“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” (Phil. 4:6-7)
I don’t know about you, but verses like this can make me anxious! It can feel like an impossible standard—if I don’t have peace then I must be failing miserably. However, it is helpful to remember this is not so much a command to be obeyed but an invitation to talk to our heavenly Father (and other faithful believers) about the things that cause us stress.
It just occurred to me recently that when we arrive at the new earth, there will no longer be any fear or anxiety. We won’t worry about the things we need for daily life, that’s obvious. But we also won’t worry about what other people think about us or how they might treat us. We will feel safe being fully known and fully loved. That boggles my mind! I can spend far too much energy thinking about what I should or shouldn’t say in any particular setting. We’ve all experienced rejection or distancing from others who don’t like our opinions, don’t understand how to relate to us, or simply don’t want to be bothered. While we’d like to think the church is a safe place, it doesn’t always turn out that way because we are all sinful and broken people. So then to not worry about any of that will be a wonderful blessing.
There are plenty of things that cause us anxiety in this life, and I can attest how hard it is to turn off those thoughts. And yet the truth is that the vast majority of the things we worry about never come to pass, so we’ve been anxious for nothing! That was brought vividly to my attention this week. I had an important meeting that I’d put on the wrong date on my calendar. I thought it was next week. So, after sleeping well Wednesday night, I was a bit surprised to realize my meeting was on Thursday. If my calendar had been correct, I know I would not have slept much due to anxious thoughts running through my head. (As it was, I lost sleep after the meeting from being keyed up all day.)
What can we do to short-circuit those spiraling thoughts? The next verse in Philippians gives us a good place to start:
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worth of praise, think about these things” (v. 8).
I heard someone point out that all those traits can be applied to Jesus, so thinking about Him and talking to Him is ideal. I’ll be the first to admit I’m not very good at redirecting my thoughts to beneficial things, especially during the night. I’m more likely to try to distract myself with a podcast or audio book. It’s probably more beneficial on the nights that I rehearse Scriptures I’ve memorized. If that doesn’t help me go to sleep, at least I’ve thought about true and good things.
Anxiety is not something we’ll fully overcome in this lifetime, though we can make progress one small step at a time. I know I’m not as anxious as I was even a few years ago, but I’ve got a long way to go. When Jesus spoke about anxiety in the Sermon on the Mount, I’m certain He didn’t do so with a rebuking tone. Instead, He was compassionate and reassuring as He reminded the people “Relax, God’s got this.” May we all learn to rest in His presence and provision.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life… Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? … But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? … Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matt. 6:25-26,30, 34).
© 2026 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.
