“Be anxious for nothing” (Phil. 4:6 NKJV).
There is an old riddle that gives insight into some decisions I’ve made—or have had to make—this week. It goes like this: There are five frogs sitting on a log. Two decide to jump off. How many frogs are left sitting on the log? Most of us would say three, but the rest of us—who may have heard this riddle before—would say five. Why five? Just because a decision is made does not mean the action is done.
I was encouraged (pressured?) from a number of sources to do some sort of video for the people of Clark’s Harbour, even if it were only on Sundays. The pressure (my anxiety?) has been mounting as I see many of my contemporaries acquiescing to this form of media to reach their people. I had made a decision that the written word (my blog) would be enough to reach the people and that there would be no need for a video “presence.”
I came to this decision for three reasons:
1) I viewed a few of the first efforts by some of my contemporaries, and they did not inspire me to follow suit. The production was not that great, some of them were clearly out of their comfort zone, and some even looked—and felt—like "hostage situations.”
2) I viewed some others that were fantastic. They were done well, with great lighting, highly comfortable speakers, and inspiring messages. I knew I could not achieve that level.
3) I read Philippians 4, verse 6, and this verse stopped me dead in my tracks:
“Be anxious about nothing.”
I decided to obey God’s Word and stop being anxious about doing any videos. A technique that generally works for me in reducing anxiety is to eliminate the cause, and this one was easy: I eliminated the anxiety by deciding not to video myself. Anxiety gone! Obedience to God’s Word adhered. Frog jumped!—or, so I thought.
There is a problem with that process—a problem I suspect we all have at times. The problem is, I did not read far enough into God’s Word to get His real message. Did you notice that I put a period at the end of that verse? In doing so, I changed God’s Word to suit my need. In His Word, there is no period after “nothing”—just is a comma. Here is the full verse:
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6 NKJV).
Can you see the difference?
Firstly, do everything in prayer (full confession: I did not pray about this. I simply wanted the easiest route to eliminate my anxiety).
Secondly, do so in supplication. This is a word that many do not understand, and it is defined as, “the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly.” There was no asking on my part. There was a complete lack of humility. I was actually (in part) proud that I could eliminate my anxiety under my own means.
Some of you keeners may have noticed I added another period to this verse (after God) because this is the end of verse six (sometimes those numbers are not helpful.) I needed to keep reading, for at the end of verse six, we see a semicolon, not a period. What comes after may be the most important part of this verse. The part that brings us the encouragement we need through our anxieties. Here is the full verse, with the period in its proper place:
“Be anxious for nothing, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6–7 NKJV, emphasis added).
WOW, the peace of God will guard my heart. The peace of God will guard my mind. All through our Lord & Saviour, Jesus!
I’ve made a new decision. I’m going to attempt a live interactive Bible study through video chat. I’ve also decided to post a video message for Sunday morning. Confession: my anxiety levels have slowly risen (but nowhere near the previous point). My focus is on the peace of God, and this peace is bringing the anxiety down. Full disclosure: these are new decisions, and we will see if I’ll have the courage to jump off the log! I’m in continual prayer. Please also pray for me.
“Take charge! Take heart! Don’t be anxious or get discouraged. God, my God, is with you in this; he won’t walk off and leave you in the lurch. He’s at your side until every last detail is completed for conducting the worship of God.” (1 Chron. 28:20–21 The Message)