WEBVTT 00:00:00.020 --> 00:00:04.960 There are verses we run to in an emergency, and then there are verses that stand there, 00:00:05.340 --> 00:00:10.780 waiting, long before the crisis shows up. They're like a lighthouse on a shoreline. 00:00:11.260 --> 00:00:15.840 The storm may not be here yet, but the light is already sweeping across the water, 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:19.680 steady and patient, ready for the night you need it. 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:36.960 Welcome to Verses We Missed. I'm your host, your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. 00:00:37.880 --> 00:00:41.420 Every week we slow down and spend time with the quieter parts of Scripture 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:44.460 or with familiar verses that deserve a fresh look. 00:00:45.430 --> 00:00:49.440 The goal is simple, to help you see the Bible with clearer eyes. 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:53.500 and to give you what I like to call a midweek breath of Scripture and grace. 00:00:54.600 --> 00:00:58.300 Today we're not only looking at Philippians 4, verses 6 and 7, 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:00.660 we're going to linger with them for a while. 00:01:01.640 --> 00:01:06.300 This two-verse section of Scripture is one of those lighthouses I alluded to a moment ago. 00:01:07.240 --> 00:01:11.400 The storm may not be here yet, but the light is already sweeping across the water, 00:01:11.960 --> 00:01:14.760 steady and patient, ready for the night you need it. 00:01:15.960 --> 00:01:22.700 You may have Philippians 4, 6, and 7 on a mug or on a card someone gave you when you were in a hard season. 00:01:23.820 --> 00:01:25.620 You may have quoted it to someone else. 00:01:26.300 --> 00:01:30.540 You may have heard it so many times that your eyes slide right past it. 00:01:31.020 --> 00:01:34.760 But if you have ever lain awake at 2 in the morning with your mind racing, 00:01:35.300 --> 00:01:37.600 or stared at your phone dreading a call, 00:01:38.020 --> 00:01:42.020 or sat in a waiting room replaying every what-if you can imagine, 00:01:42.580 --> 00:01:43.940 this verse is for you. 00:01:44.500 --> 00:01:50.900 Let us listen to it slowly. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:57.600 supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, 00:01:57.960 --> 00:02:04.080 which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 00:02:05.080 --> 00:02:11.639 Okay, so let's set the scene. Before we talk about anxiety and peace, we have to remember who 00:02:11.660 --> 00:02:18.800 is writing these words and where he is. The Apostle Paul is not on vacation when he says, 00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:27.920 do not be anxious about anything. He is in chains. He is under guard. He does not know how this trial 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:35.620 will end. Philippians is one of the prison letters. Paul is writing to believers in Philippi while he 00:02:35.700 --> 00:02:41.059 is confined and waiting on a Roman legal system that is not exactly known for being fair to 00:02:41.080 --> 00:02:46.200 Christians. If I were in that situation, I might write a letter that sounds more like, 00:02:47.040 --> 00:02:51.440 pray that I get out of here. This is miserable. I'm worried about what will happen next. 00:02:52.720 --> 00:02:58.160 Instead, we get a letter that overflows with joy, and right in the middle of it, 00:02:58.530 --> 00:03:04.880 we get this call, do not be anxious. Well, that alone tells us something important. 00:03:05.780 --> 00:03:10.140 Whatever Paul means here, it cannot be a shallow, cheer up, things are fine. 00:03:11.420 --> 00:03:14.400 Things were not fine, but Jesus was present. 00:03:15.540 --> 00:03:16.500 So, how's this? 00:03:16.900 --> 00:03:19.860 In his letter, Paul tells us something that sounds impossible. 00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:22.260 Do not be anxious about anything. 