I Peter 5:7
It is one of the most widely-spread human conditions. It is found among the affluent in Western cities and among the primitive peoples in remote jungles. I’m speaking of anxiety.
I remember listening to a radio station that primarily carries programming of interest to Christians. The station played a commercial for an at-home business opportunity which, it was claimed, could help a hard-working family earn thousands of dollars a month. What really caught my attention was a remark made by a man involved in some facet of Christian ministry. He had enrolled in the program and it greatly improved his family’s financial situation. He offered this testimonial: “Now that we are making that kind of money, we have hope for the future.”
I don’t intend to discount the role of money in our lives but I’m pretty sure the Christian’s source of hope is something else. The burden of anxiety can skew our thinking about everything.
Of course, the very fact that Peter was writing about anxiety to a band of Christians reminds us that we aren’t immune to the problem.
Arthur Roche described the impact of anxiety: “Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.”
Peter’s readers were certainly susceptible to anxiety. Keep in mind that Peter was writing to a church under pressure, a church beginning to endure persecution, a church facing an uncertain future. It would have hardly been unusual if his readers had had anxieties and cares.
Anxiety Analyzed
The word translated as “anxieties” in this verse comes from a word which means “to draw in different directions.” The person who is anxious is pulled one way and the next.
Psychologists and other mental health specialists sometimes use the word “anxiety” in a specialized way. Peter is using it in a more pedestrian way; it’s roughly equivalent to worry or fear.
At the heart of anxiety, as the Bible pictures it, is its capacity to distract us, to pull us apart, to cause us to lose focus. Anxiety dissipates the energy we might otherwise direct toward problem solving. Caught up in anxiety or worry we might even miss the solution to our problem when it is right before us.
Jesus put it in vivid language when he imagined that person who was anxiously attempting to add time to his life. Such a person is simply wasting his time and energy. Worry accomplishes nothing.
Anxious worry, however, can have a very negative impact on our lives. Plutarch was warning against anxiety when he said, “Eat not thy heart.”
Anxious worry becomes a burden which weighs us down. It becomes a barrier between us and joyful appreciation of the good things in life.
Ultimately, anxious worry represents a denial, however unintentional, of God’s care and goodness. It may open the way to further spiritual problems. It’s not surprising Peter immediately warns against the danger of temptation after addressing the issue of anxiety. He says,
“Be sober!
Be on the alert!
Your adversary the Devil is
prowling around like a roaring lion,
looking for anyone he may devour.
Resist him, firm in the faith…”
American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr called anxiety “the precondition of sin.” By that he didn’t mean anxiety is sin, but that anxiety may prompt us to embrace attitudes or engage in actions that are sinful.
Niebuhr’s recognition of the danger of anxiety inspired him to compose what’s been called “the Prayer of Serenity.” You’ve heard it: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things which cannot be changed, the courage to change the things which can be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Niebuhr knew, like the Biblical writers knew, that anxiety will either draw you closer to God or lead you further from God.
This brings us to Peter’s prescription for dealing with worry and anxiety, the way by which we see…
Anxiety Annulled
How then do we deal with anxiety? Peter says, “Cast all your anxieties on God…” The idea of casting comes from a word that suggests exerting effort to hurl or fling something away. The verb form makes it a definite, once-for-all act. Consider how other versions translate the verse. I particularly like the Jerusalem Bible’s translation, “Unload all your burden on to him, since he is concerned about you.”
The Amplified Bible offers a rich translation, blending the insights of several other translations: “casting the whole of your care—all your anxieties, all your concerns, all your worries, once and for all—on Him; for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.” Eugene Peterson renders the command as, “Live carefree before God, he is most careful with you.”
I think it’s interesting that Peter says, “Cast all your anxieties on Him” not “Cast your anxieties away.” Some writers and speakers neglect that fine point but I think it’s important. Had Peter simply advised his readers to discard their anxieties, he would have been saying what you’ve been so concerned about is unimportant, he would have trivialized their cares. This way he both respects their concerns and points them to a caring God.
For some in his audience that concept of God would have been surprising. Those coming into the church from outside the Jewish faith would have grown up believing the gods were indifferent to the plight of men and women. The God who sent his Son cares.
So, with the vision of this caring God in mind, Peter urges his readers to toss their greatest cares from their shaky, weak hands into God’s capable hands.
