Anxiety

 Anxiety

Philippians 4:4-9

 

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

 

Anxiety presents itself as if it is unavoidable. It is, in fact, the body’s response to external and internal stimuli of stress and hormones. So, in this way, it is indeed unavoidable. But like other bodily responses to emotions, there are ways in which we can battle anxiety. I must admit that I have not completely conquered anxiety myself. It, like stress, is a part of the human condition. 

I am certain Paul had his experiences with anxiety. He was shipwrecked, run out of town on more than one occasion, and imprisoned multiple times. All of these were certainly cause for anxiety and perhaps even anxiety so severe as to paralyze him. When the Philippians asked him how to go through what they were going through, he tells them to rejoice and to be publicly gentle. Then he tells them not to be anxious! How is this possible considering it is a bodily response? Perhaps it is because he uses what I call replacement therapy. Instead of willing himself not to be anxious, he does something opposite to perhaps what his body wants him to do. Instead of pulling the covers over his head or letting his body be the controller, he prays, engaging in conversations with God. He tells God what is going on because speaking it aloud is a form of release in and of itself. He also adds thanksgiving to the conversation, not for the horrible way he feels or how his body is responding to stress, but for all that God is, all that God has promised, and all that God does. To me, thanksgiving is like laughter. When I start thanking God, I can’t help but feel somehow lighter.

 

Paul offers that when we enter into the spiritual practices of prayer and thanksgiving, peace that is not understandable descends. Then, and this is my favorite part, he tells us to refocus our brains. Think on the things that are both beautiful and true. Focusing just on reality can be devastatingly depressing. Focusing just on beauty can be Pollyannish. But the combination! What is beautiful and what is true. 

 

Permit me to share some things that are both beautiful and true that I focus on in tough times. 

The word of God, Jesus, is alive. (Hebrews 4:12)

The good work God started in me is not completed and will continue (Phil 1:6)

God will never forsake or leave me (Deuteronomy 31:8)

God is with me always (Matt. 28:20)

I live because Jesus lives (John 14:19)

God is with me and is my God (Is. 41:10)

 

Footnote: Some medical conditions require treatments in addition to spiritual practices. God has blessed us with innovations in mental health, including medications and professionals, and we should all avail ourselves of them when needed. Thank God for all. 

 

Healing and Restoration

One of the things I have lately been fascinated with is how Jesus healed people. He used a variety of techniques. Jesus touched, spoke words of forgiveness, healing, and restoration, commanded healing, and was touched.

Equally important to those with infirmities, including mobility, vision, physical ailments, raised from the dead, and possession, was the fact that, now healed, those Jesus encountered were restored. Being healed meant a return to families and communities. It also meant a return to places of worship. You see, having any infirmity was deemed by the religious circles as the same as being unclean. Being unclean often meant you were expelled from your home, your family, your community, and your synagogue. Imagine the ways the tag “unclean” imposed the burdens of rejection and isolation. Leviticus designated some major illnesses as unclean because others could contract them. While the blind and the lame were not considered ritually unclean, a physical disability prevented them from becoming priests or serving in the temple. Human beings are the ones who made these a part of a sinful past, i.e., John 9:2: “His disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered Neither the man nor his parents sinned.

 

The point is this. Jesus came to bring not only life but abundant life (John 10:10). Jesus’ ministry was prophesied by Isaiah 61:1-2 “The Spirit of God, my Lord is upon me because Yahweh my Lord has anointed me to preach good news (the Gospel) to the meek, poor, oppressed; He has sent me to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom and liberty for the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and grace, and the our Yahweh’s Day of Vengeance; to comfort all the mourners (Expanded from the Orthodox Jewish Bible translation).

 

If this is so, then healing must be more than just a physical change. Healing must include psychological and spiritual changes as well. The changes in the healed must also include their return to family, community, and church. Lastly, the changes in the healed are to impact family, community, and church.

 

We have all experienced healing from God via the medical profession, prayer, lifestyle changes, etc. Is it now up to us who have been healed to use that healing to restore our lives in families, communities, and our church so that those places and the people in them experience that healing power as well? Be healed in the powerful name of Jesus. Walk in that healing and offer its benefits wherever you find yourself this week. Amen.

 

Romans 10:10

 Weekly Devotion (August 6, 2026)

 

“Trusting with the heart leads to righteousness and confessing with the mouth leads to salvation.” Romans 10:10

 

Paul talks about two processes by which we show ourselves as disciples. The two processes are trusting and confessing. I call these processes because neither is a one-time thing. Trusting has to be something we do every hour of every day. The Jewish concept of the heart (lev) is that this is the “total control center of human existence—encompassing intellect, choice, conscience, and spiritual life” (Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls).

 

Trusting, then, is an active choice-driven process. As we trust, we build a healthy right relationship (righteousness) with God. Think of it this way. A child holds Dad's or Mom’s hand, and as a result, they are safe. Every time this is the outcome, they trust this will always be the outcome. Every time a meal is available, a hungry person begins to trust that there will always be food available when they are hungry. 

 

Every time we trust God as the redeemer of our souls, we develop trust that our souls are safe in the palm of God’s hand. 

 

According to Paul, believing God redeems us and trusting with our mind and spirit that God redeems us is not enough. We must also engage the body. This is in part because Jesus tells us in Luke 6:45 that it is out of the overflow of the heart (lev) that the mouth speaks. 

 

We all know that sometimes the mouth speaks without prior thought. Things tend to slip out if we do not make it a practice to engage the brain first. Paul reminds us that our choices of speech and the process of speaking thoughtfully lead to salvation. We must recognize that salvation is not “going to heaven.” Salvation refers to being rescued from both the power and the penalty of sin. 

 

This again is a process. I say this because in my life I have seen the changes that occur in me as I live as someone who is saved (rescued) from the power and penalty of sin. This is another seemingly complicated concept. As I live as someone who is trusting, strengthening my relationship with God, my speech changes (what I say and how I say it). This change is because my speech now aligns with my relationship. Now, I must practice speaking in ways that witness to my relationship with God through Jesus. 

 

First, as my speech changes to reflect my new priorities, I am now influenced by that renewing relationship, not by the brokenness formerly represented by sin (sin’s power). Second, I am now freed from the penalty of sin, which is death. Life now abounds unhindered. 

 

Trusting and confessing are the processes by which we become disciples. It is a marriage of inner spirituality and outer actions. Thanks be to God. The Holy Spirit equips and empowers us to do both. Unleash this power in your life today and always. Amen.