We have seen that anxiety is opposed to forbearance. Anxiety is like a worm which devours our ability to forbear. If we have no forbearance, it will be easy for us to be upset or to lose our temper. Anger often comes out of anxiety. If I am worried about my future, my circumstances, or my family, I will not be happy with others. This worry will cause me to be upset with everyone. Only when we are happy and contented do we have forbearance.
In a previous message we pointed out that happiness and contentment are two elements which produce forbearance. Only a happy, satisfied person can forbear. One who is sorrowful and discontented, on the contrary, is easily irritated or offended. Because Paul was full of happiness and contentment, with him there was no anxiety, but an abundance of forbearance.
We know from Paul’s word in 4:10-12 that, at least for a period of time, he was short of supply. But he could testify, “I have learned, in whatever circumstances I am, to be content.” He could say, “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to hunger, both to abound and to be in want.” Because Paul had learned the secret, he could be content and, as a result, have an abundance of forbearance.
Many have pointed out that Philippians is a book of joy. Again and again Paul exhorts us to rejoice in the Lord. Paul’s environment would have made it difficult for anyone to be joyful. We do not usually think of a prison as a place for rejoicing. But because Paul had no anxiety, no worry about his circumstances or future, he could rejoice in the Lord and be forbearing.
If we would have a life free of anxiety, we need to realize that all our circumstances, good or bad, have been assigned to us by God. We need to have this realization with a full assurance. Suppose a brother is in business as a merchant. His business may prosper, and he may earn a good deal of money. Later his business may fail and he may lose much more than he earned. Both earning money and losing it are God’s assignment to him. If this brother has the full assurance that his circumstances come from God’s assignment, he will be able to worship the Lord for His arrangement. Perhaps losing money will benefit him more than earning money, for through such a loss he may be perfected and built up.
Likewise, both illness and good health come from God as His assignment. We should all aspire to be healthy. But sometimes good health does not perfect us as much as a period of illness. Furthermore, when our health fails, we may be more inclined to pray than when we are in good health.
The first prerequisite to having no anxiety is to have the full assurance that all the sufferings we experience are God’s assignment. What need is there to worry about things? God has assigned them to us. He knows what we need.
When I was very young, I read a story about a conversation between two sparrows who were talking about the sorrows and the worries common among human beings. One sparrow asked the other why people worry so much. The other sparrow answered, “I don’t think they have a Father who cares for them like we do. We don’t need to worry about anything because our Father takes care of us.” Yes, our Father does care for us. But sometimes He sends us hardships and sufferings to serve in fulfilling our destiny to magnify Christ. We can be freed from worry not because God has promised us a life without suffering, but because we know that all our circumstances come to us as God’s assignment. Paul did not care about life or death. He cared only that Christ would be magnified in him. He realized that every circumstance was for his good. This is the way to have no anxiety.
Why do certain saints worry about losing money? Simply because their desire is to have more money. Why are others anxious about their health? They are anxious because they are afraid to die. If we are ill, we need to declare, “Satan, what can you do to me? I am not worried about death. Death does not make me anxious. Rather, the possibility of dying gives me another opportunity to magnify Christ.” Instead of fearing poverty, illness, or death, we should welcome them if God sends them to us. Then we shall have no anxiety, for we shall know that every circumstance is an assignment from our Father. This does not mean, however, that we should seek suffering for its own sake. We should not do things that will cause us to suffer. Those who are in business should seek to make money, and those who are employees should try to get a promotion. But if we lose money or even lose our job, we need not be anxious. Such a loss comes from God’s assignment, and we need not be anxious about it.