Garry spoke this morning on ‘fixation, fatalism or faith?’, the choices which we face on a daily basis. When difficulties come our way, we can easily feel overwhelmed and become anxious, but Paul gives us ways to deal with such situations in Phil 4:4-8. Christian meditation is not so much an ’emptying’ of the mind as filling it with God’s word. We are called not to focus on our problems, but to bring them to God and leave our anxieties with Him (see also Matt 6:25-34). He cares for us and provides for us, and this needs to be the focus of our attention rather than simply focussing on the problem.
God knows all we need, therefore it is pointless to fixate on our problems. He cares for us, so we can come to Him with our specific requests and with thanksgiving for His care and concern. Then we must walk away from the problem, leaving it with him. (Don’t be like the person who is forever touching paint to see if it has dried yet!)
Christians are team players; we can share our concerns with others, but again, we have to understand that there is only so much people can do. We are not fatalists, expecting bad things to happen; we are people who can experience the intervention of God – and can encourage others to wait for this (see Ex 14:10-14). We do what we can (whether that is standing still as in this instance or in marching and shouting as Joshua was commanded in Josh 6:2-5), but ultimately it is God who will bring the walls down and deliver us. We can be in difficult and dire situations that are life changing and life-threatening, but ultimately, as we let go of all that is beyond our ability, we must learn to trust God and leave Him to do His part. It’s much better to have faith than to have fixations or live in fatalistic resignation. When we trust God, the peace of God can guard our hearts and minds and we can live without anxiety.