The wisdom of Scripture is often dispensed in YBH-sized soundbites. 

YBH stands for Yes, but how? 

“Be strong and courageous?” Yes, but how?

“I can do all things through Christ.” Yes, but how?

“God works everything together for good.” Yes, but how?

And especially, ​“Be anxious for nothing” or ​“Don’t worry about your life.” 

Yes! I want to do that, but how?

Without context and guidance, admonitions like these meant for our good can be at best powerless platitudes and at worst sources of shame.

Take, for example, the quotes above about anxiety and worry.

We live in an age of anxiety. For many Christians, worry has displaced Christ at the center of our lives. We’re anxious. And to make matters worse, we feel bad about it. 

We may know a hundred reasons behind the worry — wars and rumors of wars and 6.1 inches of constant connectivity buzzing in our pockets — yet still not know how to move toward peace.

We may try chanting ​“be anxious for nothing” over and over again, but it doesn’t make it so. Because we cannot push peace into our own or anyone else’s soul — even if we’re quoting the Bible.

Does that mean the words of Scripture are without relevance and power? 

Not at all. We simply need to zoom out and lean in.

We zoom out to hear context. We lean in — like John on Jesus at the Last Supper — to hear the heartbeat of God pulsing through the text.

Let’s try that now with a bit of the ​“be anxious for nothing” passage from Phillippians 4. 

Listen to Saint Paul’s practical wisdom. Feel his loving care for the Philippian people. Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase helps us hear it afresh. (My comments are in italics.)

* * *

“My dear, dear friends! I love you so much. I do want the best for you. You make me feel such joy…” 

Wow, these words hit differently when I know the face saying them is beaming.

“Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side…” 

Already Paul is giving us concrete ways to pave the path for peace: celebrate God; take loving action. Now comes the famous line, followed by more practical wisdom.

“Don’t worry or fret. [Be anxious for nothing.] Instead of worrying, pray.”

“Let petitions and praises
shape your worries into prayers,
letting God know your concerns.”

“Before you know it,
a sense of God’s wholeness,
everything coming together for good,
will come and settle you down.” 

I wasn’t planning on quoting this much, but it’s just so good…

“It’s wonderful what happens
when Christ displaces worry
at the center of your life.”

And how do we place Christ at the center of our lives? Paul doesn’t leave us hanging:

“…You’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true…the beautiful, not the ugly…. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”

* * *

Ah! The how was there after all:

Practice gratitude. 

Name your emotions and concerns before God. 

Focus on beauty and goodness. 

Find a Jesus-follower you know personally who is a non-anxious presence. Ask how they live and think. Practice that.

The peace of God is not a quick fix applied with a Scripture-verse bandaid. Peace takes time to permeate. It comes as we learn a new way of being and thinking and living. 

Zoom out, lean in, and Jesus will teach us how.