Do Not Be Anxious About Anything

This was written as part of the Philippians bible study at Do Not Depart and posted there on July 22, 2011. I encourage you to check out this wonderful site for encouragement and tools for your quiet time, scripture memorization, and much more.

Ever since I was a child I have wondered what it would be like to be a bird, soaring high above the earth. I’ve dreamed of the remarkable view of God’s world I would have, of the freedom to fly at will and unhindered.

But not long ago, I remembered my fear of heights. I was sitting on a mountain top watching a bird flying over a canyon, periodically diving for bugs, and as I imagined myself looking down from the bird’s vantage point, I had that sudden lurch of fear that I get when I peer over railings. For the first time in my life the idea of soaring like a bird sounded unpleasant.

Worry. Fear. Anxiety.

Most of us have struggled with these peace-crushing emotions at one time or another. For some, anxiety is an ongoing, life-sucking burden.

I have grappled with anxiety and fear throughout my life. Even now I find it lurking around the corners at times, waiting to trap me emotionally.

As I have spent time in Philippians 4:1-9 this week, I have been overwhelmed by the richness of the passage.  Philippians 4:8 alone is worthy of its own book… a veritable treatise on the thought life.

But my eye and heart keep being drawn back to Philippians 4:6-7…

 … 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.

God’s word is clear. There is nothing, nothing, about which I need be anxious. Do not be anxious about anything.

Instead, in everything (no exceptions!) I am to turn to God in prayer. With a thankful heart, I must offer all my requests and worries to Him. The remarkable promised result is Gods’ peace… the very opposite of anxiety. When I offer every bit of worry and fear to God, I am living the truth that I can trust Him to always have my best interests at heart.

God’s peace is not just a gift for my heart, it is also for my mind. His peace guards my heart and mind. God desires to protect and soothe not only my emotions, but also my thoughts. This is a supernatural peace, found only in Christ Jesus, and not dependent on circumstance.

God created each of us for a unique purpose in His world. Just as He created that soaring, diving bird I watched over the canyon. The bird had no fear, because it was equipped for the very thing it was doing. It was not afraid to fall, because God had given it wings and the knowledge to use them to preserve its life.

Like the bird, I have been equipped, and so have you. The bird was given wings that not only helped it soar to higher heights, but also brought it safely to the ground. You and I have been gifted prayer not only to lift us up, but also to guard and guide us to a safe landing, in peace, through Jesus Christ.


Photos by Carol Carpenter

Philippians :: Week 2 :: God’s Purpose in Paul’s Imprisonment

I am sharing my thoughts on Philippians 1:12-18 at Do Not Depart today...

 

I am thrilled that Katie and Lara chose Philippians for this summer’s Maximize Your Mornings bible study, and I am privileged to be able to share a few thoughts with you here.

It seems to be my year for Philippians. I started meditating and journaling on Philippians in May of 2010. In August, my children and I decided to memorize Philippians. In September our church began a study of Philippians. And now, a year later, I am still reading this little book, and still discovering new gems!

How true it is that…

…the Word of God is living and active…
~ Hebrews 4:12 ~

God’s Word meets us where we are and reveals fresh truths to us every time!

... please join us at Do Not Depart to read more...

Be perfect... really?

I wish I could call myself a "recovering perfectionist." Then it would seem as if I had figured it out, figured out how to let go of being so cautious and so focused on doing the "right" thing.

But I haven't figured it out. I have a constant tension between diving deep into the freedom of Christ and completely distrusting my own ability to walk the narrow path... even to fully grasp the boundaries of the narrow path.

For years I struggled with the verse in Matthew in which Jesus says

...you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. 
~ Matthew 5:48 ~

But isn't this completely impossible if this is also true?...

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God 
~ Romans 3:23 ~

The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
      To see if there are any who understand,
      Who seek after God. 
They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
      There is no one who does good, not even one. 
~ Psalm 14:2-3 ~

Eventually I decided that Jesus had to have been stating the goal. We all have to work toward something, right? Why not set the goal to be like Jesus, like our Father... perfect?

Well, sort of.

While I still believe that perfection is the goal - God's goal - the flaw in my reasoning was the work part.  I had in my mind that it was me who had to strive for perfection.  And that if I failed I was a failure.

Obviously failure was a given.

I bumped into that pesky word "perfect" again recently as I was studying Philippians 1. I am currently mostly reading from the New American Standard, in which Philippians 1:6 is translated...

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. 
~ Philippians 1:6 ~

Unlike in the verse from Matthew, in this verse perfect is a verb, not an adjective.

I have a bit of an obsession with words, and I recalled that in the New International Version it is translated as "complete," so I dashed to the shelf, grabbed a few more versions and a few concordances, and dug in.

The Greek word translated as perfect is epiteleo. It means to fulfill further, to execute, accomplish, finish, do, perform. It also shows up in these verses from the NAS (I've noted epiteleo in bold):

But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. 
~ 2 Corinthians 8:11 ~

Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain. 
~ Romans 15:28 ~

So I don't have to exactly be perfect, as in perfect now, I just have to let Him perfect me, finish me, complete me. Because

...He who began a good work in you will perfect it...
~ Philippians 1:6 ~ 

I can rest in the truth that it is God who perfects me, not me. Not only that, but He is the one who began it and His completion is yet to come.

But I still can't avoid the fact that Jesus did say

...you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. 
~ Matthew 5:48 ~

That sure sounds like a command. Like I am supposed to do something.

I went back to my concordance to look up the Greek word in Matthew that is translated as perfect.  This time the word is teleios, which means... (drum roll please)... complete.  Finished.

Be complete.

It should be pretty obvious that I can't complete myself. The only way to be complete is to be in absolute communion with our Holy God.  The only way to be finished is to become the real me, the one God meant for me to be before the beginning of time.