00:03:23.440 --> 00:03:24.140 Let's be honest. 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:26.940 If that's all we hear, it can feel cruel. 00:03:27.780 --> 00:03:29.660 Maybe you've heard words used that way. 00:03:30.180 --> 00:03:32.240 You share something heavy and someone says, 00:03:32.860 --> 00:03:34.680 The Bible says, Do not be anxious. 00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:39.820 And you walk away feeling not only anxious, but guilty for being anxious. 00:03:41.420 --> 00:03:47.720 So let's clear this up. Paul is not telling you to stop feeling human. He is not telling you to 00:03:48.060 --> 00:03:54.460 shut off your nervous system. He is not saying that real faith never has sweaty palms or a tight 00:03:54.720 --> 00:04:03.820 chest or racing thoughts. What he is doing is turning anxiety into a doorway. Do not be anxious 00:04:04.120 --> 00:04:10.000 about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests 00:04:10.020 --> 00:04:16.359 known to God. In other words, when anxiety arrives, do not keep it as a permanent guest. 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:22.540 Let it be the thing that drives you again and again into conversation with your Father. 00:04:23.260 --> 00:04:31.840 Anxiety is the signal. Prayer is the response. Well, what kind of prayer? How about prayer that 00:04:32.080 --> 00:04:39.080 sounds like real life? There's a word in this verse that I do not want us to skip over. Paul says, 00:04:39.440 --> 00:04:40.620 In everything. 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:44.180 Not just in the big life decisions. 00:04:45.280 --> 00:04:47.140 Not only when someone is in the hospital. 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:50.420 Not only when you have no other options. 00:04:51.320 --> 00:04:52.460 In everything. 00:04:53.780 --> 00:04:55.220 The meeting you're dreading. 00:04:55.840 --> 00:04:58.120 The bill that's larger than you expected. 00:04:58.960 --> 00:05:03.320 The child who keeps you up at night because you cannot fix what they're going through. 00:05:04.200 --> 00:05:05.400 The scan next month. 00:05:05.940 --> 00:05:10.000 The nagging sense that you might have missed a step somewhere along the way. 00:05:11.380 --> 00:05:13.340 In everything, bring it to God. 00:05:14.640 --> 00:05:19.040 And the kind of prayer Paul is talking about here is not polished and formal. 00:05:20.320 --> 00:05:26.000 Supplication is a word we don't use very often, but it simply means pleading, asking earnestly, 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:29.000 bringing your need as it really is. 00:05:29.770 --> 00:05:30.920 Sometimes it sounds like, 00:05:31.490 --> 00:05:32.940 Lord, I'm scared. 00:05:34.080 --> 00:05:37.300 or, Lord, I don't know what to do. 00:05:38.900 --> 00:05:41.100 Lord, I'm so tired of feeling like this. 00:05:42.580 --> 00:05:45.460 Lord, here is exactly what I'm afraid of. 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:52.100 The moment you talk to him, you are no longer alone with your anxiety. 00:05:53.080 --> 00:05:56.220 You are not in a closed loop inside your own head anymore. 00:05:57.280 --> 00:06:00.440 You are in a relationship, a conversation. 00:06:02.100 --> 00:06:10.120 Fear isolates. Prayer reconnects. Now, there is a detail here that can be easy to rush past. 00:06:10.880 --> 00:06:17.940 Paul says we bring our requests with thanksgiving. At first, that might feel unrealistic or almost 00:06:18.380 --> 00:06:26.479 insulting. I am anxious and I am supposed to be thankful? But wait. Thanksgiving here is not 00:06:26.520 --> 00:06:32.820 pretending everything feels fine. It is not denying the difficulty or minimizing the pain. 00:06:34.280 --> 00:06:42.040 Thanksgiving is remembering that, even here, God has not changed. Pastor Chuck Smith put it like 00:06:42.180 --> 00:06:50.220 this, Never trade what you know for what you don't know. Here's what that sounds like. Father, 00:06:50.540 --> 00:06:53.960 This situation is heavy, but you have carried me before. 