ICS Daily Devotions
Be Anxious for Nothing
Phil 4:4-9 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things.9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
Anxiety affects everyone because it is no respecter of persons and it will come intruding into our mind without permission. Some years ago a professor at a leading American university studied the things people worry about. His research discovered that:
- 40% never happens
- 30% concerns the past
- 12% are needless worries about health
- 10% are about petty issues
- 8% are legitimate concerns
That means that 92% of our “worry time” is wasted energy. But Paul is saying that we are not to even worry about the 8%. Anxious is defined as mental distress or uneasiness due to fear of danger or misfortune; to be greatly worried, troubled with cares and burdened about things that haven’t happened but with a possibility that it can happen.
When we worry about a certain matter, our trust and faith is not in God but in the problem and the circumstances. It will weigh us down and worst still, it really does not solve the problem. There is a possibility for it to develop into obsession and oppression if it is left unchecked.
Anxiety is in the realm of the soul where the mind is located and it is the last frontier for the enemy to deceive and attack us. We can be affected psychologically in many ways when we allow ourselves to worry and it will dominate our thoughts. The anxiety level will increase when we are in a foreign land especially when we are not familiar with their language and system.
Have you ever received a phone call from a staff claiming to be from a legal department of a government bureau in Shanghai? They will claim we have some fines or legal issues that have not been resolved with someone or we have not responded from the court summon. It’s a phone scam. However, if someone is easily anxious then he will start thinking whether has he done anything wrong, how did they get my telephone number, does he know my account number, does he know my bank account number, are they watching our family, are they stalking us or is someone trying to harm us. There are endless “what if’s” and FEAR can cripple us. Yes, we need to be careful, but at the same time, we need to be careful not to let fear and the mind play out all the different scenarios because it can become very harmful.
Many senior executives are worried and concerned that their age is catching up with them and that the company might find them too expensive to have during a crisis. One of the tactics the devil deploys is to cause us to lose our witness in the marketplace.
1 Peter 5:6-8 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
The enemy can flood our minds with negative thoughts and weigh us down with worries and anxiety. His job is to kill, steal and destroy our joy. Evil spirits can exert a certain amount of influence as they seek to oppress mankind. They can oppress anyone even Christians (note: not possession) if they allow it, from within (soul) or outside their body. Once we entertain those anxious thoughts, it can immobilize us and the worst case scenario is to destroy us physically.
Satan tries to oppress us by putting all kinds of pressure on us until we are keenly aware of the pressure. There are various degrees of oppression; therefore, a person can be more oppressed or less oppressed. “Bad mood” that tries to come over us or a feeling of “dark cloud” that’s over us; that’s satanic oppression. Sometimes when oppression leaves a person, it feels as if the weight has been lifted off our shoulders.
Normal concern is a wise foresight; it is a necessary sense of responsibility and forward planning.
All of us have concerns, but it is what we do with them is the key!
A pastor shared with great passion to the church regarding how to trust God for provision in the most difficult times in the history of the world economy. Some church members who lost their jobs came to the pastor and said to him, “You will never understand how we feel when we go through a job crisis, and our finances are affected. It sounds great for you to be preaching to us to have faith in God but wait till you are in our shoes then you will be able to empathize with us.” The pastor answered, “I know how it feels to live in uncertainty and to lose control of our lives and the security of our job.” The economic crisis makes no difference to him. It is still a continuous walk of faith with a faithful covenant partner.
The greatest security that we can ever find and model after is God’s love and commitment through His covenant. We will not fully understand God’s love until we have spent enough time meditating on the truth about His covenant. It will also help us to build strong marriages, rest in God’s love and keep the peace of God in our hearts and mind.
Sermon Series: Prayer and Praise
