EXPRESSIONS

Ramesh C. Reddy
Editor in Chief

Hi everyone :)

May the Lord Jesus empower you and give you endurance now and forever as you turn your anxiety over to Him! Amen!

Quiet Times (Psalm 138:7-8  and Philippians 4:5-6)

“Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me. The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, Oh LORD, endures forever—do not abandon the works of your hands.” (Psalm 138:7-8)

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:5-6)

Observations:

I asked myself what commands does Paul give for the good of the Philippians as he is shackled in chains?

1. Do not be anxious about anything!

2. In everything by prayer present your requests to God.

3. In everything by petition present your requests to God.

4. In everything by thanksgiving present your requests to God.

 Interpretations:

 I want to have the faith that Paul has for it is just amazing to me that he is willing to write the words of God down as he is in prison. Being in prison can give people worries about what is happening in the outside world and what is going to happen to them. Not so with Paul, he tells the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord, let their gentleness be evident to all, and not be anxious about anything.

I asked myself what does it mean not to be anxious about anything?

For me it means anything from small things to big things that people are faced in their life. It is easier said than done. Paul knows just telling people not to be anxious will not curb their anxiety so he gives them an alternative solution to follow  when they sense anxiety. This is evidenced by his commands following ‘In everything:

1. By prayer,
2. By petition,
3. By thanksgiving,

present your requests to God.

 I decided to look at each one separately.

 Point 1: I asked myself, what does Paul mean by prayer?

What came to my mind is talking to the Lord whatever they are faced with rather than subjecting each other to an anxiety attack. Whether it is a small thing or a big thing, the Lord is there to listen and that’s why they are told to turn to prayer foremost when they are about to worry. It is profound for me that they are told not to be anxious about anything but turning to the Lord in prayer one-one between themselves and the Lord. It turns into a PERSONAL PRAYER. Paul does not end it there but goes a step further which is evidenced by point 2.

Point 2: I asked myself what does Paul mean by petition?

What came to my mind is people having others sign petitions for a cause of theirs. Rather than focusing on the problem and be paralyzed in anxiety, they are moved to action to get others involved to help them resolve the problem. The same principles apply here indirectly.

When the Philippians are faced with anxiety, they can petition others too for help. But for me this is a different type of help. They should pray on their own but also now they should go a step further and share their request with other people for prayer. I believe the more prayer that is petitioned, the awesome it is. Now this turns into an INTERCESSORY PRAYER. There is nothing wrong asking others to intercede on your behalf before the God of Heaven rather than focusing on the worry. This is exciting that we are told to petition! 

The other thing that came to my mind as I thought about petitioning is that making the requests as specific as possible giving the reasons behind why they want the Lord to answer that particular request. Paul does not end it there but goes a step further which is evidenced by point 3. 

Point 3: I asked myself what does Paul mean by thanksgiving?

What came to my mind is thanking the Lord personally and corporately for the request to be taken care of even before the answer is seen. It is believing in the Lord to handle it and leaving the results in His Hands. It is an acknowledgement that the Lord is watching over us and knows everything that concerns us as He cares for us. This is awesome to know.

When I took exams, I would not check my grades 99% of the time because I knew I could not change the results. Rather, I would try to give my best to the Lord as I take the exam asking for His Help and leaving the results in His Hands. Since I don't know how I did, I would try to study hard in my subjects. I would tell myself to work hard for the Lord and learn knowledge to help others! It really helped me a lot to wait for my transcript rather than checking my grades. That's one way I dealt with anxiety as I focused on the Lord. A word of caution is that I never did that with classes that involved revision of papers. You know why! he he :)

After giving the commands to the Philippians, he does not stop there but gives them reasons to rejoice after they do those 3 things without be anxious about anything. This is evidenced by v.5

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:5)

Observations:

I asked myself what are the promises that are given after the commands are followed?

 1. Peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts in Christ Jesus!

2. Peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your minds in Christ Jesus!

 Interpretation:

I asked myself what does the promise of ‘Peace of God which transcends all understanding’ mean?

What came to my mind is whatever people’s understanding of the circumstances they are faced with cannot be compared to the peace they receive from God. It is not like the peace the world gives but an inner peace. For Jesus promises His disciples in John 14 that the peace He gives will not be like the peace the world gives, so they should not be troubled or afraid! That is awesome to know that they can experience that kind of peace in their lives.

