“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus,” --Paul The Apostle, Philippians 4: 6-7 (NIV)
Paul’s letter to the Philippians might be summed up in one word—rejoice. He uses the word 8 times in this short letter. What’s noteworthy about his multiple uses is that he wrote the letter while under house arrest in Rome. It might have been in Paul’s mind to model to his readers a hopefulness undeterred by circumstances. Knowing the kind of pressure the Philippians were under, Paul names the inner challenge that is often at the core of our failure to sustain our faith when we’re under pressure—anxiety. Anxiety causes a powerful emotional compulsion within to relieve the pressure, which is why Paul commands them to “not be anxious.” (4.6)
Paul’s command can be confusing, however, because no one stops feeling anxious as an act of will. It’s perfectly reasonable that the Philippians would be feeling anxious because of their knowledge of Paul’s hardship and because of the relational conflict among them (4.2), as well as pressure coming from others who were insisting faith in Christ needed to include circumcision (3.2). Anxiety can disconnect us from our wisdom and make us more apt to lose sight of God’s rule, which leads us to navigating our own way. Paul was alerting them to the need to be aware of their anxiety and its effects. No one escapes the pain and discomfort of anxiety 1 because it’s part of our natural wiring. Anxiety is God’s internal warning system alerting us to take precaution when we sense danger. The action we take is reflexive and usually unconscious. For this reason, our reflexive reactions can bypass our conscious thoughts and convictions. A good deal of the wisdom needed for living life is gained by learning to act on our rational knowledge while resisting our anxious reflexive urges. Psychologists refer to this as the regulating of emotions, but how do we do this?
In their effort to obey the command to “not be anxious”, some Christians think they should somehow be able to stop feeling anxiety. When they find they can’t, then they view themselves as willfully disobedient, which then causes them to believe they are on the “outs” with God. I don’t think Paul’s expectation was that his readers stop feeling anxious. It’s more likely that he wanted them to not be controlled by it. The alternative Paul offered was to “present our requests to God” (4.6), that is, to maintain sight of God’s sovereign care. Paul expressed this confidence in God’s care while under house arrest (1:19). He also described God’s care as the nearness of Jesus’s presence (4:5) and his eventual return (3:20). As we “present our requests to God” in “every situation” (4.6) and as we see God’s faithfulness in response, the awareness of God’s rule gets into us. This facilitates a deepening trust of the sovereign of the universe who is holding all things in his hands and is working all things according to his purposes, which includes our good.
Mark tells the story of how this deepening trust develops. Jesus and his men crossed the Sea of Galilee one night (Mk. 4). The wind picked up so intensely that these seasoned fishermen were afraid for their lives. In spite of the turbulence and high winds, Jesus slept. Incredulous at how he could sleep in such conditions, his disciples woke Jesus. He then rebuked the winds and waves, after which he said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (4:40 NIV)
Jesus’s questions may seem harsh, ill-informed, insensitive and over-spiritualized. His men’s reactions to the storm seem legitimate, normal and human; the storm could have cost them their lives. But none of his men made that point, probably because they were so awestruck by Jesus’s action. Had I been there, I’m sure I would have been awestruck, too.
What did Jesus intend by his chiding questions? Maybe it was something like, "Don’t you know who I am? Don’t you know that I am your ultimate safety and wellbeing? Nothing can happen to you without my permission. Learn to trust me, to rest in me, and over time you’ll be able to navigate life’s storms with a peacefulness of soul similar to mine, a condition of soul that your anxious feelings cannot overrule. It will require retraining your internal, self-protective reflexes. But don’t worry. I know how to do it. Just stay connected to me and know that I am with you, caring for you in even the most distressing circumstances.”
This, and other experiences with Jesus, began to reshape his disciples’ self-protective paradigm better enabling them to see how perfectly safe they were living under God’s rule. Their future experiences with Jesus were further invitations to see his care in action when he healed, multiplied food, and expelled demons. In each case Jesus was demonstrating his God-ness—complete authority and power over human health, material resources, and spiritual beings. The way he valued the low in status—the poor, women, children, sinners and publicans—demonstrated that his care excluded no one.
The peace that passes understanding is something that is developed over time; therefore, we need not feel guilty when we can’t stop feeling anxious. We do need, however, to recognize the need for retraining our anxious souls. Jesus is on the job, but our part in the training is to turn our focus away from self-protection, to trust him for his faithful care, and to rejoice in his reigning goodness.
Next time I’ll continue my thoughts in Part Two of Peace That Passes Understanding.
1 The intent of this writing is to discuss chronic anxiety, that kind that all humans experience when challenged beyond our confident expectation to be able to overcome pressure. Acute anxiety is a clinical condition that should be treated with therapeutic support. Consider this article that distinguishes the two: http://www.addictiontherapistnj.com/chronic-acute-anxiety-tell-difference-signs-symptoms/