The Enemy of Your Peace!

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, ESV).
When Paul coaches us, “Do not be anxious about anything,” it’s easy to react with indignation. “Really, Paul?! Have you looked at my life lately? Don’t be anxious about anything?” Since these are hard words to apply, let’s consider Paul’s advice thoughtfully to see how it bears up when the rubber meets the road.
The core of the word anxiousness is the idea of “a dividing care.” Worry, fear, and anxiety are like troubled sisters. But anxiousness evokes the idea of a dividing care—something that wakes you up at night, a distraction so nagging you can’t fully enter another conversation, a trouble that overshadows all your interactions. A care that divides your mind.
There is no peace in that. When you have peace, things are in their right place—entrusted to God—and no care divides your mind. When Paul tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything,” he is instructing us not to have a dividing care about anything.
We tend to rationalize our anxiety. Well, Paul’s advice applies to most people in most situations, but if Paul considered what I feel anxious about, he would make an exception. Clearly, I should be anxious about my burdens. But are our anxieties really so unique?
We can all agree that anxiety is natural and understandable, but many things are understandable that are not excusable. Because we believe that God’s Word is inspired by the Holy Spirit, we believe that every word is aptly chosen by God—even this nagging word anything. So we must accept that the God who made us wants us to hear, “Do not be anxious about anything.”
The decision to be anxious is the decision to forfeit your peace. It’s the decision to not trust God in your situation.
When we choose to sin, we choose to suffer. When God tells us not to be anxious, He is not trying to rob us of something satisfying; He’s warning us about something self-destructive. Anxiety has nasty, proven side effects: irritability, depression, insomnia, fatigue, migraines, muscle pain, elevated heart rate, high blood pressure, ulcers, weakened immune system, susceptibility to overeat and overwork. The side effects of anxiety seep into every area of our lives: physical, emotional, mental, spiritual. Anxiety is obviously not healthy.
God’s Word doesn’t just give the what-to-do but also the how-to-do-it. How do we banish anxiety? “But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” We start praying. About what? Everything. When God says everything, He means . . . everything. There’s no wiggle room or creative way to parse this word. Pray about everything.
What could fall in the category of everything? Some ready examples:

• money
• children
• relationships
• health issues
• job

Everything envelops the small stuff too. There’s nothing dumb to pray about. Nothing makes the Unimportant Prayer Request List—there is no such thing. You can and should pray about everything.
Don’t be anxious about anything; pray about everything. Out with anxiety—in with prayer.