Coping with Anxiety (Phil, 4:6-7)

Paul is continuing his comments regarding how his readers should live in light of the fact that Jesus is coming back. He raises various matters for their consideration, and no doubt he had been informed about these issues by Epaphroditus. These matters had included the necessity of harmony, joy and gentleness in their interactions with one another. Evidently, his readers were also anxious about some areas of life, although they are not specified by Paul.  And we can easily see that these various concerns raised by Paul re-appear throughout the history of the church, and they will arise in our own experiences.

With regard to Paul’s comments on anxiety, it is not clear if they are to be read as connected to the last phrase of verse 5 (‘the Lord is at hand’). As we noted previously, the phrase can be interpreted spatially (‘the Lord is here’) or temporally (‘the Lord will come soon’). Given that Paul was fully aware of what he had written in verse 5, it is hard to imagine that verse 6 does not flow out of his comment on the Lord being near. Of course, an awareness of the presence of the Lord is likely to remove anxiety. Yet Paul here does not indicate that the removal of worry is automatic. Instead he states that it comes in answer to prayer.

Perhaps we may think Paul is out of touch with reality here. Or else we may imagine that he lived in a society in which there was not very much to worry about. Of course, a even a little reflection will indicate that was not the case. Today, some people escape from anxiety by becoming apathetic about problems. Paul’s remedy for anxiety was not apathy or indifference. Instead he called for action, and the action he stresses is prayer.

The problem of anxiety

Anxiety is a common problem, indeed one of the major causes of health problems in the world. Some people seem to be more prone to anxiety, but it may be the case that they practice their anxiety more often.  Of course, Paul is not suggesting that there will not be situations of genuine concern, such as worry about soldiers on a battlefield or sailors at sea in a ferocious storm or the collapse of justice in a society. Rather he is focusing on issues that a person should not become anxious about. Among these areas of concern would be those common in the ancient world (as well as today in some places): persecution, with all its possible consequences; poverty, with its lack of basic supplies; common troubles that come almost every day and that we have to learn to live with.

The first comment I would make is that anxiety is a symptom of modern life. We cannot avoid noting that it became more and more prominent in society as society increasingly has abandoned its concept of God. No doubt, much anxiety is caused by widespread information delivered through the media.

According to some research, the most common kind of anxiety that people have concerns the future. It may be related to their old age or to the prospects of their children. Yet most of these areas involve possibilities that we can do nothing about. Jesus reminded his followers of this in Matthew 6:34: ‘Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.’ Make preparations, but leave the future with God.

Another large proportion of those affected by anxiety have major worries about the past. Their lives are ruined by regrets. They look back and wish they could relive events over again. But they cannot. The past has gone. Nevertheless, although the past has gone, we can deal with it by repenting of our mistakes before God. Just as he is the only one who can control the future, so is he also the only one who can cleanse the past.

When we consider the church, there are other possible causes of anxiety. One example of it is anxiety over whether or not our sins have been forgiven. Usually this is an expression of unbelief, a failure to take seriously the promises of God regarding forgiveness. Instead of constantly focussing on their sins, believers should concentrate on the mercy of God revealed through Christ. We cannot expect such anxiety to disappear if we persist in adding fuel to it by unbelief. Such an outlook is a reminder that anxiety is a sin .

Furthermore, anxiety is also a sign that we distrust God. Many are troubled by possibilities in providence and often assume that things are going to get worse. In reality, such an outlook is a sign that we doubt God’s love, wisdom and power. It says that God has ceased to care for us or else that we are in a situation that his wisdom cannot solve or from which his power cannot deliver.

We live in anxious times and it is likely that we may succumb to anxiety. Yet Paul makes it clear here that there is something that we can do about it. His remedy is not that we grit our teeth and resolve not to worry. All that resolution will bring about is a state of anxiety over my choice not to worry. Paul’s remedy is prayer.

