Do Not Anxious About Anything – Peace Is The Key

Philippians 4:6-7

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 is one of the most useful and practical bible verse and life advice to me. Why? Because life is not perfect, simple as that. Even if we try hard to plan everything ahead, unexpected events pop up at times. Sometimes, instead of turning to God, we will hyper-focus on the problems, stressing ourselves out, trying to figure everything out on our own. Just as Matthew 6:27 mentioned, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”. Let’s practice Philippians 4:8-9 instead.

1. Be still or quiet with God, for at least 5 minutes a day without asking anything. It’s a simple thing to do, yet I felt the difference. I felt a lot calmer, even if I have a busy day. Before you respond to something or make decisions. Pray before you proceed.

2. Stop trying to get even with others. Matthew 5:39 “But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” This bible verse doesn’t mean asking us to be a doormat. It does mean many things aren’t actually worth our time and energy to spend on fighting and arguing.

There was a time a colleague literally yelled at me during a stressful situation, and I yelled back at her. Once I calmed down, I realized I was not upset about what she had done to me. Instead, I was upset about how I reacted to the whole situation. I allowed others’ behavior to determine my actions. My mentor advises me to apologize to her and let God handle the rest. I don’t want to do so, but I follow her advice anyway.

After some time, again, she yelled at me for things I did not do wrong. I didn’t yell back at her this time. But I did plan to talk to her about “no yelling.” After a few days, without me telling her anything, I can sense that things get better, and the atmosphere changes.

It wasn’t easy, and I admit I made many complaints to God during prayer time. But I am glad I wasn’t doing anything stupid. I’m starting to find that practicing things God’s way makes my life easier and greatly reduces unnecessary anxiety than practicing things “my way.” Even at times, it doesn’t make sense in human nature.

3. Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” This bible verse not only talks about praying together; to me, it also means having prayer partners. I don’t think I could practice above 1 and 2 alone without my prayer partner. Finding suitable prayer partners and able to stay committed might cost time, money, and effort. But once you find the right person or community, it’s going to be worthwhile.

Above are the three things that I practice Philippians 4:6-7, and still learning. May we learn to stay in God’s peace that surpasses our understanding, no matter our situation.