Remember…by the time gets to this famous passage, 86 power filled, impactful verses have preceded it. Eighty-six verses that shape the context and meaning of the phrase “don’t be anxious.” And a lifetime of struggling and suffering for his faith. He brings all of this and his own anxiety into this passage.
6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
But he doesn’t stop with the phrase “don’t be anxious” — it’s not the final word.
Rather, he continues on, giving us instruction on what to do with our anxiety.
Essentially, take all our anxiety, and with humility and thanksgiving, go to God in prayer. Not just go to God in prayer. Make our requests known to God.
And in that act of doing this, we begin to experience the peace of God which is beyond our own understanding.
It is this peace that guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The one who knows our suffering, and who has suffered on our behalf. Surely Paul is thinking about Philippians 2 and the beautiful kenotic hymn that tells of God’s humility to the point of death on a cross.
Paul utters the words in Philippians thinking not only of his own anxiety and suffering, but of the suffering of God on our behalf.
To be human is to be anxious.
We are not alone.
And in our anxiety there is a pathway towards peace.