Amazon, as many of us know, is an amazing place to shop for just about anything you need or want. One of the products sold by Amazon is the Kindle, a device used for reading electronic books.  Each Kindle can hold hundreds of books.  The Kindle allows you to highlight sentences or paragraphs that you found especially interesting so that you can refer to it later.

          Of all the electronic books sold and downloaded to Kindles worldwide, the Bible is the book that users have highlighted more than any other electronic book ever sold.  There is much in the Bible that people want to refer to and think about.  If we did a top five listing of the passages highlighted from Bible in Kindle, we would find the fifth most frequently highlighted passage is Galatians 5:22-23, “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”  Coming in at number 4 would be, “5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”  The number 3 position goes to Matthew 6:33-34, “33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  The second most frequently highlighted passage goes to the ever-popular verse, John 3:16, “16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  And the most frequently highlighted Bible verses on Kindles across the world is Philippians 4:6-7, “6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

          The Holy Spirit of God inspired the Apostle Paul to write those words to his friends at the church in Philippi.  Paul, at the time he wrote this letter, was in prison and his counsel to the church was “do not be anxious.”  Several years ago, my wife and I did some prison visits.  We submitted to the search process and then were allowed to enter the prison through a series of prison doors and gates leading to the visitors’ center.  Each door and gate made a loud metal bang as it locked behind us.  It was difficult not to feel somewhat anxious just visiting a prison, let alone being confined to a prison.  And yet Paul was giving counsel to the church not to be anxious.

          Anxiousness is the number one emotional/mental health issue in the United States with nearly 20% of all American adults, 1 out of every 5 people, reporting in 2024 that anxiety was adversely impacting their life.  That means one in every 5 people you know is being robbed of inner peace because of anxious circumstances.  And yet God desires for us to have peace, a deep inner peace, that helps us even when things of life get troubling.  The fact that the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write about anxiousness among the members of the church at Philippi suggests that anxiety was a problem for them as much as it may be for us.  Paul wanted the people of the church to have peace not anxiety and so do we. What then is the antidote to anxiety?

          Let’s see how Paul introduces us to the antidote.  We begin by looking in Chapter 3 of Paul’s letter to the Philippians.  Paul said, “If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless” (Philippians 3:4-6). Paul was saying here that he had achieved much in his life through his own efforts.  In fact, he had achieved more religious things than most people. He was circumcised, he was an Israelite, supremely Hebrew in his behaviors, a Pharisees, he followed the law without fault, and, at one time, persecuted Christians as an act of support for God with greater energy than anyone else.  Paul was accomplished in religious observance more than most everyone else. 

But then Paul said this, “7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. [What I once held dear, I now count as loss.] 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith” (Philippians 3:7-9).  And that, “15 All of us, then, who are mature [in faith] should take such a view of things” (Philippians 3:15).

Paul was making the point that everything, anything that he or others could point to as an accomplishment in Paul’s life, Paul now considered garbage, something of absolutely no worth whatsoever.  It was all trash that had been exchanged for one excellent thing, knowing Jesus as his Savior and Lord.  Having Christ was all Paul needed, and Paul knew that Christ could never be taken away from him.

Perhaps the way we would have to look at this is to take an inventory of everything we have accomplished and everything we possess. We would have to list educational degrees, business and work accomplishments, roles we accomplished in church, and things we own and be willing to say none of it matters when we compare it being saved by Christ.  Said another way, we would not be willing to retain any of our stuff if it meant not having eternal life.  Paul was saying start your thinking here and recognize that all these things, these accomplishments, and these possessions are temporary.  They all disappear to you when you die.  The only thing that will matter now and for all time is whether you know Christ and he knows you.  If the answer is, Christ knows you and you know him, then you will be in glory forever! If this is the case, Paul says, then don’t be concerned about these trifles on earth such as things and accomplishments.  They are temporary and rubbish.

Paul then reiterated what he had shared with the church when he was present with them along these lines, “18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:18-20a).  Paul’s point here was that those who live for this world live to eat and live to brag about their accomplishments.  These are their gods and thus are enemies of the cross.  But, Paul says, we who love and have accepted Christ are already citizens of heaven.  We are here awaiting the time for Jesus to return or for us to go to Him.  “1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!” (Philippians 4:1).  Paul’s point was the believer has a fundamentally different way of looking at circumstances of life because of the great confidence a believer has in the eternal nature of their life.  If a believer keeps focused on Christ and the joy of being in Christ, then things of earth are clearly secondary.  However, if we lack that confidence in Christ, or if we deny Christ, then everything earthly becomes very important and we become anxious about losing them. 