The way of deliverance

In encouraging God’s people to pray, Paul does not suggest that they become selective about what to pray for. Instead he says that they are to pray in every possible situation. One of our biggest problems is our tendency to divide issues into big ones or small ones. Such a division is evidence of our folly because it indicates that we assume we can deal with the small issues and leave the big issues to God. But the Lord says to us, ‘Give me them all.’

Some people only attempt to pray when troubles come. This is not the kind of lifestyle that Paul is suggesting. God is not the equivalent of a modern-day doctor who dishes out medication in order that we can continue living lives that are displeasing to him. No, prayer here is part of a package. It will not work if we only pray about troubles but refuse to acknowledge Jesus as Lord and trust in him as Saviour.

Prayer is also part of a package in another sense. By this I mean the package that is required of Christians, and even in this chapter Paul mentions other items in the package. God will not answer our prayers if we are pursuing disharmony with other Christians, nor will he answer our prayers if we find our sense of fulfilment in pleasures in which he is not involved, nor will he answer our prayers if we resist the work of the Spirit in forming a gentle character within us.

Often people will say during or after a time of anxiety, ‘Well, I tried prayer and it did not work.’ One reason why such prayer is ineffective is that often the person praying refused to recognise that true prayer is part of a package. He may have spent hours praying over a particular concern, yet throughout the same period was out of harmony with another believer or was finding his satisfaction in unhelpful things. It is easy to see why his prayer was not answered.

Paul uses different words here when he describes prayer. The first term is often used to describe prayer in general. Supplication suggests our urgent need of divine pity, an energy of heart that reveals our determination to be heard by God. Thanksgiving indicates the basic Christian attitude of gratitude, that he or she is grateful that they can pray to God in every situation.

Of course, all of this is very practical. Paul is saying that before we pray about a situation we must review the situation and note the actual and potential causes of anxiety. Once we have identified these areas, we are to bring them to God, not in a vague and general manner, but in a clear and specific way. Such prayer changes our perspective: instead of asking myself, ‘How can I possibly cope with this situation?’, I ask God to deal with it.

Not only is Paul’s method very practical, it is also very simple and straightforward. He says, ‘If you are anxious about anything, pray about it immediately. Ask the heavenly Father to help you, whatever the circumstances. And when you have prayed, remember that the issue is now in God’s hands. Have faith and patience, and you will see him deal with the matter about which you were very concerned. But Paul promises more.

The outcome of peace

The benefit that a person who has prayed as part of the heavenly Father’s required package of behaviour from his children will discover that he receives a great blessing from God, the blessing of inner peace.

A believer enjoys more than one kind of peace. He became a believer because he entered into a relationship of peace with God . Prior to his conversion, he was at enmity with God. Yet when he trusted in Jesus he received from God the status of justification, an aspect of which is the permanent, unchanging position of acceptance with God. Reconciliation has been realised between the offended God and the offending sinner. God is no longer angry with him, instead he accepts the sinner as a member of the heavenly family.

In addition, the believer can have the peace of God, that is the peace that comes from God and is experienced by the believer who lives according to the package of which prayer is a part. This sense of peace occurs within the Christian who has brought his fears to God in order for him to deal with them.

This peace does not depend on the removal of the causes of anxiety. It does not come once these causes have been removed permanently. Instead, this peace exists within the believer even if the outward causes increase in intensity. The change is not in the circumstances, but in the inner life of the anxious person. The answer to anxiety is not a change of outward conditions, but a change of inner perspectives.

Dependant prayer shows us the God on whom we can continue to depend. When I was a child, I would ask my father for help. If I had responded to his help by thinking I should not ask him for further help, my father would have been very disappointed. He would assure me that all his resources were at my disposal. If I wanted clothes, he would buy them; if I wanted comfort, he would console me; if I wanted enjoyment, he would take me to where it could be found. My happiness increased the more I depended on him. It is the same with God. Do you know that you are an ungrateful Christian if you imagine that you can perform anything without the enablement of your Saviour? Failure to ask for it is not a sign of maturity or reverence, it is a sign of ingratitude to the God who wants to help you.

