Be anxious (3309) (merimnao from merimna [word study] = anxious care from meris = part, in turn from [Sources: Vine's Expository Dictionary, Ralph Earle - Word Meanings in the NT] the verb merizo = to distract, to divide, to draw different directions - which is exactly what anxiety does to most of us!) expresses a strong feeling for something or someone, often to the point of being burdened. Although this can be a "positive" concern, in most of the NT uses it refers to an anxious concern, based on apprehension about possible danger or misfortune, and so it means to be worried about, to be anxious about, to be apprehensive (viewing the future with anxiety or alarm), to be unduly concerned, to be burdened with anxious care or cumbered with many cares and in simple terms to worry. Larry Richards offers a well reasoned assessment of merimnao explaining that... The verb originally meant "to care," or "to be concerned about." When used by the Greeks concerning the future, both words came to connote anxious expectation. When used of the present, the words expressed an aching sense of grief. The meaning of any term, however, is defined by the way it is used. It is the way that Jesus and the writers of the Gospels and Epistles, guided by the Holy Spirit, used words that filled them with their biblical meaning... According to the Bible, anxiety is often legitimate. The word indicates first of all a sense of concern for self and/or for others. In 1Co 7, for instance, it is used to express the commendable concern of a person for his or her spouse (1Co 7:33, 34) and the concern of each "about the Lord's affairs," that is, how to "please the Lord" (1Co 7:32). Paul speaks of the daily "pressure of [his] concern [merimna] for all the churches" (2Co 11:28) and states that God's purpose in the body is that each part have "equal concern [merimnao] for each other" and that "if one part suffers, every part suffers with it" (1Co 12:25, 26). Even in speaking of the "worries of this life" (Mt 13:22; Mk 4:19), Jesus is simply stating a fact of life. We are living in this present world, and there are necessary concerns that each individual must attend to. But while it is legitimate to have concerns that we will at times experience as demanding pressures, there is a limit to their legitimacy. The "worries of this life" may so dominate our attention that they make God's Word unfruitful in our lives (Mt 13:22; Mk 4:19). The pressures of legitimate concerns can cause us to so focus on worldly matters that we forget to relate our needs and our worries to the Lord. (Richards, L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency) Merimnao is used 17 times in the NT is translated in the NAS as "concerned, 4; have...care, 1; be anxious, 11; worry, 1. Matthew 6:25 (note) "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? 6:27 (note) And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span? 6:28 (note) And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 6:31 (note) Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' 6:34 (note) Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 10:19 "But when they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what you will speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak. Luke 10:41 But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; Luke 12:11 "And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not become anxious about how or what you should speak in your defense, or what you should say; 22 And He said to His disciples, "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. 25 "And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span? 26 "If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why are you anxious about other matters? 1 Corinthians 7:32 But I want you to be free from concern (amerimnos). One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; 33 but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. 1 Corinthians 12:25 that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. Philippians 2:20 (note) For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. (Comment: An example of "good worry") Philippians 4:6 (note) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Here are the 7 uses of merimnao in the non-apocryphal Septuagint (LXX) (Ex 5:9 - twice; 2Sa 7:10; 1Chr 17:9; Ps 38:18; Pr 14:23; Ezek.16:42). Here are 2 representative uses... 2 Samuel 7:10 "I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed (Hebrew = ragaz = be agitated, quiver, quake, perturbed; Lxx = merimnao) again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly 1 Chronicles 17:9 "And I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be moved (ESV = disturbed) (Hebrew Ragaz = to be agitated, to quiver, to quake, to be perturbed/disturbed; Lxx = merimnao) no more; neither shall the wicked waste them anymore as formerly, Psalm 38:18 For I confess my iniquity; I am full of anxiety (Hebrew = daag = to be anxious, concerned, fearful; Lxx = merimnao) because of my sin. (Spurgeon's note) Worry has a fascinating etymology which can be traced back to the Old High German "wurgen" which means "to strangle" which is what worry does to our joy! Webster adds that in "dialect British" worry means to "choke" or to "strangle". The first definition of "worry" in Webster is "to harass by tearing, biting, or snapping especially at the throat", and then "to subject to persistent or nagging attention or effort" and "to afflict with mental distress or agitation = make anxious". (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 10th ed. Springfield, Mass) Merimnao in the present context means to have an anxious concern, based on apprehension about possible danger or misfortune and is characterized by extreme uneasiness of mind or brooding fear about some contingency and emphasizes a fear of frustration, failure or disappointment. The idea inherent in merimnao is of attempting to carry the burden of the future oneself and of unreasonable anxiety especially about things over which one has no control. TDNT says that the word group which includes merimnao... "...covers much the same range of meaning as the English “care”: a. “to care for someone or something,” b. “to be concerned or anxious,” c. “to be intent on or strive after,” d. “to be anxiously expectant,” e. “to be solicitous,” and f. “to brood, speculate, or inquire.” The plural mérimnai is often used for the cares of life which disturb sleep, from which refuge is sought in love or drink, and which only death can end... The NT realizes that life is swayed by care. Concern is unavoidable but it is given a new orientation. Liberation from it comes as one casts it upon God, not because God grants every wish, but because prayer grants freedom from care. To be anxious about food or clothing is opposed to concern for the kingdom of God (see note Matthew 6:25-26). Naturally we have to work (see note 1Thessalonians 2:9), but we cannot secure life by care; our concern must be for the kingdom. To care for the world is to fall victim to it. If care gains control over us, it leads to apostasy (Lk 21:34). We must focus on the one thing needful ("Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things"! Lk 10:41,42), confronting worldly ties with a hōs me [Ed note: "as though they had none" attitude] (1 Cor. 7:29ff). We belong to the coming aeon and must be ready for it (Lk 21:34). But this entails care for others as members of the same body (1Co 12:25).(Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Eerdmans) The New International Dictionary of NT Theology writes that... "merimna (in depth study) can mean both care in the sense of an anxious fear and also caring for, providing for, and merimnao can mean being anxious, worried, and care, take responsibility for someone or something. In keeping with this meaning, the words are usually concerned with objects in the future (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan) Lawrence Richards writes that merimnao... originally meant "to care," or "to be concerned about." When used by the Greeks concerning the future, both words came to connote anxious expectation. When used of the present, the words expressed an aching sense of grief. The meaning of any term, however, is defined by the way it is used. It is the way that Jesus and the writers of the Gospels and Epistles, guided by the Holy Spirit, used words that filled them with their biblical meaning. Either merimnao or merimna is used in each NT passage where "anxiety" or "worry" appears...These words are not always translated "anxiety" or "worry," but the thought of anxious concern is expressed in each context." (Richards, L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency) Barclay gives some examples of use in secular Greek writings explaining that merimnao means... means to worry anxiously. Its corresponding noun is merimnan, which means worry. In a papyrus letter a wife writes to her absent husband: “I cannot sleep at night or by day, because of the worry (merimna) I have about your welfare.” A mother, on hearing of her son’s good health and prosperity writes back: “That is all my prayer and all my anxiety (merimna).” Anacreon, the poet, writes: “When I drink wine, my worries (merimna) go to sleep.” (Ed note: this is not true in the Bible however!) In Greek the word is the characteristic word for anxiety, and worry, and care. (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press or Logos) Marvin Vincent writes that the... The cognate noun is merimna, care, which was formerly derived from meris, a part; merizo , to divide; and was explained accordingly as a dividing care, distracting the heart from the true object of life. This has been abandoned, however, and the word is placed in a group which carries the common notion of earnest thoughtfulness. It may include the ideas of worry and anxiety, and