“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the centre of your life.” (Philippians 4: 6-7 in the Message translation.)
Monday 19 July 2021 is being heralded as ‘Freedom Day’ here in the UK. It is the day on which many of the restrictions imposed as a direct result of the Covid 19 Pandemic are due to be lifted. Quite what that will mean is still uncertain, as individuals will all have their own choices to make. Should I still wear a mask in public places? Should I be vaccinated or not? In many ways, the pandemic will continue to have a huge impact on our lives, and so-called ‘Freedom Day’ will not change that.
For the past year and a half, Covid 19 has been the primary word on everyone’s lips. You only need look at the internet or social media, and it is there, glaring you in the face. We will not get away from it. And sadly, this has had a massive effect on many people’s mental health and well-being.
The number of people who have died during this season has been tragic. Even now, cases are rising, and lockdowns are being imposed in some parts of the world. I hear from people who are afraid, and from those who are frustrated by being given some degree of freedom only to have it taken away again.
As I wrote last year, at the beginning of the pandemic I, like many, was consumed by fear. Especially over the wellbeing of my mother who is in her seventies. Yet, as time has gone on, the scripture I quoted above has come to mean more and more to me, and my prayer is that it will bring you comfort too as we break it down together. Although I have read it in many translations, it is the version in the Message that always jumps out at me most. This Biblical paraphrase is so direct. It says it like it is. I know many people are not keen on this translation, and I would hesitate to suggest using the Message for serious Bible study, but sometimes it can bring new life into verses we may have known for many years.
First, Paul tells us not to fret or worry. I can hear you saying: ‘That’s easier said than done.’ And I am with you on that. I have been a worrier all my life. But what good does worrying really do except to give us ulcers? Can we change anything by worry? As Jesus said In Matthew chapter 6 verse 27: “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” Later in this famous passage, he says: “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Verse 34.) Could Jesus have made this any clearer? Worrying is futile, yet we still spend so much time indulging in it.
If Paul had left us simply with the command not to worry, we might wonder what we are meant to do instead. But he gives us the answer. “Instead of worrying, pray.” Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could turn our worries into prayers? God knows we will worry about things, especially when we are still dealing with a global pandemic. But we have a choice to make. WE can either sit and stew, or we can spend the time we are tempted to waste worrying talking things over with our heavenly Father in prayer. I am so comforted by the fact that he knows the end from the beginning. It says in Psalm 139 that every day of my life was recorded in his book before one of them came to be. That means the same is true for my loved ones.
Do I still worry? Absolutely! I am not going to pretend I am a totally reformed character, because that would be a lie. Yet I am learning to take more of my worries to Jesus in prayer, and I am starting to learn more about leaving them there rather than picking them back up again. Our text urges us to: “Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.” I love the mention of praises there because praise is a huge part of prayer. It means dwelling on and thanking God for the things he has already done as well as bringing forward the issues we currently face. As we look back, we will all be able to see God’s loving hand of provision in our lives. If he has come through for us before, then he will do it again. Even Covid 19 is not too big for God. He knew about all the things that are worrying us before they ever came to be, and he has the answers. So, let us praise him, because praise lifts our eyes off our circumstances and places them back where they need to be – on God. Then, when we have praised, we can let Him know our concerns.
Finally, what will be the result of turning our worries into prayers? Paul says: “Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.” Isn’t that what we want – to be settled down? We want our hearts to stop racing and our minds to be cleared. This part reminds me of Romans 8 verse 28, where we are assured that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. So, God can bring good out of all things in my life, including my cares and worries. Will bad things happen? Maybe, but it will not mean he has stopped loving me or he has taken his hand off me. And if he allows something bad, then his Word assures me he will bring good out of it. As I have often said, I have learned my biggest and most important lessons in the valleys.
I have had days when I have woken up worrying. I have got out of bed certain it was going to be a bad day. I have felt a sense of foreboding that something nasty was going to happen, and I have settled myself against it. Then, when the day turned out badly, I have looked back and realised it was partly my fault. I let my fears consume me. I allowed them to put me in a bad mood. But if I can take those thoughts captive right at the start – if I can pray about them and hand them over to Jesus before I even climb out of bed, things often turn out very differently. And even if something bad does happen, I draw on his strength to cope with it. I know I am not in it alone.
Finally, we get to my absolute favourite part of these two verses, and the reason why I choose to read them in the Message translation. “It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the centre of your life.” My life can either be centred on Christ or on worry? It cannot be centred on both, because the two cannot easily co-exist. If I am focused on worry, my eyes have been momentarily taken off Christ.
Like many, I too am longing for ‘Freedom Day’, but it is not going to come on Monday 19 July. It will only truly come when Christ displaces worry at the centre of my life. Whatever happens on a global scale as summer fades into winter and even normal diseases like the flu and common colds become more prevalent again, I am asking Jesus to help me not to worry, because worry will not add to my life. It will only take away. Might I gently urge you to do the same thing.
Whether you are for or against masks and other restrictions, or whether you have chosen to be vaccinated or not, I want to urge you to put your hope in Jesus now, and through anything else we might face in the future. When Covid 19 becomes less of a talking point, something else will take its place as our primary source of concern. It always does. So, let us take these concerns to the foot of the cross. Let us leave them with Jesus and go on with the work he has for us to do. All around us people are dying without knowing our Saviour, and we have a message of hope we can share. I pray Christ’s love will be our driving force. I pray that prayer and Bible study will displace fear at the centre of our lives. I pray we will all experience our Freedom Day.