Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

—Philippians 4:6–7

With each passing year, more and more Americans are struggling with anxiety. The causes for this trend are manifold. Spiraling inflation and economic instability raise concerns about affording basic needs. The carnage caused by wars and civil unrest assails our eyes every time we look at the news or social media. Agendas and policies that lead to confusion and chaos abound in every sphere of our society, as even matters of created, immutable biology are disputed. Toxic and divisive politics add stress to our lives, including our interpersonal relationships.

Taking all of this into consideration, it’s easy to see why many people are distraught over the state of our nation. Even so, Paul’s words in Philippians remind us that Christians can and should respond to distressing current events in a different way.

Our Needs Are Known

First, the apostle admonishes us to “be anxious for nothing” (Philippians 4:6). These words echo what Jesus preached in the Sermon on the Mount: “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’… For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:31–34).

Jesus tells us that our Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and will provide for them—especially the basic needs to sustain our lives here on earth, like food and clothing. Instead of fretting over these things, Jesus suggests that we seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first and foremost, an acknowledgment that while the temporal is important, the eternal is essential. And the more we “set [our] mind[s] on things above,” the less we’ll be inordinately focused “on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2).

Focus on God’s Faithfulness

Next, Paul writes, “But in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). This is more than a suggestion—it’s a command to bring everything that’s on our hearts and minds to the Lord. We speak to Him, presenting our petitions and offering thanksgiving for the many ways He has blessed us. Gratitude is an antidote to anxiety, because it reorients our thinking from what-ifs and difficult circumstances toward concrete evidence of God’s provision in our lives and His faithfulness to us.

The Peace of God

Philippians 4:7 says, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” It’s such a comforting, hopeful, and lovely thought, that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. But what exactly is “the peace of God”? Exploring this word as it’s used throughout the life of Jesus can help enhance our understanding, even if the full depth of the meaning is beyond our comprehension.

After Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem, an angel announced this event to the shepherds, and “there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’” (Luke 2:13–14; cf. Luke 19:38). The angels praised the Father and heralded the most critical event in human history. Their proclamation signaled that through this Child, mankind would be reconciled to God, bringing peace and reestablishing the fellowship that sin had broken.

That same truth was spoken by Simeon, an elder Jew who was at the temple the day Mary and Joseph brought Jesus for presentation. Simeon had been told he wouldn’t die until he saw the Christ Child. When he encountered Jesus, “he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: ‘Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel’” (Luke 2:28–32). Simeon’s words gave insight into Jesus’s specific purpose: to bring salvation not just to the Jews but to all people. And once Simeon saw the fulfillment of the promised Christ, he knew that he, too, was reconciled to God and had peace in Him.

Christ’s Peace Is Our Peace

Between the Last Supper and His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus promised His disciples, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). Jesus makes it clear that His peace is something we’ll never be able to find anywhere in the world—it only comes through faith in and fellowship with Him. And only He can give it to us.

Later in that same conversation, Jesus told them, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). While struggle and strife in this world are a guarantee, so is the promise our Lord makes here—that no matter what happens, He is victorious.

After Jesus’s death and resurrection, on Easter Sunday He appeared to the disciples, who were hiding in a room because they were afraid of the Jews. Suddenly, “Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’” (John 20:19). The disciples were undoubtedly anxious and uncertain about many things. So what did Jesus do? He came to them and declared peace. Jesus showed them His pierced hands and wounded side, and “then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord” (John 20:20).

In his epistle to the church in Rome, Paul wrote, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:1–4). When we are brought to faith in Christ—even when the world gives us plenty of reasons to be anxious—fears and doubts subside, as His peace becomes our peace.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the peace we have with You and with one another in Christ Jesus, who “made peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:20). Help us to bring our concerns to You, and strengthen our hearts, daily reminding us of the hope we have in Jesus. And urge us to share this hope with our fellow Americans who struggle with anxiety and life’s uncertainties. In His name we pray. Amen.

For Further Reflection

• Consider a time when a situation in the United States made you anxious or worried. Did you take that situation to the Lord? If not, how might you do this in the future?
• In a nation that’s constantly experiencing different types of conflict and hardship, how can our responses to anxiety-inducing circumstances serve as a witness to the peace and hope we have in Jesus Christ?

Excerpt taken from One Nation Under God: 40 Devotions for Patriotic Women by Amanda C. Bauch (forthcoming November 11, 2025, from Post Hill Press)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version^®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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