And the only way to be the real me is to lose myself in Him.

It's just this: my idea of perfection has been based on flawed reasoning. It is based on worldly things, some maybe not completely worldly, but absolutely colored by my I'm-so-stuck-in-this-body glasses. My warped idea of perfection includes me never ever doing the wrong thing, never letting anyone down, always behaving in a loving and gentle manner. And being thoroughly, exhaustingly careful to ensure it.

But it seems like God's idea of perfection is being made whole, complete, finished. I'm just not seeing anything that says "Work yourself into a frenzy to make sure you don't do one single thing wrong."

As far as I can tell, the only way to obey Jesus' admonition to "be perfect" is to be with Him. Because that's the only way I will get anywhere near being the real me, being completed and finished. I've come to realize that I don't even really know the real me because the more I let Him into my life, the more I am surprised by what changes.

What I can't escape is this:

1. It's not about what I can do to be a better person, but about what God will do if I let Him
2. It is a process and it is not going to be finished until the day of Christ Jesus

What then?

Time to stop striving so hard. Time to remember to constantly dwell in His presence. Time to rest and be still.

Perfection, completion... it is only possible in Him.



photo by Patti Brown

I'm linking up with my friend Michelle  this week...

Patti Memorizes Scripture... or You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

The children and I have been slowly memorizing the book of Philippians. A few months into the project, I met Katie Orr, who was starting a twitter-based group called "Hiding Philippians in My Heart." I joined the group, hoping I might glean some new ideas for keeping those verses in my head, because I was struggling!

I did learn some new tips, but I continued to memorize at a pretty slow pace. Katie suggested that we vlog our progress. It was February before I felt confident enough with the first chapter to try!

At long last I have sorted out all the technical details of getting that vlog from February posted here.  It was recorded while I was at a Mom Heart conference in Irving, TX. Right before I was planning to vlog I attended a session in which Sally Clarkson shared a scripture that was so fitting because, well, take a look for yourself (and, extend grace please?)...

More amazing grace

Well, my friends, you are wonderful.  You have been praying for me.  There's no doubt in my mind.

This morning I had no trouble remembering today's new verse.  Easy peasy.  Amazing.

It was one of those mad-dash homeschooling days with a four hour theater rehearsal plunked smack dab in the middle.  It was the kind of day when I usually feel flustered and slightly overwhelmed and I forget something important and I'm late.  The kind of day when I am not exactly sweet and patient at all times.

Our girl got all her school work done before we left, and we got to the rehearsal on time.  And I didn't have to put on my grumpy Mama voice.  Amazing.

While passing the time waiting for her rehearsal to finish, we went to the library, did some shopping, went to the park... and all the while I had a song running through my head.  Except the song had no tune.  Just words...

... for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the spirit of Jesus Christ...

Where there had been a constant distracting fuzziness of how will I remember all these things I need to do and think and write there was now a steady press of... 

...according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will, even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death...

And more.  Verse after verse after verse.  Words that I had struggled so very hard to find, were now flowing through my mind like a river.  I marveled at this.  I am still marveling.  Marveling at your prayers and the provision of the spirit of Jesus Christ.  Amazing.

.... I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all... 

Never would I have imagined some of these verses being able to apply so specifically to my situation.

Amazing.

Thank you, friends.  And thank you Lord.

Did you figure out that the verses were Philippians 1:3-4, Philippians 1:19, and Philippians 1:20 ? 
photo by xandert

My memory failing... yet still, grace

forget-me-nots by Dean Jenkins

I don't really know what is going on, but I am struggling with my memory lately.  It is incredibly frustrating.

When I was a child, I never read books more than once because I found it boring to reread a book I had already absorbed in great detail.  One time through and I was done.  For my entire childhood.

When my parents couldn't remember something... a name, a date, an event... they would ask me.

I did well in school without too much studying because I could remember most everything after hearing it once.

I leaned hard on my memory, and it served me well.

Now I am in my forties.  In the past few years my memory has begun to fail.  I am off balance.

Last spring I had a few small parts in a children's play with my daughter.  She memorized 144 lines in about two weeks.  I had 10-ish lines; it took me two months.

I have been trying to memorize the book of Philippians (for more about that and to join an online community, click on the button in the sidebar), and since December have only been able to add a few new verses.

Today I write for two reasons.

The first is to share an incredible grace... several people have been praying for me to be able to persevere in memorizing Philippians (thank you sweet new friends), and today I saw the fruit of their prayers!  For the first time since December, I was able to make it all the way through the verses I've been memorizing, without getting completely lost and drawing a blank.  And this despite the fact that I had that persistent fuzzy feeling in my head (plus headache), and sometimes felt like it was my mouth remembering, not my brain.

The second is to ask for ideas... what might help me with this memory problem?  I don't so much mean techniques for memorization, although I'll be grateful for those as well.  But my mind... could this be hormones?  I would love to glean from your wisdom and experience! 

It won't surprise you now to learn that I forgot to continue adding to my gratitude list here on Mondays.  But now that I have remembered...  I am ever so grateful for...

41 ~ sisters in Christ who pray without being asked

42 ~ patient children who encourage and applaud as I stumble over words

43 ~ my Lord who is strong when I am weak

44 ~ Advil  :-)

45 ~ helpful ideas that are sure to come

46 ~ my little boy's loving hands stroking my hair as I strive to remember

47 ~ his small whisper of a word or two when I pause

48 ~ the deep grooves in my brain where God is carving His Word

49 ~ sweet tears of rejoicing when I realized the gift I had been given this morning

50 ~ bibles all over the house to lean on when I forget

linking up with Multitudes on Mondays...

If you have experienced memory lapses I would be ever so grateful if you would share what has helped you.  Thank you!