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This devotion pairs with this weekend’s Lutheran Hour sermon, which can be found at lhm.org.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)
How do you react to a warning light on your car? Do you immediately start picturing yourself stranded on the interstate in a thunderstorm? Do your palms start to sweat because you feel like you’re driving a 2,000-pound ticking-time-bomb? Or, do you assume that it’s probably not a big deal? It’s most likely a false indication, anyway, so there’s nothing to worry about. It’s part of the providence of God that if you have multiple people sharing a car, usually you balance each other out on this question. One of you wants the warning light fixed yesterday. The other is content to stick a yellow smiley face over it. And together, you eventually get it to a mechanic who can tell you what you actually need.
Today we hear one of the many places in which the Bible tells us not to worry. “Don’t be anxious” (see Matthew 6:25, 6:31, 10:19; Luke 12:11; Isaiah 35:4). But what is it, to be anxious? Anxiety is fear projected into the future. Fear is an unsettling response to some current threat (real or perceived). But anxiety is fear of an anticipated threat. The bad thing hasn’t happened, but it could happen, in the future. Anxiety is like a warning light. Your engine isn’t currently seizing, but it could happen. The light tells you that it’s possible that something bad will happen in the future, so you should find out what you can do about it now. Or, it’s also possible that the light is a false indication, and what the system needs is to be reset, and the codes cleared out. But, probably don’t put a sticker over it, okay?
In a fallen world, in a world full of real threats, anxiety is a fact of life. The same Paul, who told us, “don’t’ be anxious,” admits that he himself feels anxiety “for all the churches. See 2 Corinthians 11:28 and Philippians 2:28). Even Jesus, according to His fully human nature, had to journey through extreme mental and spiritual anguish when He anticipated the threat of the cross (see Mark 14:33-36; John 12:27). So, if the Son of God and His holy apostle were both intimate with anxiety, you don’t need to beat yourself up over the fact you’re worried about some stuff. When the Bible says, “cast all your anxieties” on God “because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7), it assumes that you are generally going to have something to cast.
In the right context, anxiety can be good, when it functions as a warning. It’s a creaturely response that helps keep you safe—to warn you to “look before you leap” (or to check your oil before you drive). But anxiety does you no true good until it prompts you to take it all to the Lord in prayer. As Paul tells us and Jesus shows us, anxiety is part of this mortal life. But God doesn’t want us to stay there. He wants to journey with us, through it. When Jesus says, “don’t be anxious,” it’s an invitation to go forward with the all-powerful Creator God whom we get to call “Father,” who cares even for little birds (see Luke 12:6, 24). You can go forward in confidence with the One who deflected your greatest threat—eternal separation from God—because He promises to bring you safely home. You don’t have to worry because Jesus says you’re more valuable than birds and cars—worth dying for. And even better than a mechanic—your Father knows exactly what you need (see Luke 12:30).
WE PRAY: Dear Father, once again, I cast all my anxieties on You. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler, Speaker for The Lutheran Hour.
Reflection Questions:
- What potential future threats are the sources of your anxiety?
- Have you ever been “stalled out,” stranded, or immobilized by anxiety?
- Which promises from God help you keep going forward?
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