Why do we worry? Why do we become anxious? We live in a world loaded with anxieties. Just turn on the news and you will see wars and terrorism throughout the world, you’ll see Christians being decapitated because of their faith, you’ll see the effects of a devastating earthquake in Nepal, you’ll see riots in U.S. cities, global financial insecurities, and on and on it goes. Just watching the news and seeing the condition of the world we live in is reason enough to worry. Some of our worries and anxieties are the result of the bad decisions of some people around us; you’re married to a person with an addiction, your parents are about to get divorced, your spouse no longer wants to be with you. Then there are the worries that are a direct result of our own bad decisions, you did not take care of your health, now you’re suffering the consequences. You mismanaged your money; you mismanaged a relationship, now all of these things are causing us to worry.

Philippians 4: 6-7 NKV

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

God Himself through the apostle Paul seems to give us an unrealistic command, ‘be anxious for nothing’. Nothing? Really, that’s impossible. To which God would probably respond, I know it’s hard to believe, but if you can come to the place where you make known your request to me I will give you my peace. The phrase “made known” in verse six actually means to uncover, in other words I want you to understand what your request really is, it needs to be uncovered. You’re asking me to heal you, to heal your financial situation, or to heal your family. These are the things that are worrying you, but I want you to discover the root of the problem, I want you to discover the fear that feeds your worries and anxieties.

Inside every worry or anxiety there is a hidden fear, God is saying discover what that fear is because that fear is the root of the problem, that fear is what’s causing you to worry. Then present it to me and I will give you my peace that surpasses all understanding.

I would like the share with you the following two questions, which I hope will help you to discover the fears that hide within your worries and anxieties. Let’s begin with your biggest worry then you can repeat the process with all your other worries.

1. What is your biggest worry?

2. What do you fear will happen if the situation doesn’t change?

Now take those fears and present them to your Heavenly Father and He promises to give you peace, in your mind and in your heart. You see it’s more than just presenting your petitions to God, it’s revealing to Him what you fear will happen if He doesn’t answer the petition the way you framed it. It’s not just praying, Lord give me a job, heal my body, or fix my family, it’s making known to God what you fear if that situation doesn’t change. And every time you bring your fears to Him that’s a petition that He will always answer by giving you such peace that not even you will be able to explain it.

It’s simple, make known to your Heavenly Father what you fear and in exchange He will give you peace.

Heavenly Father, I’m grateful that I can reveal to you the real fear that I have in each of my requests that causes me concern, help me to see what is the real root of what distresses me so that you’ll help me by giving me your peace which goes beyond all understanding.