Title Are you concerned? (Philippians 4:6-9)
A long time ago, Time magazine covered the concerns of Americans, saying that one of the most pervasive things in American society is anxiety, and one of the diseases that weakens America the most.
Is it only in American society? Do we live without any worries? If you are concerned, what are you concerned about? Are you worried about your uncertain future, your health, your money, your children's faith, studies and personalities, your job, your job, your husband, wife, or parents? There are probably many people who have grown more concerned after the IMF.
Some people seem to live with no worries at all, while others say they have no worries at all. Some say that if you have faith, you can live without any worries. But that's not honest. A person cannot live without worry at all, and worry is something that very normal people experience in their daily life.
Paul, who wrote today's words, was also concerned. Paul was not a superman who lived without any worries. In 2 Corinthians 2:12, 13, Paul sent Titus to solve the problems of the church in Corinth, and he was so curious about the result that he could not wait and went to Troas to meet Titus, but did not meet him. Paul felt uneasy and worried, so he went back to Macedonia. Also, in 2 Corinthians 11:28, he said that he was worried about the church in Corinth. In addition, Paul's concerns are recorded in several places in the Bible.
Anxiety is unavoidable. The question is what are you worrying about, and the other is how to overcome it. By looking at this, you can know the spiritual level of the person.
A businessman named Arthur Rank lived a life of being pressed for time with constant anxiety and nervousness because of his worries and worries about his business day and night and the prospect of an uncertain future. Then one day he thought of a piece of wisdom.
Rather than being caught up in worries every day, I would rather choose only one day of the week to worry about and get away from my worries. It is to put the date and put it in the worry box on Wednesday and open it once on Wednesday. On Wednesday, as he was rummaging through the notes of concern he had jotted down, he made a surprising discovery. What seemed like a big concern when I wrote it down on a notepad and put it in the box turned out to be insignificant when I pulled it out a few days later on Wednesday.
In fact, yes. Oftentimes, although anxiety may seem very serious at the time, after a while it becomes apparent that it was not so serious. Our concerns have this quality. Whether people are Christians or not, there are a lot of people who live in the grip of excessive, unnecessary worries.
Anxiety must be healed. According to some statistics, 350,000 young people were shot dead in World War II, and over 1 million died of heart attack while panicking in fear and anxiety amid the horrors of war. , nephritis, arthritis, sciatica, gastroenteritis, etc. More than 70% of modern diseases are caused by worry, anxiety, anxiety and fear.
If anxiety is left untreated, this kind of physical illness will occur. Also, as long as we keep worrying, our hearts are not stable and we are restless, so we have no peace and become spiritually sick, making Christians unchristian.
Don't let your worries go unnoticed. must be processed. People go to other people when they have trouble to get away from worry, drink, go to karaoke, or even do drugs, go to fortune tellers and buy amulets to carry with them. The first Time magazine I talked about told me to take sedatives or seek psychiatric treatment as a way to deal with my concerns, but would these things work out well?
How can anxiety be treated?
First, in verse 6, it tells us to pray without worrying about anything. Don't worry about anything means that anyone can be anxious, so don't worry and stop. Why are you telling me to stop? Because worrying does not solve difficult problems.
Among the lessons Jesus taught about anxiety, he said in Matthew 6, can you grow taller by being anxious? What do you tell me to do instead? I told you to pray. If you have any concerns, take them with you to God.
In verse 6, prayer, supplication, and allegory are written three times with similar expressions. This emphasizes the need to pray over and over again, not once and then finish. Jesus repeated it when he prayed in Gethsemane.
Also, the expression supplication has the meaning of earnestly or concretely, so it is a specific, earnest prayer to God that is very worrying when praying.
And it urges us to pray with thanksgiving. To be grateful, you have to look back. Looking back on the past, we see God's forgiveness, God's comfort, and God's grace to save us from crisis, and God's provision for our needs. We think of God's guidance and blessings and give thanks for them. This kind of gratitude builds faith that God will guide us again, just like in the past, no matter how difficult and dark the reality is. No matter how unfavorable the environment is, you can see the present from the perspective of faith and look to the future, relying on God.
