What If?
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7)
The television commercial starts with a father and son sitting outside their home at night in front of a tent. It looks like a wonderful father-son campout, close to home. The son uses the time alone with his dad to ask several leading questions: “Dad, what if a fire burns down our house?” Dad responds, “We’ll build another one.” The son goes on, “But dad, what if a tornado blows our house down?” Dad, replies, “Son we’ll just build another one.” The persistent son still isn’t satisfied, “But dad, what if our house gets hit by an asteroid?” Dad responds with assuring confidence, “Son, we’ll still be able to build another one.” There’s a long pause as the son silently contemplates his dad’s wisdom. Then the son asks, “But dad, what if the asteroid hits you?” The camera pans in on the father’s face as he sits there quietly stunned because this time he doesn’t have an answer. Fortunately for us though an announcer breaks in and provides the answer we are all longing to hear: “If you purchase a life insurance policy from our company, we’ll take care of your family - even if an asteroid takes you out.”
Now I don’t know about you, but as I calculate the odds of being hit and killed by an asteroid it doesn’t actually motivate me to immediately pick up the phone to contact my insurance agent to purchase “interstellar meteorite coverage.” I’m willing to live with the risk factor involved with not having that kind of protection. As silly as the concept of asteroid coverage may be, the commercial does highlight the age old struggle we all have with two little words; “what if?” What will happen if? What if I lose my home? What if I lose my job? What if I lose my health? What if I lose my spouse, my child? What if…if…if…. It’s just two little words – but they have the power to fill our hearts with overwhelming anxiety. What’s the cure when our minds are filled with worry over the ‘what ifs’ in our life?
1. Stay focused! “The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing…” In classical Greek the word anxiety (merimna) means ‘to be occupied with’ something. In a letter a wife writes to her absent husband she uses the word in this sentence when she writes: “I cannot even sleep, because night and day my one worry (merimna) is your safety.” She was saying, “I’m so distracted with this one thought I can’t even get a good night’s sleep.” That’s the idea behind the word anxiety. It’s an overwhelming distraction. Focusing on the never ending stream of distractions the “what ifs” present in our life, can easily overwhelm our every waking moment.
The answer to anxiety is to stay focused on something more powerful than the distractions which overpower us. What is more powerful than every ‘what if’ you face? The joy we find in our relationship with Jesus! Stay focused on the joy that Jesus brings to you. Paul says, “Regardless of the potential disaster you may be facing, remember – the Lord is near.” Focus on His nearness. That one single thought is more powerful than the potential disaster that looms behind every ‘what if’ you face. When you stay focused on the nearness of the Lord, the power of ‘what if” evaporates into thin air.
2. Pray about it! “…but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” Talk to God about your ‘what ifs.” Ask for His intervention in it and be grateful in the midst of it all. Worry or anxiety tries to distract and control us. In prayer we leave the control in God’s powerful hands. Prayer brings a force to our anxious state that neutralizes the power of the anxiety and brings God’s impact into play.
Have you heard about the new technology that has developed headphones that emit what is called ‘anti-noise?’ Noise is a pressure wave traveling through air. Anti-noise is the mirror image of that wave. When noise and anti-noise collide, they cancel out one another. The result: silence. Airport baggage handlers wear these headphones to deal with the noise of jets and other aircraft. Now when we have anxiety we need the mirror image of that wave in our lives. The mirror image of anxiety is found in prayer. It is talking with God about it, seeking His wisdom and insight and intervention and ending with gratitude. When those two collide the result is peace!
3. Let God’s peace guard your heart! “…and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” The result of focusing on God and talking to him about our anxieties is a peace that guards our hearts through our Savior. The word ‘guard’ is a military word meaning ‘to stand sentinel.’ Now the fascinating thing about this picture is what Paul is experiencing as he writes it. He is dealing with his own anxiety. He is under house-arrest in Rome awaiting a trial that will determine the outcome of his situation and life. Beside him is a Roman Sentinel. But Paul writes and says, ‘the true sentinel of my heart is the peace of God in Christ. He stands guard over me.’
Don’t spend a moment of the day worrying about some great problem that might drop out of the sky and fall upon you. Stay focused on the joy you can only find in Jesus, bring your petition to His Throne of Grace and let the peace of God that passes all understanding flood your soul all over again.
