Worry and Fear~

I believe Proverbs 4:23 is probably the most quoted verse when it comes to seeking guidance for protecting our hearts, but it’s not the only one. In my personal studies in this season, God is impressing upon me from a different passage to seek direction in the process of preparing my heart to receive from Him at a deeper level… Philippians 4:6-7.

In yielding to this exploration of my heart by the Holy Spirit, I am prompted to consider things that need to be “weeded” out. The reality of fear weighed heavily on me; especially its impact on my relationship with God. What are my fears? Why? Where and when did I develop those fears? We guard against, and subsequently become hardened by, what we fear. Fear has the power to alter the condition of our hearts and impact our ability to relate with others as God desires. But how does Philippians 4:6-7 (my abridged NLT) play into my understanding fear and guarded hearts? Let’s read:

Don’t worry about anything, but instead pray about everything; 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.

The Holy Spirit impelled me to see worry as fear and anxiety coupled with the sense of uncertainty; uncertainty over issues that incites angst, and even worse, the “unknown”… You could take several different words and produce the same admonition: “Don’t be fearful about anything”, “Don’t be anxious about anything”, “Don’t be tormented by anything”… I was literally tormented by fear and anxiety over the cares of life, the pain of rejection, the fear of loss, financial woes, you name it… Fear is a very powerful emotion when it comes to relationship, because it impairs our ability to trust and causes us to improperly process issues as they arise. Trust is so closely linked to faith; faith is what the word of God produces in us by His Spirit. We trust as a result of the faith that is seeded into, or “hidden”, in our hearts. Trust is one of the primary corresponding demonstrations of faith. But if we are guarding our hearts due to fear (whatever that fear may be), faith-filled words that should be hidden in that fearful, guarded, hardened place can’t take root.

I’m grateful to the Holy Spirit for illuminating Philippians 4:6-7 to me. In order for me to have a better relationship with My Heavenly Father I MUST shift the responsibility of guarding my heart to Him. The truly guarded heart is one that experiences an indescribable, immeasurable, transcendent level of peace in God. I have to trust Him with anything and everything that matters to me, and thank Him for taking care of me and “it”, whatever “it” may be. I need God-Graced, God-breathed peace to saturate my life because I can’t carry “it” any longer.

Fear makes good look bad, and right look wrong… Luke 6:28 says “Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you.” But I’ve seen fear make people curse those sent to bless, and mistreat those they should be praying for. So how do we know who’s what? We simply cannot know it all. He doesn’t want us to stress ourselves with it either. We must value the gift of communication with God – we must pray. Pray about everything. EVERYTHING. We must linger in His presence, spend time in His word, get to know His ways and voice, let Him reveal what is essential, and let go of the rest. We must yield our understanding to His in order to be cultivated into people who reflect His Kingdom in the Earth. Our lives are not our own if we are in Christ; we have traded this world’s systems for the Kingdom of God, and it’s a system we must learn to properly function in to bring His Kingdom into the Earth. I know He doesn’t want you and me to carry the weight of concerns as the world does; He promised “His yoke is easy and His burden is light”. But we must “learn of Him…” – we must allow our hearts to be joined to His because this connection yields rest for our souls… Let’s read Matthew 11:28-30 (KJV) here together:

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Now let’s focus…

Consider This: Allowing ourselves to be open sounds like a vulnerable position. It is; IF we’re more open to everything and everyone else than we are to GOD. There’s no way to guard ourselves apart from Him, and when we take the time to cultivate a proper relationship with Him, talk to Him about everything, and trust Him with everything especially our hearts, He’s promised to guard our hearts and lighten the load. We can’t manage without Him; there are too many unknown factors in our journey to attempt to navigate alone. We need the kind of peace that carries us beyond our understanding. We need the peace of Almighty God to guard our hearts from all of life’s challenges. I know I need Him, and I’m certain I’m not alone. Let’s consider these passages of scripture with new revelation and allow Him to lighten the burden of guarding our hearts. It’s time to give it all over to the One who Sees and Knows ALL…