Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7, ESV
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
Luke 12:25
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Life in a fallen world is primed for anxious living. Circumstances are challenging, and people (including ourselves) are complicated. We worry to our own detriment. We fear incorrectly, even illogically. We privately experience and publicly express hearts that spill over with anxious thoughts, affections, and commitments. Anxiety mirrors a worldview, a system of belief: “belief that an unpleasant situation is occurring or will occur in the immediate future.”1 It “usually involves worrying about what could possibly happen. Fear goes a step further and is more convinced that what is dreaded will really happen.”2 Worry, anxiety, and fear—three terms frequently used interchangeably—help describe our sinful responses to less-than-desirable situations. In other words, when life's difficulties bump up against hearts from which all of life flows (Prov 4:23), it is imperative to maintain a theocentric (God-centered) outlook. Failure to do so may lead to bowing to anxiety's demands in at least three ways: functional aseity, functional omnipotence, and/or functional omniscience.
Functional Aseity
Don’t be alarmed. I only use big words every once in a while to fool my colleagues into thinking I’m at least half as smart as they are. Aseity belongs to God alone; it’s an incommunicable attribute. It speaks of God’s self-existence or his absolute independence.
Acts 17:24-25 – The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
Psalm 90:2 – Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Romans 11:36 – For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
God depends on no one and nothing to exist or be satisfied. We, however, are absolutely dependent on God for all things. Returning to Acts 17:24-25, everything, including the breath you just took, is a gift from Him. Consider these clear words from Jesus: Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:4-5). Nothing means nothing. But without a theocentric outlook, our hearts hijack God’s ownership of independence.
We would likely never intellectually own aseity as solely ours, yet, functionally, our hearts operate as if this were true. Put negatively, when we’re anxious, we operate on the basis of dysfunctional dependence. We forget who is who and who is supposed to be doing what. Instead of receiving help from God when tempted toward anxiety, this dysfunction deceives us into bypassing the very comfort found in God’s independence, either by manufacturing help in ourselves or by finding it in a host of false refuges that, in themselves, also lack independence. The former often adopts a mindset of trying harder; the latter, one that promises better rest and joy somewhere outside of God.
But God is independent, which means he is not bound to gain anything from the situation that stirs anxiety in our hearts. Nor is he sinfully bothered by what seeks to induce anxiety within us. He is steady in all His ways. We simply are not designed to wield independence. But with properly functioning dependence, God is pleased to be our God and to respond accordingly: Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free (Ps 118:5). In God’s independence, we find freedom to depend. In our “independence,” we only find dead-end roads.
Functional Omnipotence
Though God is independent, we are graciously welcomed into His family through Christ (Rom 8:15-17; Gal 4:4-7; Eph 1:3-6). As members of His family, we get front-row seats to spiritual realities. Because spiritual things are spiritually discerned (1 Cor 2:14), the Spirit opens our spiritual eyes to recognize and appreciate God’s omnipotence, or His being all-powerful.
Psalm 33:10-11 – The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the people. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.
Jeremiah 32:17 – Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
When anxiety is stirred in the heart, it is very likely that God’s omnipotence is only slightly considered. It may be better to say that God’s omnipotence is often quickly replaced by our functional omnipotence, the deception and display of our power. Put negatively, this is dysfunctional fear. It is failure to stand in awe of God’s holiness (Ps 33:8) and neglect to humbly rest under the shelter of His wings (Ps 91:4). This all-powerful God does all that He pleases (Ps 115:3), and all His ways are righteous and faithful (Ps 145:17). What are our feeble ways in comparison to His perfections? Does our “power” really stand a chance? What are we actually bringing to the fight against anxiety? Have we spoken galaxies into existence? Have we rebuked loud winds and torrential waves into silence? As with functional aseity, our need with functional omnipotence is to cast it off, repenting of the very desire to own it. If you need a reminder of God’s power to deliver His people from distress, spend some time feasting on Psalm 107. His ability far exceeds our collective thinking and asking (Eph 3:20); His power will never fail to give good to His own (Ps 84:11). God’s power, not our own, will keep our faith alive until the end. In fearing God correctly, we must steward time well by focusing on His glory in our responsibilities. This includes, in large measure, our need to serve others. Refuse anxiety by resting in the presence of His power that guides every course of our lives.
Functional Omniscience
Another significant issue to avoid when tempted toward anxiety is adopting functional omniscience. In relation to God, omniscience conveys His ownership of all knowledge and His nature as the standard of truth (John 14:6). No one has ever been God’s counselor (Rom 11:34). He is the divine proprietor of all intelligence. Psalm 139 is a great starting point for deepening appreciation for God’s omniscience. An all-knowing God should be comforting in times of anxiety because He knows exactly what we’re experiencing and exactly what we need to strengthen our faith. What’s amazing is His kindness to us in Christ, even while He knows the anxious wrestling in our hearts (Heb 4:15-16)! Tensions within our hearts that doubt God’s goodness and question His purposes never move Him to abandon His promise to always be with us (Deut 31:8).
When anxious, we tend to function as the creators and managers of knowledge. Put negatively, we exhibit dysfunctional cognition. Once again, we take something perfectly managed by God and treat it as something we can manipulate to satisfy ourselves. But unlike God’s omniscience, we must receive understanding (Prov 2:6). Our cognition depends on our independent, omnipotent, and omniscient God. The experience of our dependence requires us to be transformed by renewed thinking (Rom 12:1-2; Eph 4:22-24; Col 3:10). We are stewards of the knowledge we receive. This knowledge is meant to help us understand the beauty of our triune God and how to image Him in this world (2 Cor 3:18; Titus 2:11-14). God’s design is for us to receive the knowledge we need to live for His honor, and it is His delight to provide it as a measure of His divine power (2 Pet 1:3-11). We are dependent recipients of every ounce of understanding (1 Cor 4:7). God’s words give light, not ours (Ps 119:130). May our cries come only before the Lord, knowing He will give us understanding according to His Word (Ps 119:169).
The command is clear: do not be anxious about anything (Phil 4:6a).
The resources for comfort and success are ours: God’s independence, omnipotence, and omniscience.
The need is obvious: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding (Prov 3:5).
The pathway is mapped out: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things (Phil 4:8).
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy" (1 Pet 1:13-16).
The promise is sure: Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it (1 Thess 5:23-24).
1 Robert D. Jones, Kristin L. Kellen, and Rob Green, The Gospel for Disordered Lives: An Introduction to Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2021), 274.
2 Stuart Scott, The Exemplary Husband: A Biblical Perspective (Bemidji, MN: Focus Publishing, 2002), 354.
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