This sense of peace comes to us from God through Jesus Christ. He is the agent who gives peace to each of his praying people personally. Paul, in his place of arrest in Rome, could testify that he had received peace there from Christ. If the phrase ‘the Lord is at hand’ refers to the spatial presence of Jesus, then Paul is assuring his readers of the active ministry of Jesus among his people. It is as if Jesus whispers in their ears, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid’ (John 14:27).

What is this peace like? While it is hard to describe because of the poverty of words, here are a few of its features. 

This peace in the heart brings a sense of heavenly calm to hearts that would normally be agitated and fretful. It is a peace that comes from considering God, as is stated by Isaiah: ‘You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you’ (Isa. 40:3). The person who has the peace of God thinks often about God. Further, this peace contains great confidence in God; this is why the person prayed to God in the first place. 

Again, the person who has peace has a comprehensive obedience to God’s commandments: ‘Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea’ (Isa. 48:18). In addition, this peace draws its recipients to meditate on the teaching of the Bible: ‘Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble’ (Ps. 119:65).

Paul says that this peace acts like a sentry on our minds and hearts. His readers, many of whom were former soldiers, would have appreciated this illustration. The peace of God protects the other aspects of our inner lives from sudden attacks by the enemy. When a person has this continuing peace within, then temptations to sin are refused. It is as simple as that.

In his famous allegory of the human heart ( The Holy War ), Bunyan has a beautiful character called Mr. God’s-peace. After Emmanuel had restored the town of Mansoul, he put Mr. God’s-peace in charge of all the inhabitants. In his own graphic way, Bunyan summarises this divinely-given sentry: he ‘ was not a native of it, but came with the Prince Emmanuel from the court’. Bunyan also notes the effects of the presence of peace:  ‘And I made great observation of it, that so long as all things went in Mansoul as this sweet-natured gentleman would, the town was in most happy condition. Now there were no jars, no chiding, no interferings, no unfaithful doings in all the town of Mansoul; every man in Mansoul kept close to his own employment. The gentry, the officers, the soldiers, and all in place observed their order. And as for the women and children of the town, they followed their business joyfully; they would work and sing, work and sing, from morning till night: so that quite through the town of Mansoul now, nothing was to be found but harmony, quietness, joy, and health. And this lasted all that summer.’

But sadly the summer came to an end. The reason was that the inhabitants of the town of Mansoul began slowly to listen to another person called Mr. Carnal Security. Instead of spending time with their Prince, the inhabitants ‘waited not for his counsels, but began to be headstrong and confident in themselves, concluding that now they were strong and invincible, and that Mansoul was secure, and beyond all reach of the foe, and that her state must needs be unalterable for ever.’ The Prince withdrew himself gradually, and also ‘Mr. God's-Peace also laid down his commission, and would for the present act no longer in the town of Mansoul.’ Bunyan is telling us that we put ourselves in great danger when we lose the sense of the peace of God.

This verse of Paul’s says much to us regarding our inner lives. Are we prone to anxiety? His remedy is regular prayer, not because it provides the answers that we may desire (although often God does give them), but because God gives his peace to those who speak to him often. Perhaps we have never experienced this heavenly peace because we are not converted. In that situation, we need to repent of our sins and trust in Jesus for salvation. When we do, we will be at peace with God and experience the peace of God.

Do you have this peace today? Thank God for it, but be careful that you do not lose it by becoming less diligent in the basics of Christian discipleship (thinking about God, reading his Word, obeying his commandments, praying to him). If we are not doing these things, we are under the influence of Mr. Carnal Security, and Mr. God’s-peace is about to leave his residence in our hearts.

