect and right.” There are many things that are not respectable, and Christians should not think about these things. This does not mean we hide our heads in the sand and avoid what is unpleasant and displeasing, but it does mean we do not focus our attention on dishonorable things and permit them to control our thoughts.
Whatever is pure, lovely, and of good report. “Pure” probably refers to moral purity, since the people then, as now, were constantly attacked by temptations to sexual impurity (Eph. 4:17–24; 5:8–12). “Lovely” means “beautiful, attractive.” “Of good report” means “worth talking about, appealing.” The believer must major on the high and noble thoughts, not the base thoughts of this corrupt world.
Whatever possesses virtue and praise. If it has virtue, it will motivate us to do better, and if it has praise, it is worth commending to others. No Christian can afford to waste mind power on thoughts that tear him down or that would tear others down if these thoughts were shared.
If you will compare this list to David’s description of the Word of God in Psalm 19:7–9, you will see a parallel. The Christian who fills his heart and mind with God’s Word will have a built-in “radar” for detecting wrong thoughts. “Great peace have they which love thy law” (Ps. 119:165). Right thinking is the result of daily meditation on the Word of God.
3. RIGHT LIVING (4:9)
You cannot separate outward action and inward attitude. Sin always results in unrest (unless the conscience is seared), and purity ought to result in peace. “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and peace” (Isa. 32:17). “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable” (James 3:17). Right living is a necessary condition for experiencing the peace of God.
Paul balances four activities: “learned, and received” and “heard, and seen.” It is one thing to learn a truth, but quite another to receive it inwardly and make it a part of our inner man (see 1 Thess. 2:13). Facts in the head are not enough; we must also have truths in the heart. In Paul’s ministry, he not only taught the Word but also lived it so that his listeners could see the truth in his life. Paul’s experience ought to be our experience. We must learn the Word, receive it, hear it, and do it. “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22).
“The peace of God” is one test of whether or not we are in the will of God. “Let the peace that Christ can give keep on acting as umpire in your hearts” (Col. 3:15 WMS). If we are walking with the Lord, then the peace of God and the God of peace exercise their influence over our hearts. Whenever we disobey, we lose that peace and we know we have done something wrong. God’s peace is the “umpire” that calls us “out”!
Right praying, right thinking, and right living: These are the conditions for having the secure mind and victory over worry. As Philippians 4 is the peace chapter of the New Testament, James 4 is the war chapter. It begins with a question: “From whence come wars and fightings among you?” James explained the causes of war: wrong praying (“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss,” James 4:3), wrong thinking (“purify your hearts, ye double minded,” James 4:8), and wrong living (“know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?” James 4:4). There is no middle ground. Either we yield heart and mind to the Spirit of God and practice right praying, thinking, and living; or we yield to the flesh and find ourselves torn apart by worry.
There is no need to worry! And worry is a sin! (Have you read Matt. 6:24–34 lately?) With the peace of God to guard us and the God of peace to guide us—why worry?
QUESTIONS FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION
OR GROUP DISCUSSION
1. What is worry?
2. What kinds of things do you worry about? Has worry ever accomplished anything good for you?
3. What is the antidote to worry?
4. What are the three conditions we must meet to conquer worry?
5. When we find ourselves worrying, what should our first action be? Why?
6. What is supplication?
7. How can we have peace and not worry in the midst of difficulty?
8. How can we focus on what is “pure,” “lovely,” and “of good report” while in a world of immorality and corruption?
9. How can we have a built-in “radar” for detecting wrong thoughts?
10. How is the peace of God a test of whether we’re in the will of God?