BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING: meden merimnate (2PPAM): (Da 3:16; Mt 6:25-33; 10:19; 13:22; Lu 10:41; 12:29; 1Co 7:21,32; 1Pe 5:7) (Macarthur Php 4:5-7 & Php 4:6-8)

See related topics:

Fear, How to Handle It
Jesus' admonition "do not be worried" Mt 6:25ff

Here are some other renderings of Philippians 4:6 to help give you a feel for what Paul is commanding...

Stop being anxious about anything (ALT)

for nothing be anxious (YLT)

stop being anxious (Literal)

Don't worry over anything whatever (Phillips)

Stop perpetually worrying about even one thing (Wuest)

Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything (Amp)

Entertain no anxious cares, but throw them all upon God (Lightfoot)

dismiss all anxiety from your minds (NAB)

In context, Paul just reminded the saints about God’s nearness, and follows with the exhortation that believers should not be fearful, anxious, or wavering. There is no greater source of spiritual stability than the confidence that the Lord is near, not only to hear our cry for help but also able to provide help and strength. The psalmist declares “The nearness of God is my good” (Ps 73:28 see Spurgeon's note). Because of God’s nearness, believers should stop being fearful, fretful, anxious, or worried. 

Dwight Pentecost puts this famous passage in proper perspective asking...

Do you ever find yourself worrying? Do you know that Scripture calls worry a sin? When you realized that you were worrying, did you go to God and confess it as a sin? Worry is just as much a sin as adultery, or murder, or theft. Yet how often we as believers treat it lightly when we find our stomachs tied in knots because we have worried ourselves into a nervous frenzy. We don’t realize that we have fallen into sin. (Pentecost, J. D. The Joy of Living: A study of Philippians. Kregel Publications)

The Greek places nothing at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis. The verb be anxious (see below) is present imperative which is a command, not just an exhortation and not  something optional that would be nice to do if we decide to do it. The present tense in fact calls for this to be the habitual practice in the life of believers. The negative preceding the command means they are to stop doing something, implying they are already worrying! Paul says in essence

"Stop worrying and do not under any circumstances worry about anything.”

As discussed more below Paul tells them to stop letting their stomach being tied into knots so that they cannot even eat. Get the crease off of your brows Paul says. This is no small matter because worry makes us irritable and hard to get along with because of the inner pressures we've allowed to build up inside. Paul is not saying that there are not reasons to worry, but he is saying that believers are to avoid this subtle and debilitating sin.

Jesus gave the same command do not worry ("do not be anxious")

Do not be anxious (present imperative with a negative = stop doing this) 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?... 31 "Do not be anxious (conveys the force of a command) then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?'... 34 "Therefore do not be anxious (conveys the force of a command) for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.  (see commentary notes on in Matthew 6:25-26,  6:27-29, 6:30-32, 6:33-34)

Peter offered similar advice writing...

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.  (see notes 1 Peter 5:6-7)

Nothing (medeis from mede = and not, also not + heis = one) literally means "not even one thing" and is placed first in the Greek construction for emphasis.  Now apply this truth - what are saints permitted to worry about?  

J Vernon McGee explains that

Nothing is a very interesting word. If you have something, it’s not nothing—that is not correct grammar, but it is an accurate statement. Nothing is nothing, and you are to worry about nothing. Does this mean we are to look at life through rose-colored glasses, that we are not to face reality? Are we to believe that sin is not real, that sickness is not real, that problems are not real? Are we to ignore these things? No. Paul says that we are to worry about nothing because we are to pray about everything. Nothing is the most exclusive word in the English language. It leaves out everything. “Worry about nothing.” I confess that this is a commandment I sometimes break—I worry." Which of us hasn't fallen into this pit of despond to one degree or other.  (McGee, J V: Thru the Bible Commentary:  Thomas Nelson or Logos)

Guzik has an interesting insight that

Undue care is an intrusion into God's arena. It makes us the father of the household instead of being a child.

Vine adds that

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)

Why might the saints at Philippi have been prone to anxiety? In chapter 1 Paul had encouraged them to "in no way (be) alarmed by (their) opponents" reminding them that to them it had actually "been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake" and even at the time of this writing they were "experiencing the same conflict (strife, contention)" they had seen in him. (see notes Philippians 1:28, 1:29-30) Paul is not making light of the troubles which they face, but he knows that God is greater than all their troubles

The "joyful" saints at Philippi were habitually worrying (see below), continually forfeiting their joy.  All saints need to keep a lofty view of the character and attributes of their God and remember that nothing is outside of His sovereign control or is too difficult for Him to handle. A low view of God leads to spiritual instability with a predisposition toward anxiety and worry.

A. W. Tozer warned years ago that

"the Church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshiping men. This she has done not deliberately, but little by little and without her knowledge; and her very unawareness only makes her situation all the more tragic. The low view of God entertained almost universally among Christians is the cause of a hundred lesser evils everywhere among us. A whole new philosophy of the Christian life has resulted from this one basic error in our religious thinking." (The Knowledge of the Holy)

The result of the church’s failure to equip believers with "The knowledge of the Holy" character and works of God leads ultimately to a lack of confidence in Him. The shifting sands of shallow, even faulty theology provide no stable footing for the souls (and soles) of the believer, who is then vulnerable to the burden of anxiety and worry.

Be anxious (3309) (merimnao from mérimna = anxious care in turn from merizo = to divide or 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.

Merimnao is used 17 times in the NT (6x Mt; 5x Lu; 4x 1Cor; 2x Phil) is variously translated in the as "concerned, 4; have...care, 1; be anxious, 11; worry, 1. Here are the 17 uses...

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 Septuagint (LXX) (Exod. 5:9; 2 Sam. 7:10; 1 Chr. 17:9; Ps. 38:18; Prov. 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

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 (1 Cor. 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 Lu 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 Lu 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 careth 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