Dear Readers, 

Sunlit Stories has been fun and enlightening! Thank you for engaging with these guest writers. We are closing out this series with Part 2 in coping with anxiety by finding peace in “What IS” certain in the life of a Believer. Please welcome back Dr. Joe Johnson! 

Reviewing the Role of What If in Anxiety  

About 6 weeks ago I wrote here about the almost-universal nature of anxiety, something that everyone deals with sooner or later, to one degree or another. Rare is the day when I don’t see someone in my family practice who is dealing with it now or in the past. And that anxiety lives in the world of “ what if…?”  

What if this happens? What if THAT happens? What if ______ doesn’t happen? 

Biblical Insights to Help Find Peace in What IS Certain 

The Abundant Life is Not Bogged Down with Worry 

God knows that we deal with worry and anxiety, living as sinners in a sinful world where bad and difficult things can and do happen. How can we minimize, manage, and deal with those anxieties? Being bogged down and burdened with worry and anxiety doesn’t seem like the “abundant life” Jesus said that He came to give us (John 10:10). 

Repel Worry and Gain Peace 

God always provides, and He does so for us in His Word in this area as well. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter 4 in particular has some very practical, concrete ways for us to repel anxiety and gain some real peace -that is countering uncertainty with what is CERTAIN…minimizing the unknown with what is KNOWN. Or put another way, weakening the “what if?“ with “What IS…” 

Why Worry When You Can Pray? 

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 New Living Translation)

Reverse the Order of Our Norm 

In my life, too often I try to do everything I can, try to account and plan for all the possible “what ifs,” and when I have exhausted myself and my own ability to prepare and deal with things, THEN I may remember to pray and literally lay it all at God’s feet. We should do just the reverse order of that.  

The Power of Gratitude 

An important part of that is “thank Him for all He has done”…this intentional act starts the process of focusing on what is known – what we KNOW and remember He has done for us and others in the past – to crowd out, minimize and distract us from what is UNKNOWN and unknowable. Then Paul expands on that in verses 8-9. 

The God of Peace Will Be With You

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9 New American Standard Version)

Paul’s Example of Dealing with Uncertainties 

Remember that Paul wrote these words while sitting in a dark and dank jail cell, with a very uncertain future ahead -execution was certainly on the list of “ what if…” possibilities. God had shown him through his years of ministry and travelling a secret to dealing with suffocating stress and uncertainties -by focusing on what IS good, and right, and pure, and lovely. 

Practical Steps to Embrace What IS Certain 

Distract and Refocus 

If you have ever tried comforting a loved one grieving a loss, or even all the way down to a toddler having a fit, you have likely employed this method in helping someone deal with unpleasant scenarios and emotions -simply distracting and getting the focus off of the negative and on to something better. To dwell on the good and not the bad, dwell on the positive certain and not the uncertain. That’s a concept with biblical precedent. Paul seems to have learned this and is sharing it here -THEN “the God of peace will be with you.”  

Replace Negatives with Positives 

Crowd out the negatives with real positives and gratitude for what God has done for you in the past and promises to do in the future. His history shows that He is good to His promises.  

Paul knew that even if the worst “what if” was to happen to him, “to live is Christ and to die is gain,” (Philippians 1:21) – the promise that he would then be with Christ. 

Remember How Real Peace is Available 

But to be honest and up front at this point, we have to remember that this kind of real, settled peace is only available and accessible if we have a relationship with God the Father, through the sacrificial life, death, and resurrection of His Son Jesus, who told His disciples in John 16:33,  

“I have told you these things so that in Me you might have peace. 

In this world you will have trouble. 

But take heart!  

I have overcome the world.” 

He has paid the price and fulfilled the sentence that our sin demands, and that makes it possible for us to no longer be separated from a loving and holy Father and Creator. And to find whatever real peace is available in this life. 

My Ultimate Certainty 

For me, that is the ultimate certainty. The final “What is…” that defeats all the “what ifs.” Hallelujah! 

“When I understand that everything happening to me
is to make me more Christ-like,
it resolves a great deal of anxiety.” 

A.W. Tozer