Advent Peace for the Anxious Heart
My grandmother was a strong woman of God. I didn’t realize it when I was younger, but when I reflect on the memories I have of her, I can see countless evidences of her faith. My favorite is a recipe box of hers that was passed down to me. She had 1 Corinthians 10:31 handwritten on each typed out recipe, reminding her to set her heart on Jesus in everything she did.
She was also a notorious note writer. She would send cards on all occasions that would boast of our joys in Christ and turn any celebration back to him. Even in her last days, when the notes she wrote became harder to read and decipher, she continued to write, hoping and praying these would still be an encouragement to those who received them. As a kid, I certainly took this for granted. As an adult, I can see just how precious this practice was.
There was one card she sent me that I will always remember. I don’t remember the occasion, but I do remember the words it held. It was the first time I had been introduced to the beloved passage found in Philippians:
“do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
However, the reason I remember this card is because my 8 year old heart read it wrong. I read the first part “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything” and stopped reading. I was so confused. Why was Grandma telling me to be anxious about everything? Better yet, why was God saying we should be anxious about everything?
I laugh about it now and the memory comes back every time I read the verse.
But even though I can see the error of my childlike understanding, I have certainly lived out that faulty line of thinking. There have been entire seasons of my life where I have been anxious about everything. There was your run of the mill anxiety about money and jobs and relationships. There was the season of postpartum irrational anxiety where a single thought based entirely on heightened hormones could cripple me. Even now there is a nagging mom guilt that tries to weasel anxiety into my thoughts as I fall asleep.
Through it all, these verses in Philippians have become a soothing balm in my fight against it. And let me tell you, it is a fight. Not a battle I’ve overcome, but a war I enter on a daily basis. So in what I’m about to say, please keep in mind that this is not an issue I am removed from but one that I face constantly.
The peace that was brought into the world through the birth of our Savior carries a deep and powerful promise with it. Because our souls have peace with God, we don’t need to be anxious about anything. As Scripture says, this peace can guard our minds and our hearts against our anxious thoughts. THIS IS INCREDIBLE NEWS! And I’m preaching it to myself. Because my soul has peace with God, the fears, worries, and anxieties that I have hold no power.
Is that even possible? Considering the world we live in? Considering all the very real things there are to worry about?
Yes. It is. Let’s consider something else for a moment:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” Hebrews 12:1-3 (emphasis added)
The weight of anxiety can cling so closely. There have been so many times in my life where it has felt suffocating. Like my anxious thoughts were actually sitting on top of my chest, stealing my breath. But - and stay with me - because of the power of the gospel, because of the promise fulfilled in Bethlehem, because of the work done on the cross, because believers have peace with God, we can, by the grace of God, lay aside this weight and run with endurance the race set before us. Consider Jesus, who endured the death we were meant to die so that we would have this incredible, unbreakable peace. Let this glorious truth - this eternal reality - give strength to your fight that you may not grow weary.
In a world where a thousand fears and worries clamor for our heart’s attention, consider Jesus. Set your minds and hearts on him. Though the battle is not easy to fight, we are not left alone. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts today and always.
