Be anxious for nothing.
Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).
I think we have all had our fair share of anxiety over the past months—worries about, health, employment, finances, family, fellowship, and living in a world of increasing uncertainty. How do we cope in such circumstances?
The apostles did not always cope well. Whilst the Lord was with them, they often struggled with His teaching and demonstrated feeble faith. But they were changed when the Lord ascended into heaven, and the Holy Spirit descended to indwell them and be with them. They were no longer afraid or hesitant, but full of victorious and bold faith which conquered adverse circumstances.
Paul illustrates this pattern of life in the final chapter of Philippians, against a background of imprisonment and isolation. Prison is designed to breed fear, uncertainty and overwhelming anxiety. But sometimes our imprisonment is not strong walls, bars and unfeeling guards. Our confinement is within us and created by the worries and fears that surround us.
So how was it that instead of the apostle’s spirit being crushed, he lived in joyous liberty in the most oppressing circumstances? The church in Philippi sprang up, in part, by what God accomplished through the imprisonment of Paul and Silas in Acts 16. Years later, from another prison Paul wrote to them about the life of Christ (1:21), the mind of Christ (2:5), the knowledge of Christ (3:10) and the strength of Christ (4:13). And he did this whilst demonstrating that his sufferings were his opportunities to manifest Christ. Paul and the apostles did not only turn the world upside down, but they also turned their experiences upside down: what should have destroyed them became their victory in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This begins, in verse 1 of chapter 4, with a Christ-filled spirit: “Stand fast in the Lord.” Paul’s faith rested utterly in Christ, and from this base everything was built. Paul had a helpful spirit: “Help these women” (v. 3). He was a problem-solver. It’s not difficult to a find problem, or to cause one. It is far more challenging to find and implement solutions. And we should do this with a joyful spirit: “Rejoice in the Lord” (v. 4). The Philippian epistle is permeated by joy. Prisons were created to inflict despair and hopelessness. Paul overwhelmed the darkness of prison life with his joy in Christ. Recently, I spoke with a sister who is gravely ill. Her joyfulness, thankfulness and peacefulness in the midst of her pain and suffering lit up our conversation.
Prisons are often places where cruelty is inflicted, and people’s humanity is stripped away, but Paul had a gentle spirit: “Let your gentleness be known to all” (v. 5). A prison is also a place where fear, loneliness and isolation abound. But Paul had not forgotten how to turn a dark place into a house of prayer. He had a prayerful spirit: “in everything by prayer” (v. 6). Prayer imparts a peaceful spirit as we experience “the peace of God” and the presence of the “God of peace” (vv. 7, 9). When we are at peace in God’s love, we can reflect upon and encourage spiritual behaviour (vv. 8-9). Prison is a place where there is little comfort. But Paul had a contented spirit (v. 11). He had learned how to abound and how to be abased, and he had a generous spirit appreciating what others did for him: “You shared in my distress”, and he sought their blessing (vv. 14, 19). Finally, Paul had a worshipping spirit: “Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen” (v. 20). The walls and guards that surrounded him could not prevent his spirit soaring into the presence of God.
In all these ways the apostle teaches us how to escape the prison of anxiety by embracing the liberty of our life in Christ.
