With Thanksgiving
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, WITH THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6
Charles Darwin, the author of “On the Origin of Species” and the author of the theory of the evolution of man, was a constant worrier. He fretted about his children, about his work, about his deadlines, about his reputation and, almost always, about what ailed him. Darwin, it could be argued, suffered from anxiety, one of the most common conditions on the planet.
He was a man of chronically bad health who struggled with a long list of afflictions, including heart palpitations, stomachaches and headaches. We know from his letters, his autobiography, his methodical health journal and the observations of family and friends that his trials and achievements were often paired with pain, immobilization and isolation. And yet doctors could find nothing intrinsically wrong with him.
Darwin’s increased worry corresponded to his growing scepticism of Christianity. He said, “I never gave up Christianity until I was forty years of age.” The more he railed against God, the more anxiety he had in his life.
When worry enters our life, we need to draw near to our Heavenly Father and give our anxiety to Him. And one of the veritable ways to be cured of worrying is to fill our days with Thanksgiving, even as we give the Lord all of our worries and receive from Him perfect peace.
The saying is true that – no man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow’s burden is added to the burden of today, that the weight is more than a man can bear.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” – Matthew 6:25