As they experience the peace of God, I asked myself what would happen and the significance of those happenings?

 What came to my mind are 2 things:

1. Peace of God will guard their heart in Christ Jesus.
2. Peace of God will guard their mind in Christ Jesus.

 I asked myself what does the ‘guarding of their heart’ mean?

What came to my mind is without the Lord’s intervention when we try to handle things in our own anxiety our heart can be broken sometimes beyond human repair. This is because that anxiety will eat at our heart and people just may give up on life. But now the Lord Jesus can guard their heart. That is exciting to know but it does not end there but with the mind.

I asked myself what does the ‘guarding of their mind’ mean?

What came to my mind is without the Lord’s intervention when we try to handle things in our own anxiety we open our mind to anxiety disorders if that pattern continues in our lives. This is because all our mind is focused on is the anxiety at hand. We just cannot let it go which affects the brain signals causing anxiety disorders. But the Good News is that we need not have to ever deal with anxiety disorders if we allow Jesus Christ to handle those requests. He will be the guard of our mind. Now that is exciting!

Application:

I have seen important implications for my own life.

I ask you now dear friend, how do you handle anxiety?

Dear friend, anxiety is not especially new to college kids! Take it from me I know for I had let anxiety rule me for months. But whenever this verse came to my mind, I would force myself to focus on it and claim the promises there. As long as I focused on the Lord and His Word, I was able to deal with the situation at hand.

I don’t know friend what you are facing right now that is causing anxiety. It could be that you just wrote an exam and feel like you did not do well and it may affect your Q.P.A, it could be that you just had a relational issue with someone close that has gotten out of hand, it could be that you are about to graduate and the job search is becoming a pain and a hassle, it could be other things that you are faced with. What happens now is anxiety waits to creep into your life and control you but the Lord Jesus does not want you to be controlled by the anxiety.

It is a bold command to say not to be anxious about anything but the Word of God says it for a reason. Jesus Christ wants to be there to intervene in your life. No matter what we are going through even when we sense things are just going to crumble, His peace will flow in our lives as we turn to Him. Yes, it will friend! His peace will surpass all understanding including all the ‘what ifs’ that come to our mind as we look at the circumstances. Look to Jesus who has a handle on everything we face!

 I know it is not easy for me not to worry but what comforts me is when I focus on the promise of the Lord to leave all my worries and cares to Him for He is always thinking about me and watching everything that concerns me, that helps me a lot! That is awesome to know.

Not worrying in college can be like not breathing. It is automatic but you can turn it  into manual drive as you turn to prayer when worry comes. Rather than dwelling in the anxiety, turn that anxiety into PERSONAL, INTERCESSORY, and THANKSGIVING prayer. We will be amazed with the results! Yes, we will friend for the Lord’s promises are for us to claim and rejoice in.

May you know no matter what you are faced with, the Lord Jesus is looking after you and you can turn to Him. He loves you so much and wants to reign in your life. Oh, yes He does so much more than we can imagine. He is the Lord of all that we are! Amen!

 “With Our Redeemer Rest Yearning!” (W.O.R.R.Y)/”How do you handle anxiety?”

Prayer:

Jesus, I thank you for wanting to have all my worries and cares. Thank you that you do not want me to be anxious about anything but by prayer and petition with thanksgiving to let all my requests be known to you Lord and your peace which surpasses all understanding will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus! Lord that means a lot to me. Oh Lord, you know the worries we have and what it does to us. Please help us please to turn to thee with them always. Thank you for being there for us. I pray for the one that is faced with so much in their life that worry has become like breathing to them. Please Lord Jesus, intervene in their lives healing them in a mighty powerful way. May your peace rest in their lives whatever they are faced with. Each of us needs you Lord and the power of your love. Draw us close to you and never let us go but focus on you. Let us know that as we live our life here on earth letting you guide us and lead us, you will take care of us. We give our lives to you and ask you for your help in all that we need to do. Thank you Jesus for forgiving us, answering us, as we confess our sins and turn to you for a change in our lives. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

Love in Christ,
Ramesh

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