Live the victorious life,
PT
The television commercial starts with a father and son sitting outside their home at night in front of a tent. It looks like a wonderful father-son campout, close to home. The son uses the time alone with his dad to ask several leading questions: “Dad, what if a fire burns down our house?” Dad responds, “We’ll build another one.” The son goes on, “But dad, what if a tornado blows our house down?” Dad, replies, “Son we’ll just build another one.” The persistent son still isn’t satisfied, “But dad, what if our house gets hit by an asteroid?” Dad responds with assuring confidence, “Son, we’ll still be able to build another one.” There’s a long pause as the son silently contemplates his dad’s wisdom. Then the son asks, “But dad, what if the asteroid hits you?” The camera pans in on the father’s face as he sits there quietly stunned because this time he doesn’t have an answer. Fortunately for us though an announcer breaks in and provides the answer we are all longing to hear: “If you purchase a life insurance policy from our company, we’ll take care of your family - even if an asteroid takes you out.”
Now I don’t know about you, but as I calculate the odds of being hit and killed by an asteroid it doesn’t actually motivate me to immediately pick up the phone to contact my insurance agent to purchase “interstellar meteorite coverage.” I’m willing to live with the risk factor involved with not having that kind of protection. As silly as the concept of asteroid coverage may be, the commercial does highlight the age old struggle we all have with two little words; “what if?” What will happen if? What if I lose my home? What if I lose my job? What if I lose my health? What if I lose my spouse, my child? What if…if…if…. It’s just two little words – but they have the power to fill our hearts with overwhelming anxiety. What’s the cure when our minds are filled with worry over the ‘what ifs’ in our life?
1. Stay focused! “The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing…” In classical Greek the word anxiety (merimna) means ‘to be occupied with’ something. In a letter a wife writes to her absent husband she uses the word in this sentence when she writes: “I cannot even sleep, because night and day my one worry (merimna) is your safety.” She was saying, “I’m so distracted with this one thought I can’t even get a good night’s sleep.” That’s the idea behind the word anxiety. It’s an overwhelming distraction. Focusing on the never ending stream of distractions the “what ifs” present in our life, can easily overwhelm our every waking moment.
The answer to anxiety is to stay focused on something more powerful than the distractions which overpower us. What is more powerful than every ‘what if’ you face? The joy we find in our relationship with Jesus! Stay focused on the joy that Jesus brings to you. Paul says, “Regardless of the potential disaster you may be facing, remember – the Lord is near.” Focus on His nearness. That one single thought is more powerful than the potential disaster that looms behind every ‘what if’ you face. When you stay focused on the nearness of the Lord, the power of ‘what if” evaporates into thin air.
2. Pray about it! “…but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” Talk to God about your ‘what ifs.” Ask for His intervention in it and be grateful in the midst of it all. Worry or anxiety tries to distract and control us. In prayer we leave the control in God’s powerful hands. Prayer brings a force to our anxious state that neutralizes the power of the anxiety and brings God’s impact into play.
Have you heard about the new technology that has developed headphones that emit what is called ‘anti-noise?’ Noise is a pressure wave traveling through air. Anti-noise is the mirror image of that wave. When noise and anti-noise collide, they cancel out one another. The result: silence. Airport baggage handlers wear these headphones to deal with the noise of jets and other aircraft. Now when we have anxiety we need the mirror image of that wave in our lives. The mirror image of anxiety is found in prayer. It is talking with God about it, seeking His wisdom and insight and intervention and ending with gratitude. When those two collide the result is peace!
3. Let God’s peace guard your heart! “…and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” The result of focusing on God and talking to him about our anxieties is a peace that guards our hearts through our Savior. The word ‘guard’ is a military word meaning ‘to stand sentinel.’ Now the fascinating thing about this picture is what Paul is experiencing as he writes it. He is dealing with his own anxiety. He is under house-arrest in Rome awaiting a trial that will determine the outcome of his situation and life. Beside him is a Roman Sentinel. But Paul writes and says, ‘the true sentinel of my heart is the peace of God in Christ. He stands guard over me.’
Don’t spend a moment of the day worrying about some great problem that might drop out of the sky and fall upon you. Stay focused on the joy you can only find in Jesus, bring your petition to His Throne of Grace and let the peace of God that passes all understanding flood your soul all over again.
Live the victorious life,
PT
posted by Larry | 1:27 PM
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