Please explain Philippians 4:6-7.
Philippians 4:6-7, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” In this portion, to ‘be careful’ means to ‘be anxious’ or to worry. That same Greek word ‘merimnao’ is translated ‘take no thought’ in Luke 12:22, “And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, TAKE NO THOUGHT for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.” Worrying is counterproductive. It does absolutely no good, and actually can do great harm. The Lord Jesus asked this question in Luke 12:25, “And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?” He is telling us that ‘taking thought’ or worrying does us absolutely no good.
When we read the words “Be careful for nothing”, the Lord is telling us not to worry. However telling us not to worry is not enough, so we are told that instead of worrying, we should pray! We should pray for EVERYTHING in EVERY SITUATION. The Apostle Peter put it this way: “Casting ALL your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) When we pray, we are giving our problems, concerns, and needs over to the Lord. If we truly trust Him, we will not worry. I said that worrying can do great harm and it can. To worry indicates that we have no faith! How can we say we trust the Lord when we are consumed with anxiety? When we worry, we are not trusting the Lord and that will lead us to take matters into our own hands, which only leads us further away from the Lord.
Notice the wonderful progression of what we read in Philippians 4:6-7. We are told not to worry. We are told to replace our worry with prayer. When we do that “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Worry does not bring solutions, it only produces more worry. When we commit our cares to the Lord, it brings PEACE, knowing that the Lord who loves us beyond measure will move on our behalf to minister to all our needs.
Some might say, “I just tend to worry. I can’t help it.” Unless there is a diagnosable mental disorder, you CAN help it. Learn to trust the Lord. Learn to cast your cares upon Him, and leave them with Him. You can almost hear the confidence in Paul’s voice as he wrote, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12) If you are a believer, you have trusted the Lord for your eternal state. Can’t you trust Him for the temporary needs and concerns of today? May we say, as the psalmist did in Psalms 56:11, “In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.” (290.2)