How do we eliminate, or at least minimize, the state of anxiety and uncertainty over problems that can often be described as Worry? Believe it or not, there is a time-tested solution that is presented to us in a letter from a man named Paul to a group of people he dearly loved; and the advice he offered in the first century to his friends is still applicable to us today. No matter what stirs up that anxiousness inside of us, whether it’s a diagnosis, disappointment, or discontentment, we have been provided with a method to fight off the worry associated with just being a human in this rough-and-tumble world. Worry’s Kryptonite, the material that weakens its impact, is a simple, although not always easy, solution of engaging in gratitude through prayers of thanksgiving.

In case you have never heard of Kryptonite (which I find doubtful since every generation has been exposed to some version of the DC Comic character Superman), let me offer some background. Being a young child in the 1970s, my exposure to Superman was through movies starring Christopher Reeve as the beloved Clark Kent/Superman character and a few black-and-white reruns of a 1950s television show. Regardless of how you were exposed to Superman’s adventures, you heard about this substance known as Kryptonite, which according to Wikipedia is a “fictional material…it is a green crystalline material originating from Superman’s home world of Krypton that emits a unique radiation that weakens Superman… Due to Superman’s popularity, kryptonite has become a byword for an extraordinary exploitable weakness, synonymous with ‘Achilles’ heel’.”

Worry’s Kryptonite is revealed to us in Scripture in the book of Philippians, which is the letter that forms the backdrop for Matt Chandler’s book To Live is Christ. “The larger context of Philippians asks the rhetorical question, ‘What would you have to be anxious about? There is not a square inch of creation in which God isn’t present and sovereign. If we could get out of our heads the idea that the future is something God simply knows and get into our heads the idea that the future is a place where God already is, that He doesn’t just know about the past and see the present and know about the future, but that He stands outside of time and reigns over all of it sovereignly, what would we have to be anxious about?” Nothing! Absolutely nothing! And yet…I still worry, how about you?

Now, here is one of the things I treasure about Paul’s advice of how maturing Christ followers live out their faith, it’s a one-size-fits all, no adjustment needed answer. If you happen to be an Enneagram 5, like me, your anxiousness might arise when you see your schedule and realize time is scarce this week where an Enneagram 8 might begin to stress over being controlled by others when not being allowed a voice in a particular situation. Regardless of our personalities or temperaments, we all experience worry in some form or fashion, but Worry’s Kryptonite, an Attitude of Gratitude is available to each and every one of us, in each and every situation where worry creeps into our heads.

Chandler offers us a great perspective from Philippians, “Really, prayer and worry are of the same essence. They are both a rehearsing of circumstances, a mulling over, and a kind of mental and emotional chewing…Paul says that our supplication to God should be accompanied ‘with thanksgiving.’ This thanksgiving is a sort of humble, ‘Thank you, Lord, for hearing me.’ It is a thankfulness for God’s listening ear and caring heart. This thankfulness should be a part of our prayers regardless of whether He answers the way we want Him to…So we fill up the space where anxiety grows with humble, lowly ‘help me’ prayers that are full of thanksgiving for God’s goodness, God’s gifts, and the ultimate good gift, the gospel. The gospel is grounds for unassailable joy.”

Philippians encourages us to voice our thanksgiving in the form of prayers to God; but even someone who isn’t a Christ follower can apply this attitude to their life and benefit. There is a great deal of research on how keeping a gratitude journal improves our mental health. What if we took the time to express our gratitude, specifically in writing, to those in our family who need us to express our thanksgiving for all the ways they have loved us? Unexpressed Gratitude builds resentment, expressed gratitude builds up others. And just makes the world a better place for everyone.

In closing, I offer you a chance to share in the comments below how expressing gratitude has helped you to overcome the dangerous burden of worry and Chandler urges us to remember this: “Thanksgiving and worry can’t occupy the same space. Thanksgiving is Worry’s Kryptonite. You can’t worry if you’re giving thanks. When we go to God with our supplication and thanksgiving, our worry and anxiety flee like roaches when the lights come on.”

References:

Chandler, M. & Wilson, J. (2013). To live is Christ to die is gain. David Cook.

Kryptonite. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kryptonite