may emphasize these, but not necessarily." (Vincent, M. R. Word Studies in the New Testament Vol. 1, Page 3-48) Vine writes that... merimnao denotes to have a distracting care. This is to be absent entirely from the believer. Anxiety harasses the soul; it enfeebles, irritates, ruffles the temper, is a sign of mistrust and of failing obedience, and distracts the mind from communion with God (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson or Logos) Anxiety is a very picturesque word, pictures to be pulled in different directions. Our hopes pull us in one direction; our fears (see topic: How To Handle Fear) pull us the opposite direction; and we are pulled apart! The English word "anxious" has a very "telling" derivation from the Latin word Latin anxius which is akin to Latin angere which means to strangle (compare with "worry" above)! Isn't that what anxiety does to most of us...strangle us and render us ineffective in God's kingdom work? Be anxious is a command (imperative mood = not a suggestion) not a suggest or an option and is in the present tense which calls for continuous action. Paul says that the habit of our life is to not be anxious. The Greek construction indicates that Paul is giving a prohibition which forbids the continuance of an action already habitually going on. In other words, the Philippian saints were habitually worrying and Paul exhorts them to stop. Paul uses merimnao in a positive light in chapter 2 extolling the virtues of his young protégée Timothy reminding the Philippians I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned (merimnao) for your welfare. (notes Philippians 2:20) Eadie writes that The solicitude (anxiety) guarded against is that state of mind in which one frets himself to know more than he is able, or reach something too far beyond him, or is anxious to make provision for contingencies, to guard against suspected evils, and nerve himself against apprehended failures and disasters. The spirit is thrown into a fever by such troubles, so that joy in the Lord is abridged, and this forbearance would be seriously endangered. Not that the apostle counsels utter indifference, for indifference would preclude prayer; but his meaning is, that no one of them should tease and torment himself about anything, when he may get what he wants by prayer. There is nothing any one would be the better of having, which he may not hopefully ask from God. Why then should he be anxious?— why, especially, should any one prolong such anxiety, or nurse it into a chronic distemper? Warren Wiersbe adds that From the spiritual point of view, worry is wrong thinking (the mind) and wrong feeling (the heart) about circumstances, people, and things. Worry is the greatest thief of joy. It is not enough for us, however, to tell ourselves to “quit worrying” because that will never capture the thief. Worry is an “inside job,” and it takes more than good intentions to get the victory. The antidote to worry is the secure mind: “And the peace of God... shall keep [garrison, guard like a soldier] your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7). When you have the secure mind, the peace of God guards you (Phil. 4:7) and the God of peace guides you (Phil. 4:9). With that kind of protection—why worry? (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor or Logos) Charles Spurgeon once said that... our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength. The NT realizes that life is swayed by care. Concern is unavoidable but it is given a new orientation. Liberation from it comes as one casts it upon God. How do we "cast" our burdens upon God? Somewhat paradoxically by continually making our anxieties known to Him in thankful prayer. God obviously knows, but our act of declaring our anxious thoughts to Him represents a humbling of one's self beneath His mighty hand. And we know that although He opposes the proud, He gives grace to the humble and exalts them at the appropriate time. Peter contrasts two types of care in the following exhortation to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God... casting (vivid verb used only one other time to describe the disciples casting their coats on a colt in Lk 19:35) all (no exceptions) (our) cares (noun merimna = anxieties, worries, concerns) upon Him for He cares (picture of God exercising watchful care, interest and affection over His children, cf Lk 21:18) for you (see note 1 Peter 5:7) The psalmist writes Cast (in Hebrew = a command) your burden upon the LORD (releasing the weight of if) and He will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. (Ps 55:22) Matthew Henry comments - we must cast it upon God by faith and prayer, commit our way and works to him; let him do as seemeth him good, and we will be satisfied. To cast our burden upon God is to stay ourselves on his providence and promise, and to be very easy in the assurance that all shall work for good. If we do so, it is promised, 1. That he will sustain us, both support and supply us, will himself carry us in the arms of his power, as the nurse carries the sucking-child, will strengthen our spirits so by his Spirit as that they shall sustain the infirmity. He has not promised to free us immediately from that trouble which gives rise to our cares and fears; but he will provide that we be not tempted above what we are able, and that we shall be able according as we are tempted. 