Anxious for Nothing

The widest river in the world is not the Mississippi, Amazon, or Nile. The widest river on earth is a body of water called If Only.

Throngs of people stand on its banks and cast longing eyes over the waters. They desire to cross but can’t seem to find the ferry. They are convinced the If Only river separates them from the good life.

If only I were thinner, I’d have the good life.

If only I were richer, I’d have the good life.

If only the kids would come. If only the kids were gone. If only I could leave home, move home, get married, get divorced.

If only my skin were clear of pimples, my calendar free of people, my profession immune to layoffs, then I would have the good life.

The If Only river.

Anxiety and fear are cousins but not twins. Fear sees a threat. Anxiety imagines one.

God doesn’t delay. He never places you on hold or tells you to call again later. God loves the sound of your voice. Always. He doesn’t hide when you call. He hears your prayers.

For that reason “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6)

Find a promise that fits your problem, and build your prayer around it

The good life begins, not when circumstances change, but when our attitude toward them does.

Your future matters more than your past. God’s grace is greater than your sin. What you did was not good. But your God is good. And he will forgive you. He is ready to write a new chapter in your life. Say with Paul, “Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us” (Phil. 3:13–14 TLB).

Behind the frantic expressions on the faces of humanity is unresolved regret.

“We won’t face anything that I can’t handle. You might as well trust me to fly the plane.”

The mind cannot at the same time be full of God and full of fear.

The mind cannot at the same time be full of God and full of fear. “He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord!” (Isa. 26:3 TLB). Are you troubled, restless, sleepless? Then rejoice in the Lord’s sovereignty. I dare you—I double-dog dare you—to expose your worries to an hour of worship. Your concerns will melt like ice on a July sidewalk.