If your sense of God’s peace has gone, do not put it down to providence or your natural temperament. Instead, search your hearts to see if you have allowed yourself to become complacent in your Christian life. If you find that you have, return to God immediately in prayer. Because as Spurgeon says, the longer the frost is on our souls, the thicker the ice will be. Go to the Sun for thawing, but if your ice is thicker it will take a lot of prayer to melt it. The sooner you go, the quicker the peace of God will be restored to you. various matters for their consideration, and no doubt he had been informed about these issues by Epaphroditus. These matters had included the necessity of harmony, joy and gentleness in their interactions with one another. Evidently, his readers were also anxious about some areas of life, although they are not specified by Paul.  And we can easily see that these various concerns raised by Paul re-appear throughout the history of the church, and they will arise in our own experiences.

With regard to Paul’s comments on anxiety, it is not clear if they are to be read as connected to the last phrase of verse 5 (‘the Lord is at hand’). As we noted previously, the phrase can be interpreted spatially (‘the Lord is here’) or temporally (‘the Lord will come soon’). Given that Paul was fully aware of what he had written in verse 5, it is hard to imagine that verse 6 does not flow out of his comment on the Lord being near. Of course, an awareness of the presence of the Lord is likely to remove anxiety. Yet Paul here does not indicate that the removal of worry is automatic. Instead he states that it comes in answer to prayer.

Perhaps we may think Paul is out of touch with reality here. Or else we may imagine that he lived in a society in which there was not very much to worry about. Of course, a even a little reflection will indicate that was not the case. Today, some people escape from anxiety by becoming apathetic about problems. Paul’s remedy for anxiety was not apathy or indifference. Instead he called for action, and the action he stresses is prayer.

The problem of anxiety

Anxiety is a common problem, indeed one of the major causes of health problems in the world. Some people seem to be more prone to anxiety, but it may be the case that they practice their anxiety more often.  Of course, Paul is not suggesting that there will not be situations of genuine concern, such as worry about soldiers on a battlefield or sailors at sea in a ferocious storm or the collapse of justice in a society. Rather he is focusing on issues that a person should not become anxious about. Among these areas of concern would be those common in the ancient world (as well as today in some places): persecution, with all its possible consequences; poverty, with its lack of basic supplies; common troubles that come almost every day and that we have to learn to live with.

The first comment I would make is that anxiety is a symptom of modern life. We cannot avoid noting that it became more and more prominent in society as society increasingly has abandoned its concept of God. No doubt, much anxiety is caused by widespread information delivered through the media.

According to some research, the most common kind of anxiety that people have concerns the future. It may be related to their old age or to the prospects of their children. Yet most of these areas involve possibilities that we can do nothing about. Jesus reminded his followers of this in Matthew 6:34: ‘Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.’ Make preparations, but leave the future with God.

Another large proportion of those affected by anxiety have major worries about the past. Their lives are ruined by regrets. They look back and wish they could relive events over again. But they cannot. The past has gone. Nevertheless, although the past has gone, we can deal with it by repenting of our mistakes before God. Just as he is the only one who can control the future, so is he also the only one who can cleanse the past.

When we consider the church, there are other possible causes of anxiety. One example of it is anxiety over whether or not our sins have been forgiven. Usually this is an expression of unbelief, a failure to take seriously the promises of God regarding forgiveness. Instead of constantly focussing on their sins, believers should concentrate on the mercy of God revealed through Christ. We cannot expect such anxiety to disappear if we persist in adding fuel to it by unbelief. Such an outlook is a reminder that anxiety is a sin .

Furthermore, anxiety is also a sign that we distrust God. Many are troubled by possibilities in providence and often assume that things are going to get worse. In reality, such an outlook is a sign that we doubt God’s love, wisdom and power. It says that God has ceased to care for us or else that we are in a situation that his wisdom cannot solve or from which his power cannot deliver.

We live in anxious times and it is likely that we may succumb to anxiety. Yet Paul makes it clear here that there is something that we can do about it. His remedy is not that we grit our teeth and resolve not to worry. All that resolution will bring about is a state of anxiety over my choice not to worry. Paul’s remedy is prayer.

The way of deliverance

In encouraging God’s people to pray, Paul does not suggest that they become selective about what to pray for. Instead he says that they are to pray in every possible situation. One of our biggest problems is our tendency to divide issues into big ones or small ones. Such a division is evidence of our folly because it indicates that we assume we can deal with the small issues and leave the big issues to God. But the Lord says to us, ‘Give me them all.’

