May Your Anxiety Lead You to Connection

On Sunday we listened to this beautiful reframing of Scripture’s invitation in Phil. 4 (so often phrased as a command) that we not be anxious.

“Don’t be afraid is one of the most abused phrases from the Bible… But I believe these words aren’t all that different from the way I comfort my son when he’s scared. We regularly walk around our neighborhood, and when a dog barks from behind the fence, I give his hand an extra squeeze and say, ‘Don’t worry; you’re okay.’ I’m not banishing his emotion, I’m responding to it. I’m comforting him because I can see, in some sense, he has a very, very real reason to be worried.” - therapist and writer Krispin Mayfield

What I hear this father saying is, I’m with you, child whom I love - I see what you see, I feel what you’re feeling, and you are not alone.

With this reframe in mind, would you listen again to the words of Philippians 4, allowing them to hold you like a parent’s warm, gentle arms? May any worry, any fear, any anxiety lead you today towards connection. You are not alone.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:6-7