00:06:55.020 --> 00:06:57.220 You have provided what I did not see away. 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:01.040 You have comforted me when my heart was breaking. 00:07:02.460 --> 00:07:06.200 I do not know how you will work this out, but I know your character. 00:07:06.980 --> 00:07:08.720 And for that, I give thanks. 00:07:10.740 --> 00:07:17.820 You see, Thanksgiving anchors your present fear in God's past faithfulness and His present presence. 00:07:19.320 --> 00:07:21.280 And something happens when you do that. 00:07:22.060 --> 00:07:27.660 The problem may still be there, but you're no longer looking at it alone or in the same way. 00:07:28.520 --> 00:07:33.680 You're looking at it while holding on to the hand of the one who has been faithful all along. 00:07:35.220 --> 00:07:35.820 Then what happens? 00:07:36.740 --> 00:07:43.560 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 00:07:45.720 --> 00:07:50.080 Sometimes we treat peace like the reward that comes after everything works out. 00:07:51.080 --> 00:07:53.680 The scan comes back clear, and then you feel peace. 00:07:54.470 --> 00:07:57.380 The relationship is stored, and then you feel peace. 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:01.140 The job comes through, and then you feel peace. 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:03.920 But that isn't what Paul is talking about. 00:08:04.860 --> 00:08:08.580 He says there is a peace that surpasses understanding. 00:08:09.540 --> 00:08:13.160 In other words, a peace that does not make sense on paper. 00:08:13.700 --> 00:08:17.500 A peace that does not match the circumstances yet. 00:08:18.460 --> 00:08:22.180 A peace that shows up before anything around you has changed. 00:08:23.180 --> 00:08:26.240 This peace does not wait for the situation to change. 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:31.720 This peace walks into the room while the situation is still unresolved. 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:39.620 This peace comes from God's loving, faithful, merciful heart, not from your control. 00:08:40.419 --> 00:08:42.860 It's not something you manage into existence. 00:08:43.680 --> 00:08:50.500 It is something God gives. And Paul says this peace will guard your hearts and your minds. 00:08:51.900 --> 00:08:58.200 That word guard is military language. Picture a soldier standing watch at the gate of a city. 00:08:59.020 --> 00:09:03.720 Your thoughts may still come knocking. What if this happens? What if that falls apart? 00:09:04.380 --> 00:09:10.800 What if I can't handle it? But the peace of God stands there, and in ways you cannot fully explain, 00:09:11.420 --> 00:09:14.940 you find that panic does not own you the way it used to. 00:09:16.740 --> 00:09:18.480 The circumstances may be the same, 00:09:19.250 --> 00:09:22.780 but the atmosphere inside your head and your heart is different. 00:09:23.880 --> 00:09:25.580 Well, let's get practical for a moment. 00:09:26.340 --> 00:09:29.940 When anxiety hits, most of us default to one of a few patterns. 00:09:31.180 --> 00:09:33.040 Some of us go into control mode. 00:09:33.450 --> 00:09:35.360 We open 20 tabs in our browser. 00:09:35.930 --> 00:09:37.580 We make three backup plans. 00:09:37.930 --> 00:09:40.020 We replay every possible outcome, 00:09:40.760 --> 00:09:43.780 and we try to outrun the what-ifs by outworking them. 00:09:45.040 --> 00:09:46.240 Some of us shut down. 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:47.600 We avoid. 00:09:48.060 --> 00:09:52.460 We scroll, distract, numb, pretend it's not there, 00:09:53.000 --> 00:09:55.900 or bury ourselves in work so we don't have to feel. 00:09:57.620 --> 00:10:01.440 Some of us rehearse the worst-case scenario over and over, 00:10:01.860 --> 00:10:05.840 almost as if we can protect ourselves by being ready for the worst. 00:10:07.420 --> 00:10:09.340 Do you recognize yourself in at least one of those? 00:10:10.340 --> 00:10:12.660 Paul is inviting us to a different pattern. 