Some people only attempt to pray when troubles come. This is not the kind of lifestyle that Paul is suggesting. God is not the equivalent of a modern-day doctor who dishes out medication in order that we can continue living lives that are displeasing to him. No, prayer here is part of a package. It will not work if we only pray about troubles but refuse to acknowledge Jesus as Lord and trust in him as Saviour.

Prayer is also part of a package in another sense. By this I mean the package that is required of Christians, and even in this chapter Paul mentions other items in the package. God will not answer our prayers if we are pursuing disharmony with other Christians, nor will he answer our prayers if we find our sense of fulfilment in pleasures in which he is not involved, nor will he answer our prayers if we resist the work of the Spirit in forming a gentle character within us.

Often people will say during or after a time of anxiety, ‘Well, I tried prayer and it did not work.’ One reason why such prayer is ineffective is that often the person praying refused to recognise that true prayer is part of a package. He may have spent hours praying over a particular concern, yet throughout the same period was out of harmony with another believer or was finding his satisfaction in unhelpful things. It is easy to see why his prayer was not answered.

Paul uses different words here when he describes prayer. The first term is often used to describe prayer in general. Supplication suggests our urgent need of divine pity, an energy of heart that reveals our determination to be heard by God. Thanksgiving indicates the basic Christian attitude of gratitude, that he or she is grateful that they can pray to God in every situation.

Of course, all of this is very practical. Paul is saying that before we pray about a situation we must review the situation and note the actual and potential causes of anxiety. Once we have identified these areas, we are to bring them to God, not in a vague and general manner, but in a clear and specific way. Such prayer changes our perspective: instead of asking myself, ‘How can I possibly cope with this situation?’, I ask God to deal with it.

Not only is Paul’s method very practical, it is also very simple and straightforward. He says, ‘If you are anxious about anything, pray about it immediately. Ask the heavenly Father to help you, whatever the circumstances. And when you have prayed, remember that the issue is now in God’s hands. Have faith and patience, and you will see him deal with the matter about which you were very concerned. But Paul promises more.

The outcome of peace

The benefit that a person who has prayed as part of the heavenly Father’s required package of behaviour from his children will discover that he receives a great blessing from God, the blessing of inner peace.

A believer enjoys more than one kind of peace. He became a believer because he entered into a relationship of peace with God . Prior to his conversion, he was at enmity with God. Yet when he trusted in Jesus he received from God the status of justification, an aspect of which is the permanent, unchanging position of acceptance with God. Reconciliation has been realised between the offended God and the offending sinner. God is no longer angry with him, instead he accepts the sinner as a member of the heavenly family.

In addition, the believer can have the peace of God, that is the peace that comes from God and is experienced by the believer who lives according to the package of which prayer is a part. This sense of peace occurs within the Christian who has brought his fears to God in order for him to deal with them.

This peace does not depend on the removal of the causes of anxiety. It does not come once these causes have been removed permanently. Instead, this peace exists within the believer even if the outward causes increase in intensity. The change is not in the circumstances, but in the inner life of the anxious person. The answer to anxiety is not a change of outward conditions, but a change of inner perspectives.

Dependant prayer shows us the God on whom we can continue to depend. When I was a child, I would ask my father for help. If I had responded to his help by thinking I should not ask him for further help, my father would have been very disappointed. He would assure me that all his resources were at my disposal. If I wanted clothes, he would buy them; if I wanted comfort, he would console me; if I wanted enjoyment, he would take me to where it could be found. My happiness increased the more I depended on him. It is the same with God. Do you know that you are an ungrateful Christian if you imagine that you can perform anything without the enablement of your Saviour? Failure to ask for it is not a sign of maturity or reverence, it is a sign of ingratitude to the God who wants to help you.

