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.
The Holiday Season is upon us. But in many areas, it will be a lot different. Where tomorrow is usually the day we gather with family and friends, there are many places where this has been banned. Some people will stay at home because they are sick or do not want to be exposed to sickness. And some will do what we usually do: they will eat, some will watch football, eat, nap, enjoy the company of friends and family, eat, and perhaps even play some board or card games.
Most years, some of us may skip out of that early. And the reason some will skip out on it early is so we can go get in a line at Best Buy or Wal-Mart. I doubt the Black Friday rush will be what it was last year. The whole reason for Black Friday, which is more like a weeklong affair now, exists is because that is the day businesses look to turn a profit on their year. Who knows what this year will look like? Shoppers like it because many get the bulk of their Christmas shopping done. And perhaps pick things up for themselves while they are at it. I do not know if you have ever participated in the madness that is Black Friday. I have done it. Once. Now, I am still willing to go out Friday afternoon or Saturday if there is something that I really want or need to pick up. But I am not too interested in sitting in lines, running through stores, and displaying a raw materialistic attitude that so many do just to save money on some item.
People look to Black Friday to provide some salvation or respite to their pocketbooks. They know who they are buying for and what they want, but they also know they cannot really afford everything high on a wish list. They do not have the resources to get these things unless they strike it on Black Friday.
Perhaps this is the reason, or at least a good portion of the reason, that stress and anxiety skyrocket during the holidays. But buying gifts is not the only reason for high stress and anxiety. There may be family issues that you know will show up. Maybe a family member is missing this year for the first time. Maybe you are, or have been, the one missing. If you are the cook, maybe you have put an enormous load on yourself – or even worse, had an enormous load heaved upon you – and can’t see any way of fulfilling what you are committed to.
Whatever the reason is, anxiety tends to run high this time of year. I am sure it is especially true this year. If you walked up to someone on the street a few days before Christmas and asked them what their anxiety level was, they would likely rate it about a seven or an eight. Or maybe an eleven. Yet in our text, Paul writes to us saying, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Even though it is not the Gospel lesson for today, perhaps this brings to mind what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. There he reminds us that birds do not sow or harvest, yet are fed. Lilies do not work, but are clothed in beauty. Animals do not do the work we do, they do not stress or have anxiety over every day matters as we do, but still, they are provided for. Jesus ends the section by saying, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Since being anxious does not get us anything, then what good does it do? Well, it does nothing but stress you out. And, frankly, it shows a lack of fear, love, and trust in your Father in heaven. So, we are invited to go to our Father with everything by prayer and supplication and thanksgiving. We are encouraged to let all our requests be made known to our Father.
I know it is not the greatest comparison, but it is like a child at Christmas time. Especially when they are younger, they will make sure you know every little thing they might want. I remember going through a Sears Catalog, yes, I am that old, and marking pages and circling stuff so my parents knew every detail of my wishes and desires.
I am not saying Paul is writing to the Philippians, and to us, saying that we should do this. He is not teaching what many poor theologians claim today, that God is some sort of heavenly wish fulfiller of whatever you can dream up. But he is telling us that we are free to go to God with every care. Is there a difficult financial situation? Ask God for peace and wisdom. Do you miss a loved one? Tell God that you are having a hard time. Will you be alone for the first time? Remember that Christ was left alone to suffer for you.
While these are common prayers that many have, what about supplication? What about those urgent needs that you earnestly ask, maybe even beg God for? When the doctor comes in and says, “It’s cancer and it’s bad.” When everything is crashing down around you and you do not know where to turn. When there is a knock on the door from the Sheriff’s Department and you are the next of kin. These are the times of supplication. Of raw emotion. Perhaps you are not even able to speak, only able to direct confused thoughts to your Heavenly Father. And as hard as it is to think about it, these are still requests made with thanksgiving. This is because you know that the will of God is good and that it will be done.
Whether you are feeling good or in a difficult place, Paul gives us something that you can hold on to: IN A WORLD WORKED UP AND ANXIOUS ABOUT MANY THINGS, OUR GOD GUARDS OUR HEARTS AND MINDS ON ACCOUNT OF CHRIST. On account of this, anything that is weighing on your heart your Father wants to hear about. He is already there to comfort you. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. We do not understand everything that happens around us. We do not understand the suffering. The pain. The sickness. We do not understand why the innocent are taken into trouble and death. But hear again the promise that is made to us: God’s peace, which is beyond all our feeble understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
This is comfort you can count on. It is like a soldier keeping watch over his platoon in the night. He is there to keep them and protect them from the enemy and all danger. Because there is one keeping watch for the platoon, the rest can sleep. They can rest and recover. This is the promise of God to you. And better than any soldier, God will keep your heart and mind. In the same way, we are freed from dwelling on anxiety. We can focus on the things Paul lists. We are freed to think about what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy.
Paul wrote this letter from a prison in Rome. And yet he can write about not being anxious. He can write about thinking and dwelling on these good things. His prayers and supplications are on behalf of those he has preached the gospel to and earnestly desires to remain in the true faith.
Paul has known what it was like to be a powerful Pharisee and what it is like to be a reviled Christian preacher. He has known a comfortable financial situation and poverty. He has known having plenty and being hungry. And in all of this, even when in prison, he says, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
The reason Paul, and the reason you, can go to God with all your cares, prayers, and supplications; the reason you can know that God will guard your heart and mind; the reason that you can do all things through Christ is that Christ has given up everything on your behalf.
He prayed earnestly in the garden that the cup should pass from him, but even more that the will of God be done. That will was done. Christ knows what it is to have everything. But he gave it all up to be made low and counted as nothing on your behalf. He knows what it is to provide water and he knows what it is to thirst as he hung on the cross. All this he knows and experiences to save you from your sin. From your fear and anxiety. From turning in on yourself and focusing on you. In essence, from you making yourself your god.
Instead, he gives you the freedom to cast your burdens on him. He takes your iniquities and your anxieties and carries them on himself. This is why you are sure your sins are taken away. This is why you can do all things. This is why you take everything to God in prayer. This is why God guards our hearts and minds. He does so because of the work of Jesus Christ.
And this is why, despite all the things going on around us, we give thanks to God. Amen.
Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD
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