00:10:13.620 --> 00:10:17.700 Not control, not shutdown, not rehearsal of disaster, 00:10:18.460 --> 00:10:23.000 but conversation with the one who already knows every possible outcome. 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:29.580 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:32.620 let your requests be made known to God. 00:10:33.820 --> 00:10:34.960 You can almost hear him saying, 00:10:35.580 --> 00:10:41.460 When anxiety shows up, let that be the alarm bell that tells you it is time to talk to your father. 00:10:42.460 --> 00:10:49.620 Now, let me offer something very simple that you can try the next time that familiar tightness or racing thought shows up. 00:10:50.540 --> 00:10:52.580 You can even do this along with me right now. 00:10:53.560 --> 00:10:54.940 First, notice it. 00:10:55.720 --> 00:10:57.540 Lord, I feel anxious about this. 00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:00.340 You might even name it specifically. 00:11:01.180 --> 00:11:03.420 Lord, I'm anxious about that meeting tomorrow. 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:06.420 Lord, I'm anxious about this health issue. 00:11:07.480 --> 00:11:10.100 Lord, I'm anxious about the future of my family. 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:13.600 Second, hand it to God in plain language. 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:16.000 Here is what I'm afraid will happen. 00:11:16.680 --> 00:11:19.720 Here is the scenario that keeps replaying in my mind. 00:11:20.460 --> 00:11:22.060 Here is what I cannot control. 00:11:23.240 --> 00:11:25.740 Third, add one sentence of thanksgiving. 00:11:26.640 --> 00:11:28.020 Thank you, Lord, that you see me. 00:11:28.980 --> 00:11:31.140 Thank you that you have carried me through other things. 00:11:32.140 --> 00:11:34.940 Thank you that you are not confused about my future. 00:11:36.280 --> 00:11:39.340 Thank you that you are in the room with me right now. 00:11:40.340 --> 00:11:43.500 Now, you still may feel some of the anxiety after that. 00:11:44.040 --> 00:11:45.420 This is not a magic spell. 00:11:46.040 --> 00:11:49.140 But you have obeyed Philippians 4, verses 6 and 7. 00:11:50.040 --> 00:11:52.200 You have turned anxiety into prayer. 00:11:53.080 --> 00:11:56.320 You have placed yourself in the path of the peace of God. 00:11:56.960 --> 00:12:02.580 And often, sometimes slowly and sometimes surprisingly quickly, you will notice that 00:12:02.790 --> 00:12:05.380 something inside you has unclenched. 00:12:06.380 --> 00:12:09.900 Your circumstances may not have changed, but you have. 00:12:11.300 --> 00:12:14.100 Listen, there's one more thing I want to say before we pray. 00:12:15.520 --> 00:12:20.480 If you live with ongoing anxiety, especially the kind that has roots in your body chemistry 00:12:20.800 --> 00:12:25.840 or your past trauma, it can be very easy to hear a verse like this as a verdict. 00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:31.140 You might think, if I were a better Christian, I would not feel like this. 00:12:32.520 --> 00:12:34.860 Beloved, that is not the voice of your Father. 00:12:35.960 --> 00:12:38.940 Paul is not handing you a club to beat yourself up with. 00:12:39.500 --> 00:12:45.540 He is handing you a path, a way to walk, sometimes slowly and sometimes with tears. 00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:49.640 God is not disappointed that you need this verse often. 00:12:50.140 --> 00:12:52.680 He is glad that you turn to Him again and again. 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:57.340 Every time anxiety drives you to prayer, He is not sighing and saying, 00:12:58.010 --> 00:12:58.440 You again? 00:12:59.550 --> 00:13:03.060 He is receiving you as a beloved son or daughter. 00:13:06.560 --> 00:13:07.080 Let's pray. 00:13:08.280 --> 00:13:13.940 Our Father, you see every person listening right now whose heart has been tight with worry. 