Be Careful for Nothing

Be careful for nothing

Philippians 4:4-6 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. (5) Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. (6) Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Intro. You’ve felt it many times I’m sure that feeling of being overwhelmed. Work begins to pile up around you and the boss is looking to you to fix it. Your family is in conflict this person doesn’t get along with that person and you just want everyone to get along. The end of the month comes and you realize a miracle is needed to make ends meet. What you’re feeling and experiencing is probably stress or anxiety.

Anxiety: 1 a: painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind usually over an impending or anticipated ill 2: an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physiological signs (as sweating, tension, and increased pulse), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one’s capacity to cope with it (2008)

A few statistics:
• Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older (18.1% of U.S. population).
• Anxiety disorders cost the U.S. more than $42 billion a year, almost one-third of the country’s $148 billion total mental health bill, according to "The Economic Burden of Anxiety Disorders," a study commissioned by ADAA and published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Vol. 60, No. 7, July 1999.
• More than $22.84 billion of those costs are associated with the repeated use of health care services; people with anxiety disorders seek relief for symptoms that mimic physical illnesses.
• People with an anxiety disorder are three to five times more likely to go to the doctor and six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than those who do not suffer from anxiety disorders.
(2008)

The verse says “Be careful for nothing” or “Be anxious for nothing”. Don’t be anxious or stressed about anything. Many of us deal with stress or anxiety in different ways. You may think that rest and relaxation will cure all your ills; maybe so. The bible offers several ways to help you and I live without any stress. After all the point of salvation was to set you free from the burden of sin and to admit your need of a Savior. God wants you to live without burdens, especially the burden of stress.

Let’s examine three steps to living carefree. Go back to our text.

Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Number one, Release your cares in prayer.


The problem with stress is having no one to talk to about your problems. If you bottle up all your emotions and feelings you are compounding the stress on your life. What if I told you that you could drop off your cares and not have to worry about them anymore? You wouldn’t worry because you know they are being taken care of.
We treat prayer as a last resort and not a first reaction. If nothing else works we might as well pray. This kind of thinking only increases your stress. Go to God first with prayer.

Application: I’ve spoken to people who say “No one understands what I’m