So many people are anxious about the pandemic. It has thrown anxiety front and center. We worry about everything now.  How will our kids fare? What is the job market going to be like? Will I still have a job? What about the variants? Am I really safe? When will schools re-open? The list goes on and on. Uncertainty reigns!

For those who have no faith, you should worry. Without faith, you alone are “it.” Everything depends on you. You can accumulate wealth and lose it. You can do everything right and still get sick. You can plan for most things and experience the unexpected. Ultimately, you do your best, but uncertainty can win the day. This is our reality. The pandemic has exacerbated a spiritual problem in our culture. When you don’t know what you can rely on, worry sets in. And relying on self is no guarantee of anything.

But the Christian faith provides a vaccine against worry. The worry virus is surging but  the vaccine is readily available. No signing up. No lines or waiting periods. It’s ready for all. Today. But it requires believing in Christ and having faith.

So if you need a reason to believe in Christ, here it is. The Christian faith combats worry. Not only is there a command to not worry, but the bonus is peace. Who doesn’t want this? And it’s free!

I am not advocating strategies of escape and avoidance. This vaccine of faith allows you to stay grounded in reality and still be anxious about nothing. Here is how it works. The vaccine is provided in Philippians 4:6-8. We need to take it now. Don’t be an anti-vaxxer. And some of us may need a booster shot to deal with all the variants. We might not be anxious about the big things, but still worry about every day small things. Why?  Because we get focused on self and not on Christ.

To be vaccinated against the virus of worry:

1. We have our orders: Be anxious about nothing. This requires an understanding of the God we serve. He never leaves, abandons, has our good in mind, is for us not against us, works all things for our good and more. He is trustworthy, faithful and does not change. The command is not to worry about a single thing. When we do, we engage in doubt, which BTW, is a sin. We doubt God is who He says He is and does what He says He does. Faith is required to combat all the things that bring on worry. To be anxious about nothing, you have to know who God is and believe.
2. Petition Christ for whatever ails you. Yes, tell God what you need-big, small, it doesn’t matter. The directive is to petition in prayer. God answers when we pray but we must pray. It’s in prayer we give our burdens to God. Do you pray for whatever you need? Or do you act on your power, trusting in the government, your money, your family, friends, finances, etc? Pray and petition God.
3. When you pray, also  give thanks. Thank God for what He has done in the past and what He will do in the future. Count your blessings. Name them. Rehearse the goodness of God and expect no less for your future. God wasn’t good 10 years ago but He suddenly retired! His goodness continues. Now this doesn’t mean that trouble will not come. But even in trouble, God promises His presence and a way of escape.
4. The pay off. When you do all of this, there is a pay off. It’s a promise from God, meaning you can depend on it. He promises His peace. Peace that goes beyond our understanding. The deeper we go with God, the more peace we find. We are in a storm, but with God, we have peace. It doesn’t make much sense in the natural because it is supernatural. Hard to explain but very real when you experience it.

I’m not making this up. I have found this vaccine to work every time I have taken it. It is proven to be highly effective against the virus of worry. And it is evidence-based spiritual medicine. Talk to people who’ve taken the vaccine and you will hear story after story of God’s faithfulness.

Worry serves no purpose in our life. It keeps us stuck, hurts our health, and makes us miserable. It’s a ploy that keeps a lot of us sick. Worry steals our joy and leads to doubt. You can try and manage worry and you may have success now and again. But without God in the picture, worry returns. So why wouldn’t God provide a vaccine against something so destructive and anxiety producing? Why wouldn’t a loving God help us? Why would God gives us a command to be anxious about nothing and then say, “Good luck with that?” So if course he provides the vaccine.

Let today be the day you take the vaccine and let go of worry. For more help with worry, Letting Go of Worry.