Be Anxious for Nothing

As we are all starting to get into the routine of our courses and our lives in general, our day to day lives become very filled, and although you may be prioritizing time for God, sometimes the demand for us becomes extremely overwhelming, especially as the semester goes on and exams start to pile up. But in the time of all this tension and pressure, St. Paul teaches we should always go to the scriptures as that is where we find our patience and comfort, as we read in the letter to the Romans 15:4 “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope”. Now as we tackle the semester, we must run to the scriptures and listen to the Word of God, seeking what He has prepared for the edification of our souls. As St. Paul instructs the Phillipians in the letter to the Philipians 4:4-9, the same instruction can go for us college students, who struggle and toil day by day.

As we read Philipians 4:4-5, we see that St. Paul gives positive instruction... “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand”. Now although St. Paul might not make it super clear why it is that we should rejoice, the answer becomes very explicit at the end of verse 5 saying “The Lord is at hand”. Oftentimes our minds know that the Lord is at hand, as this is what we are constantly being taught and what we constantly read & pray through in the liturgical prayers of the church, but does our heart act like it? In the depths of our hearts, are we convinced that the Lord is at hand, and that He is very near to us, watching over us, and allowing what is best for our spiritual lives, so that we may get closer to our end goal, which is Him. Or our hearts filled with anxiety, trying to control as many factors in our lives as possible, especially during the time of our studies, where anxiety might hit a peak.

But we must remember the words of St. Paul, who teaches us in Philippians 4:6-7 to “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;” and when we are able to make our requests known to God through prayer and supplication in all thanksgiving “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”. Can it really be that simple? If we just make our requests known to God, through our prayers, giving thanks for the conditions He has placed us, the peace of God dwells in our hearts? The simple answer is yes, but the diculty comes in practicing going to God with all our requests, oering thanks for whatever situation we may be in. But through the midst of all our anxiety, and especially all the distractions going on around us, putting into practice what St. Paul has taught us in these few verses, has presented to be more burdensome than it has ever been before, especially in the generation where we are used to so many things being done for us, without realizing the toil our ancestors may have gone through to get us to the point where we are now. When we do read verses 6-7, oering up our requests to God seems like a very edifying act, but how much will we struggle, when it is a hardship that God allowed for us to go through, and especially to thank Him for it. But we must remember that in anything we go through, we must remember Christ, especially in the midst of our pain, as a wise father once said “A pain that is not transformed by God, is transmitted to us ”. So we must be diligent and careful in not letting this pain be transmitted over to us.

Finally as we read in verses 8-9 St. Paul teaches us to meditate on the good things in the world... “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you”. Now let us meditate on the good in the world, especially in our hyper ecient, fast paced society, where people often forget to take a minute... and to remember the Lord, to remember all the blessings they have been granted, to remember those who may be struggling, to take a minute and admire the glorious nature and creation of God, as it was created for us to understand Him... “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,” Romans 1:20. Let us meditate on God’s work in our lives, but certainly we must meditate on His word, as in every word of the scripture, God portrays a message before us, but it is up to us to open our eyes or not, that through scriptures we may find our patience and comfort so that we may “Be anxious for nothing” Philippians 4:6.