This sense of peace comes to us from God through Jesus Christ. He is the agent who gives peace to each of his praying people personally. Paul, in his place of arrest in Rome, could testify that he had received peace there from Christ. If the phrase ‘the Lord is at hand’ refers to the spatial presence of Jesus, then Paul is assuring his readers of the active ministry of Jesus among his people. It is as if Jesus whispers in their ears, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid’ (John 14:27).

What is this peace like? While it is hard to describe because of the poverty of words, here are a few of its features. 

This peace in the heart brings a sense of heavenly calm to hearts that would normally be agitated and fretful. It is a peace that comes from considering God, as is stated by Isaiah: ‘You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you’ (Isa. 40:3). The person who has the peace of God thinks often about God. Further, this peace contains great confidence in God; this is why the person prayed to God in the first place. 

Again, the person who has peace has a comprehensive obedience to God’s commandments: ‘Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea’ (Isa. 48:18). In addition, this peace draws its recipients to meditate on the teaching of the Bible: ‘Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble’ (Ps. 119:65).

Paul says that this peace acts like a sentry on our minds and hearts. His readers, many of whom were former soldiers, would have appreciated this illustration. The peace of God protects the other aspects of our inner lives from sudden attacks by the enemy. When a person has this continuing peace within, then temptations to sin are refused. It is as simple as that.

In his famous allegory of the human heart ( The Holy War ), Bunyan has a beautiful character called Mr. God’s-peace. After Emmanuel had restored the town of Mansoul, he put Mr. God’s-peace in charge of all the inhabitants. In his own graphic way, Bunyan summarises this divinely-given sentry: he ‘ was not a native of it, but came with the Prince Emmanuel from the court’. Bunyan also notes the effects of the presence of peace:  ‘And I made great observation of it, that so long as all things went in Mansoul as this sweet-natured gentleman would, the town was in most happy condition. Now there were no jars, no chiding, no interferings, no unfaithful doings in all the town of Mansoul; every man in Mansoul kept close to his own employment. The gentry, the officers, the soldiers, and all in place observed their order. And as for the women and children of the town, they followed their business joyfully; they would work and sing, work and sing, from morning till night: so that quite through the town of Mansoul now, nothing was to be found but harmony, quietness, joy, and health. And this lasted all that summer.’

But sadly the summer came to an end. The reason was that the inhabitants of the town of Mansoul began slowly to listen to another person called Mr. Carnal Security. Instead of spending time with their Prince, the inhabitants ‘waited not for his counsels, but began to be headstrong and confident in themselves, concluding that now they were strong and invincible, and that Mansoul was secure, and beyond all reach of the foe, and that her state must needs be unalterable for ever.’ The Prince withdrew himself gradually, and also ‘Mr. God's-Peace also laid down his commission, and would for the present act no longer in the town of Mansoul.’ Bunyan is telling us that we put ourselves in great danger when we lose the sense of the peace of God.

This verse of Paul’s says much to us regarding our inner lives. Are we prone to anxiety? His remedy is regular prayer, not because it provides the answers that we may desire (although often God does give them), but because God gives his peace to those who speak to him often. Perhaps we have never experienced this heavenly peace because we are not converted. In that situation, we need to repent of our sins and trust in Jesus for salvation. When we do, we will be at peace with God and experience the peace of God.

Do you have this peace today? Thank God for it, but be careful that you do not lose it by becoming less diligent in the basics of Christian discipleship (thinking about God, reading his Word, obeying his commandments, praying to him). If we are not doing these things, we are under the influence of Mr. Carnal Security, and Mr. God’s-peace is about to leave his residence in our hearts.

If your sense of God’s peace has gone, do not put it down to providence or your natural temperament. Instead, search your hearts to see if you have allowed yourself to become complacent in your Christian life. If you find that you have, return to God immediately in prayer. Because as Spurgeon says, the longer the frost is on our souls, the thicker the ice will be. Go to the Sun for thawing, but if your ice is thicker it will take a lot of prayer to melt it. The sooner you go, the quicker the peace of God will be restored to you.