00:13:14.960 --> 00:13:21.280 You know the stories behind every racing thought, every sleepless night, every what-if. 00:13:22.160 --> 00:13:28.600 Father, Abba, Daddy, we bring you the specific things that are weighing on us today. 00:13:29.450 --> 00:13:33.700 The decisions, the diagnoses, the relationships, the bills, the news. 00:13:34.560 --> 00:13:36.660 We admit that we are not in control. 00:13:37.560 --> 00:13:40.860 We confess that we often try to carry more than we can. 00:13:41.860 --> 00:13:44.840 Thank you that you invite us to bring everything to you. 00:13:45.820 --> 00:13:49.380 Thank you that you do not roll your eyes at our repeated prayers. 00:13:50.680 --> 00:13:54.740 Thank you that you are near to the brokenhearted and close to those who are afraid. 00:13:56.460 --> 00:14:01.700 Father, we ask for the peace that comes from you, the peace that surpasses understanding, 00:14:02.760 --> 00:14:06.120 the peace that does not wait for the situation to change. 00:14:07.160 --> 00:14:10.220 Guard the hearts and minds of your people in Christ Jesus, Lord. 00:14:10.920 --> 00:14:11.440 Guard them tonight. 00:14:12.160 --> 00:14:12.940 Guard them in the morning. 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:15.720 Guard them in the moments when panic tries to pull them away. 00:14:16.860 --> 00:14:20.460 Teach us, Lord, to recognize your presence in the middle of our questions. 00:14:21.760 --> 00:14:24.700 Teach us to turn to you first, not last. 00:14:25.800 --> 00:14:28.460 We trust you even when we do not understand. 00:14:29.400 --> 00:14:32.620 We place these anxieties into your hands right now. 00:14:33.700 --> 00:14:36.380 In the strong and gentle name of Jesus, we pray. 00:14:37.890 --> 00:14:38.040 Amen. 00:14:47.420 --> 00:14:50.060 Beloved, if this episode helped you breathe a little deeper, 00:14:50.600 --> 00:14:52.840 if it lifted your shoulders even a little, 00:14:53.540 --> 00:14:55.480 would you consider returning some of that value? 00:14:56.420 --> 00:14:58.400 This is a value for value show. 00:14:58.880 --> 00:15:02.860 There are no advertisers here, just you and me and the Lifespring family. 00:15:03.780 --> 00:15:05.480 You can give value in three ways. 00:15:06.320 --> 00:15:06.440 Time. 00:15:07.280 --> 00:15:08.500 Tell someone about the show. 00:15:09.520 --> 00:15:11.840 Share this episode with a friend who struggles with anxiety. 00:15:12.900 --> 00:15:14.900 Mention it to your small group or your pastor. 00:15:15.700 --> 00:15:17.000 Word of mouth is powerful. 00:15:18.180 --> 00:15:18.400 Talent. 00:15:19.280 --> 00:15:24.800 If you create art, photography, or anything creative that might fit the show, I would love to see it. 00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:28.300 Maybe it can become episode art or a resource for other listeners. 00:15:29.180 --> 00:15:31.880 Write to me at steve at lifespringmedia.com. 00:15:32.800 --> 00:15:33.060 Treasure. 00:15:33.820 --> 00:15:37.960 You can stream sats or boost the show using a modern podcasting 2.0 app. 00:15:38.460 --> 00:15:43.720 You'll find one at podcastapps.com, or you can give dollars at lifespringmedia.com 00:15:43.830 --> 00:15:44.580 slash support. 00:15:45.400 --> 00:15:47.320 Your support helps keep the show coming. 00:15:49.740 --> 00:15:53.280 This is a weekly show released every Tuesday at 10 p.m. Pacific, 00:15:53.490 --> 00:15:57.620 so it's waiting for you Wednesday morning, a midweek breath of Scripture and grace. 00:15:58.560 --> 00:16:01.100 As you go into the rest of your day or into your night, 00:16:01.460 --> 00:16:06.980 May you remember that you are not held together by your ability to worry, but by the faithfulness of God. 00:16:07.980 --> 00:16:10.980 May you find yourself talking to him more quickly than you used to. 00:16:11.680 --> 00:16:17.560 May the peace of God that surpasses all understanding guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. 00:16:18.460 --> 00:16:20.480 And may God bless you richly. 00:16:21.020 --> 00:16:22.120 My name is Steve Wapp. 00:16:22.980 --> 00:16:23.100 Bye.