If we entrust our concerns with prayer, God will take care of it. 1Pe 5:7 says that God will counsel us if we cast all our anxieties on Him. This means that God takes care of that concern for you. God has such power. In Matthew 6:25-31, it is said that God, who cloths the lilies of the field and feeds the birds of the air, will not take care of his children. So, whenever you have any concerns, let's leave it to God.
People have an instinct. For example, if I put my hand near a hot stove, I will be surprised and quickly remove my hand. If you get close to the stove, you have to put your hands away quickly, and it happens naturally without thinking.
However, it is similar to this, but a little different. If you're driving a car and there's a red light, you almost instinctively hit the brakes. This is because if you keep practicing standing at the red light, it will become a habit and you will step on the brake naturally. If you keep practicing for anything, it will become ingrained into your body and eventually become almost like an instinct.
This is also necessary in our life of faith. If there is concern, there is a possibility that the person who drinks alcohol first becomes a habit and always does it. If we consciously pray to God when we have anxiety, it will become instilled in our body, and when we have anxiety, we pray almost like an instinct. When you do this, your worries are healed.
In verse 7, if you pray when you are anxious, God does not say that He will hear anything, but He will give you peace. Whether the problem you are concerned about is resolved or not, you can enjoy peace that transcends circumstances in your heart, and if you pray, you can enjoy peace that dissolves all your worries. Still, people do not pray often when they have concerns. Do you have any difficulties? Concerned? Pray.
Second, in verse 8, we are told to think. Instead of filling your head with worry, whatever is true, whatever is godly, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable. If we divide these six things into two again, it means to think of things that are worthy of praise or praise.
There are a lot of false, wrong, and dirty things in this world. Instead of thinking about these things at all, carefully look and judge what is truly right and think about the most right things.
But what do people mainly think about? It is full of thoughts of money, thoughts of study, thoughts of decadence, thoughts of pleasure, thoughts of sports, thoughts of hatred of others. Can your mother-in-law say that to me? Can a daughter-in-law show that attitude to me? Can you do that as a friend? Can my husband say that to me? They are full of resentment towards others.
Humans have the ability to think, so they constantly think about something. Of course, there are times when we pass the time without thinking, but something fills our heads. What a person thinks affects what that person says and does. It can be said that the thought is the person.
What are you and I thinking? As we live in this world, there is a possibility that we constantly think about things that are not right, dirty things, sinful things, and all kinds of worries. But we need to fill our thoughts with what pleases God. It takes practice.
Thirdly, in verse 9, you are told to do what you learn, what you have received, and what you have heard and seen. The expression learn, receive, and hear emphasizes that the Saints learned the word of God from Paul.
Also, the expression 'became seen' means that Paul not only taught with words, but also set an example with his life. This Paul is a really good teacher. Many teachers are good at teaching, but they are not respected and criticized because life does not follow.
Korean Christians today are good at talking, but life doesn't keep up. But Paul tells me to do what I have been taught. The saints tell us to do what we know, not only what we hear.
Not a few believers say that even if we live by the Word, the environment is not good. But even in prison, Paul worked hard at what he could. Instead of worrying, he prayed for the church outside of prison, wrote letters to encourage and evangelize, and obeyed what God wanted. By doing this, I overcame all my worries.
Looking at the second half of verse 9, in verse 7, he said that God would give him peace, but here he said that the God of peace would be with him.
When we fill our heads with what pleases God instead of worrying about evil, when we obey God's will instead of worrying and worrying with anxiety, we can enjoy the blessing of the God of peace with us.
If we say that we live according to the truth and obey the Word, but we live dishonestly and do not have concrete repentance, the God of peace cannot be with us.
Do you really want the God of peace to be with you?
Then let's pray instead of worrying.
Let us consider the good and the pure.
Let's obey the Word. (Summary: Deacon Kang Mi-ra)