But is that as easy as it sounds?
If you’ll allow me to paraphrase a line from a Philip Marlow story: When it comes time to get rid of our anxieties we often discover that our hands have broken out in glue.
With that in mind, let me offer some suggestions for developing the ability to offload your anxieties onto God. I wish I could give you five easy steps for being rid of anxiety. I can’t. But maybe these suggestions will help.
1. Spend time reflecting on the power, wisdom, and mystery of the God who cares for us.
The Bible is your primary source for this activity. Read the Psalms or review the lives of the men and women whose faith made them models for us.
Remind yourself that God has the power to deal with what is troubling you.
Remind yourself that God may have a special purpose for the trial or trouble you face.
Remind yourself that God doesn’t always tell his secrets but he always cares.
2. Become more specific in your prayers.
When Paul wrote to the Philippians he also counseled his readers on dealing with anxiety and worry. He said, “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Phil. 4:6 HCSB) The verb Paul used for “worry” comes from the same root as the noun Peter used for anxiety and means “to have a disturbing care.”
So Paul was saying, “Don’t let a single care disturb you, instead pray.” And the words used to describe prayer suggest specific prayer, praying which mentions the precise concerns that threaten to disturb the believer’s peace.
Let me put it plainly. If you’re being threatened by a snarling dog, you wouldn’t pray, “Lord, following the fall humanity’s relationship with nature drastically changed. Please guide us toward a more harmonious relationship with our fellow creatures.” No, you’d pray something like, “Lord, that dog’s going to take my leg off. Please do something about the dog or help me run faster.”
3. Develop a strategy for dealing with the secondary effects of anxiety.
Anxiety can impact us spiritually, emotionally, and physically. What can we do to lessen its impact? In addition to following Peter’s counsel you might find the following helpful. These suggestions come from Christian psychiatrists Frank Minnirth and Paul Meier:
Learn to relax. No one can go nonstop. Sometimes even Jesus took time to escape from the crowds.
Learn to laugh. One of the proverbs says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine….” We may not know all the writer had in mind but experience shows the ability to laugh can reduce tension and anxiety. Instead of cruising the internet for proof the nation is going to pot; look for episodes of The Three Stooges.
Learn to talk. Some anxious people, especially anxious Christians, tend to clam-up. They won’t talk about what’s troubling them, perhaps because they’re afraid people will think they’re weak or lacking faith. God placed us within a community of spiritual brothers and sisters so we might be able to share our troubles and concerns with them.
Learn to exercise. This doesn’t mean we should aim to be on stage during Arnold’s next visit to Columbus. But exercise does produce chemicals which can help counteract the depression that sometimes accompanies anxiety.
4. Live one day at a time.
Jesus taught this approach in the Sermon on the Mount. He told his listeners, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” This doesn’t mean we don’t plan for the future; it means we don’t let the specter of disaster rule our thinking. We need the perspective that trusts the God who cares for us and gives the grace to face each new day.
Conclusion
As you leave this morning, go away with this truth: God cares for us and enables us to deal with our anxieties, cares, and worries.
A few times in the past, I’ve led you in the following prayer. It dramatically enacts what Peter had in mind. I’ve adapted it from the Quaker tradition.
Everyone, whether you’re praying this prayer or not, should keep their head bowed and eyes closed.
Join me:
Hold your hands out, palms down, as if you were placing something in God’s hands. In your own way silently pray something like this (remember, since you’re praying silently, you can be as specific as you wish):
Caring Father,
I place all my anxieties in your hands,
My anxieties concerning my health,
My anxieties concerning my family,
My anxieties concerning my job,
My anxieties concerning my future.
Grant me the grace to leave them in your hands.
Now, hold your hands out palms up, as if you were receiving something from God, and in your own way join me in praying something like this:
Caring Father,
By faith I receive from You,
Courage and wisdom to engage in practical problem-solving,
Hope to face any uncertainty in my circumstances,
Peace which will allow me to accept that which won’t change
and to trust the future to you.
I receive the
Humility that will allow me to talk to my spiritual brothers and sisters
about my concerns and to hear their counsel.
I receive
that joy that endures every circumstance
And
I receive
that vision which will enable me to see today in the light of a glorious eternity with a God who cared enough to send his Son to die on my behalf,
In that Son’s name I pray.
Amen.