2. That he will never suffer the righteous to be moved, to be so shaken by any troubles as to quit either their duty to God or their comfort in him. However, he will not suffer them to be moved for ever (as some read it); though they fall, they shall not be utterly cast down. Spurgeon comments - Thy burden, or what thy God lays upon thee, lay thou it upon the Lord. His wisdom casts it on thee, it is thy wisdom to cast it on him. He cast thy lot for thee, cast thy lot on him. He gives thee thy portion of suffering, accept it with cheerful resignation, and then take it back to him by thine assured confidence. He shall sustain thee. Thy bread shall be given thee, thy waters shall be sure. Abundant nourishment shall fit thee to bear all thy labours and trials. As thy days so shall thy strength be. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. He may move like the boughs of a tree in the tempest, but he shall never be moved like a tree torn up by the roots. He stands firm who stands in God. Many would destroy the saints, but God has not suffered it, and never will. Like pillars, the godly stand immoveable, to the glory of the Great Architect. Wiersbe writing on Psalm 55:22 adds this reminder... This promise tells us that Christians do have burdens. David is not talking about concern for others, although it's good to bear one another's burdens. Instead, he means the burdens that the Lord allows each one of us to bear. One translation reads, "Cast what he has given thee upon the Lord." Burdens are not accidents but appointments. The burdens you have in your life today are what God has ordained for you--unless they are the result of your own rebellious sin against Him. Burdens help us grow; they help us exercise the muscles of our faith. They teach us how to trust God and live a day at a time. This promise also tells us that we can cast these burdens on the Lord. Peter said, "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" (notes 1 Peter 5:7). The Lord gives us the burden, and then He says, "Now give that burden back to Me. But don't stop there; give Me yourself as well." If we try to give Him our burdens without giving Him ourselves, He really can't help us. It's like stepping onto an elevator with many heavy packages and failing to put them down on the floor until you reach your destination. Let the elevator carry both you and your packages. Notice that the verse doesn't say He'll keep you from problems all the time. He's going to use problems to build your character. But he'll make sure the righteous will not be moved. Cast your burden on the Lord. Let Him sustain you today. Giving your burden to God is an act of faith. But giving yourself to Him and letting Him use that burden to help you grow is taking an extra step of faith. He will invest that burden in building your character. Give your burdens to the Lord today. (Prayer, Praise and Promises) What's the cure for worry? Spiritually stable people react to trials with thankful prayer. Such prayer is the antidote to worry and the cure for anxiety. The theology of prayer is not in view here, but rather its priority and the attitude the believer brings to it. Bengel wrote that Care (anxious) and prayer are as mutually opposed as fire and water. Barnes adds that Paul does not mean that we are to exercise no care about worldly matters - no care to preserve our property, or to provide for our families (cf 1Ti 5:8); but that there is to be such confidence in God as to free the mind from anxiety, and such a sense of dependence on him as to keep it calm. Spurgeon wrote There is no more blessed way of living than a life of dependence upon a covenant-keeping God. We have no care, for He cares for us; we have no troubles, because we cast our burdens upon the Lord. Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909), former US Senate chaplain, said, Never attempt to bear more than one kind of trouble at once. Some people bear three kinds--all they have had, all they have now, and all they expect to have. The venerable D L Moody once quipped that saints should be Careful for nothing, prayerful for everything, thankful for anything Calvin writes that saints are not made of iron so as not to be shaken by temptations. But this is our consolation, this is our solace --to deposit, or (to speak with greater propriety) to disburden in the bosom of God everything that harasses us. Confidence, it is true, brings tranquility to our minds, but it is only in the event of our exercising ourselves in prayers. Whenever, therefore, we are assailed by any temptation, let us betake ourselves forthwith to prayer, as to a sacred asylum. Corrie Ten Boom sage had several wise thoughts regarding anxiety and worry... Look around and be distressed. Look inside and be depressed. Look at Jesus and be at rest. Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is to small to be made into a burden WORRY (cp ANXIETY) WHAT IS IT? Worry... ...gives a small thing a big shadow ...is the interest we pay on tomorrow's troubles. ...over tomorrow pulls shadows over today's sunshine. ...is like a rocking chair; it will give you something to do, but it won't get you anywhere. ...is an indication that we think God cannot look after us. (O. Chambers) ...is putting question marks where God has put periods. (J R Rice) ...is the interest we pay on tomorrow’s troubles. (E S Jones) is an intrusion into God's providence. (J Haggai) ...is a guest admitted which quickly turns to be master. ... never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its strength (A J Cronin) ... is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble (G W Lyon) ...is practical atheism and an affront to God (R. H. Mounce) Worry is wrong and is in essence sin. Worry is unnecessary (cp "the birds"). Worry is useless (it cannot add an hour to your life or an inch to your height). Worry is blind (to the lessons taught by God's providential care of the birds and flowers). Worry is at its very core being, a failure to trust God. When worry is present, trust cannot crowd its way in. (Billy Graham) Only one type of worry is correct: to worry because you worry too much. (Jewish Proverb) Worms eat you when you’re dead; worries eat you when you’re alive. (Jewish Proverb) Happy is the man who is too busy to worry by day, and too sleepy to worry at night. To carry care to bed is to sleep with a pack on your back. (T C Halliburton) Don’t tell me that worry doesn’t do any good. I know better. The things I worry about don’t happen. (Anon) Worry is a species of myopia—nearsightedness. (E. Stanley Jones) If we bring into one day’s thoughts the evil of many, certain and uncertain, what will be and what will never be, our load will be as intolerable as it is unreasonable. (Jeremy Taylor) So shaken as we are, so wan with care. (William Shakespeare) Michael Green records the following story from the life of the fourteenth-century German Johann Tauler, which aptly demonstrates something of the attitude Jesus is calling His disciples to maintain... One day Tauler met a beggar. ‘God give you a good day, my friend,’ he said. The beggar answered, ‘I thank God I never had a bad one.’ Then Tauler said, ‘God give you a happy life, my friend.’ ‘I thank God’, said the beggar, ‘that I am never unhappy.’ In amazement Tauler asked, ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Well,’ said the beggar, ‘when it is fine I thank God. When it rains I thank God. When I have plenty I thank God. When I am hungry I thank God. And, since God’s will is my will, and whatever pleases him pleases me, why should I say I am unhappy when I am not?’ Tauler looked at the man in astonishment. ‘Who are you?’ he asked. ‘I am a king,’ said the beggar. ‘Where, then, is your kingdom?’ asked Tauler. The beggar replied quietly, ‘In my heart.’ (Ed: Case closed on the need to worry!) E. E. Wordsworth wrote that... There is a little motto that hangs on the wall in my home that again and again has rebuked me: "Why worry when you can pray?" We have often been reminded of the words of the Psalmist, "Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity" (Ps. 37:1 - see Spurgeon's note). Mr. Wesley used to say that he would just as soon swear as to worry. Worrying is evidence of a serious lack of trust in God and His unfailing promises. Worry saddens, blights, destroys, kills. It depletes one's energies, devitalizes the physical man, and enervates the whole spiritual nature. It greatly reduces the spiritual stature and impoverishes the whole spirit. ><> ><> ><> Fretting Is A Waste -- Fret (derived from an Old English word fretan meaning "to eat") means to affect something as if by gnawing or biting, to cause to suffer emotional strain, to become vexed or worried, (of a road surface) to become loose so that potholes develop (think about that definition as a word pix of what happens to the one who frets and worries); a state of irritation or anxiety. To corrode, rub, chafe, fray, vex, agitate, ripple, grate, stew, fume, brood, eat one's heart out, agonize, anguish, lose sleep over, obsess about, upset or distress oneself, worry, erode, gall, wear, wear away, annoy, bother, disturb, chagrin, goad, grieve, harass, irk, irritate, nag, nettle, provoke, rankle with, rile, ruffle, torment, trouble. Whew!!! Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret, it leads only to evildoing (Psalm 37:8) (Note) The older we get, the shorter life seems. Author Victor Hugo said, "Short as life is, we make it still shorter by the careless waste of time." There's no sadder example of wasted time than a life dominated by fretting. Take, for example, an American woman whose dream of riding a train through the English countryside came true. After boarding the train she kept fretting about the windows and the temperature, complaining about her seat assignment, rearranging her luggage, and so on. To her shock, she suddenly reached her journey's end. With deep regret she said to the person meeting her, "If I'd known I was going to arrive so soon, I wouldn't have wasted my time fretting so much." It's easy to get sidetracked by problems that won't matter at life's end—difficult neighbors, a tight budget, signs of aging, people who are wealthier than you. Moses acknowledged the brevity of life and prayed, "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12 - Spurgeon's comment). Instead of fretting, feed on God's Word and apply it to yourself. Strive to grow in God's wisdom every day. Stay focused on eternal values. Make it your goal to greet your waiting Savior one day with a heart of wisdom, rather than a heart of care. —Joanie Yoder (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) (See also booklet What Can I Do With My Worry?) Day by day and with each passing moment, Strength I find to meet my trials here; Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment, I've no cause for worry or for fear. —Berg Worry casts a big shadow behind a small thing. BUT IN EVERYTHING BY PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION WITH THANKSGIVING: all en panti te proseuche kai te deesei meta eucharistias: (7-Gen.32.12" class="scriptRef">Ge 32:7, 8, 9, 10, 11,12; 1Sa 1:15; 30:6; 2Chr 32:20; 33:12,13; Ps 34:5, 6, 7; 51:15; Ps 55:17,22; 62:8; Pr 3:5,6; 16:3; Jer 33:3; Mt 7:7,8; Lk 18:1,7; 12:22; Ep 6:18; Col 4:2; 1Th 5:17,18; 1Pe 4:7; Jude 1:20,21) (See John Macarthur's exposition on Php 4:5-7 & Php 4:6-8 and 4:6b-7Thankful Prayer) but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God (Amp) instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. (NLT) tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer (Phillips) but by prayer and earnest pleading, together with thanksgiving (Weymouth) but in everything by prayer whose essence is that of worship and devotion and by supplication which is a cry for your personal needs with thanksgiving (Wuest) Worry about nothing; pray about everything (McGee) See Related Resources: Exposition of Ephesians 5:20 (Eph 5:20) Exposition of 1Thessalonians 5:18 (1Th 5:18) Now it is one thing to forbid worry and quite another thing to keep from worry. After Paul gives the command to stop worrying, he then shows us the solution. What is the solution? The essence of worry is that we do not trust God to handle the circumstance, etc. In a sense we take "responsibility" for what rightly should be His responsibility. God as our Father has promised (as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount) to providentially care for His children. If God is faithful to keep this promise then why should His child worry? The secret is replacing worry with prayer. The Psalmist had learned the secret exhorting us to "Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be shaken" (Psalm 55:22 - see discussion above) Don't try to carry the heavy burden on your faint shoulders. When the burdens become unbearable, cast them on Jehovah (study of this name) The solution to the problem of anxiety and worry, the solution to the problem of those burdens too heavy to bear is to transfer them onto the shoulders of the One Who Alone is able to bear them. Is your stomach in a knot from worry, causing you irritability and nervous frustration? Then cast them on the Lord. Everything (whatever the matter) (pas) means everything without exception! Not just those "crisis" prayers. No time, no subject, no place is off limits for prayer. In everything; in each emergency, little or great, as it arises, pray; cultivate the habit of referring all things, great or small, to God in prayer. Barclay comments it has been beautifully put: “There is nothing too great for God’s power; and nothing too small for his fatherly care.” A child may take anything, great or small, to a parent, sure that whatever happens to him is of interest there, his little triumphs and disappointments, his passing cuts and bruises; we may in exactly the same way take anything to God, sure of his interest and concern. (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press or Logos) Henry adds that We must not only keep up stated times for prayer, but we must pray upon every particular emergency: In every thing by prayer. When any thing burdens our spirits, we must ease our minds by prayer; when our affairs are perplexed or distressed, we must seek direction and support.