Augustine, a 4th century Christian theologian explained it this way.  “The good things that people think essential to happiness are so easily lost. Whatever we think will make us happy ends up making us unhappy, because we fear we might lose it.”  Augustine went on to say, “Happiness must meet two conditions.  First, it [whatever brings us happiness] would have to be a good that is higher and more complete than any other.  Second, this good would have to be something that cannot be lost.  The only good thing that fits this description is our relationship to God through Christ.  Nothing is greater than our relationship to God and it cannot be taken from us.”

Paul continued that when we realize the true value of the gift we have in being with God and his salvation then we should, “4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”  (Philippians 4:4).  And because our posture begins with joy in the Lord, we should then, “5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near” (Philippians 4:5).  The predisposition of maturity as a Christian is to have an inner joy because of Christ and we should have an outward presentation of gentleness because Christ is near to us.

We should pause for a moment and think about what Paul was saying. When we woke up this morning, did we think or say to ourselves as mature Christians, “Thank you Lord for being near to me and giving me joy to start this new day!”  Or did we say, “Ooh!  It is too early, too dark, too cold, I’m too tired to get up.  I’ve got so much to do but I just want to roll over and go back to bed!”  Our starting point makes a difference.  Paul was saying because our highest desire is God, we can start the day saying, “Rejoice! The Lord is near!  I say again, Rejoice!”  I believe this was Paul’s posture even though Paul was imprisoned.

Now the Apostle Paul was no stranger to the hardships of life. Paul had been beaten with iron rods, stoned, and whipped.  He had gone without food.  He had been shipwrecked.  And now, Paul was imprisoned.  There were plenty of reasons for Paul to feel anxious, depressed, angry, fearful, helpless, and overwhelmed.  So, what was Paul’s antidote for such poisonous feelings?  Paul said, “6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6).  Paul’s remedy was simple.  First, when life’s troubles come pouring in, resist the natural tendency to become anxious. Instead, for each situation that might make you anxious, and will make those without Christ anxious, turn instead to God and pray.  But pray, in a particular manner.  Paul said “pray with thanksgiving.”  Don’t pray with anxiousness built into the prayer.  Don’t pray, “Lord you know how overwhelmed and depressed I get when I don’t feel well or when the car does not run well.”  Paul said pray with thanksgiving.  “Lord, I thank you that you are near and that you are my greatest joy now and forever.  I rejoice in your presence and I turn over to you the illness I feel this morning so that it does not rob me of my joy and the gentleness I seek to present to others. Thank you, Lord, for the peace you have given me and will preserve within me.  In Christ’s name, Amen.”  Prayer that is focused on the goodness and nearness of Christ and the joy and thanksgiving that brings into life while preserve and protect the inner peace that we have as citizens of heaven.  Prayers that focus and dwell on what could make us anxious are only inclined to draw our thoughts towards anxiousness.  Paul said, “6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6).  And the promise is, “7 And [then] the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).  God’s peace comes to us from prayers offered in thanksgiving to God.  Prayers that remind us that God is the highest, the best presence in our life are answered by God with a protection established around our hearts and minds helping to push back our natural tendency to become anxious. The song, All I Once Held Dear, gives us the lyrics from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, “Knowing you, Jesus, knowing you; there is no greater thing.  You’re my all, you’re the best, you’re my joy, my righteousness and I love you, Lord.”  We pray with thanksgiving and God answers us with protection.  We are granted an inner calmness that surpasses all understanding because to others our circumstances would suggest we should be panicked. 

Last year, when my wife was severely ill.  We prayed.  You prayed for us.  And the sense we had and shared with others was “no matter how things turn out, we will be OK.”  Becky’s illness was serious, but it could not separate her or me from our highest joy, our greatest gift, Jesus Christ.  And in response to those prayers, our hearts were guarded and our minds were protected against the disability of anxiousness.  Prayer, a cornerstone of inner peace, had been granted to us and protects us from being robbed of the joy of life itself.

“4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7).  Amen and Amen.