Good Old Days?

Philippians 4:6-8

“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. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

I have heard folks say, for as long as I can remember, “I wish it was like the ‘good old days.’” The truth is that people tend to forget exactly what life has been on the earth since Adam’s rebellion. I say rebellion because Adam and Eve chose to believe a lie about God’s character and nature and to do the opposite of what God said would make for human flourishing.

Humanity moved from abundance to scarcity, from peace to anxiety. Anxiety has been a hallmark of human experience since Eden was closed to us. We lost not only “home” but our true selves as well. We went from being filled with the Life of God is perfect relationship with our Creator and Provider to being spiritually dead, separated from the Life of God. Anxiety is the consequence of trying to live life separated from Life.

Fear of hunger, fear of isolation, fear of not being known or loved, fear of harm, injustice, poverty, chaos, all of it is anxiety producing. Sin has no cure for what it produces. The world can never provide relief for the anxiety inherent in it. Things cannot get “back to the good old days” because they simply never existed. The human heart has remained the same regardless of technological or scientific advances. We just have more deadly means of self-destruction.

Apart from Jesus Christ, there is no lasting or true peace. There is no ground for peace, no source of hope for this world apart from the grace and mercy grounded in what God has done for humanity in the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and Second Coming of Christ Jesus.

Anxiety is the atmosphere breathed by humanity; the specter of “lack” looms large. But for those who know the Lord, those who are known by Him and have been delivered out of the kingdom of darkness, those who have been translated into the Kingdom of God, there is a way to off-load anxiety. “Do not worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.” 

If you trust that God has given you eternal life, that all your sin has been forgiven, and that God has made you His own heir, a co-heir with Jesus Christ, you do not need to be ruled by anxiety. You can pray and turn over to Him all anxiety producing concerns. We ALL have good reasons to be anxious, but anxiety does not have to rule over us.

When we pray, communicate with God, He hears and will provide His peace that surpasses our ability to understand. I have asked so many times, “How can I be at peace right now given the chaos swirling around me?” Circumstance do not need to be the defining ground of your peace. If we fix our eyes, our hearts, and minds on the reality of Who Jesus Christ is, “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy.” then whatever is causing anxiety loses its power to dominate our lives. We can trust the Lord and be instruments of His Peace in a world dominated by anxiety.