“Faith in Anxious Times” Matthew 6:25-34; Philippians 4:6-9

With our world suddenly being confined to our houses, having to learn things from news and social media, it’s easy to understand how we might all be freaking out right now. This isn’t the first time we’ve encountered a disease outbreak (swine flu, eboli, normal flu seasons), but this is the one that seems to be the most threatening in the last 100 years.

We are worried about our health, our income, our families and our friends. We can’t find solace in the weekly gathering of our church family. In fact, we have to stay away from our families—church and natural—in order to protect them and to protect ourselves.

It’s natural that you and I should be worried at this time.

That’s why it’s important we remember what the Bible tells us about worry. I’ve seen someone write that there are 365 times in the Bible God says, “Do not be afraid.” Generally, when God tells us not to fear, He also tells us He is with us. That’s a daily assurance of no need to fear and to rest in God’s presence.

Jesus spoke directly about worry in the Sermon on the Mount.

Background

When Jesus presented the Sermon on the Mount, He concluded His introduction with the statement, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Such a statement must have fallen like a bombshell on the ears of Jesus’ audience, since it was generally conceded that the Pharisees and teachers of the law were the personification of righteousness. Paul, a former Pharisee, once described himself as faultless when it came to their understanding and practices of the law.

Jesus spends the rest of the Sermon explaining what He means by having such a righteousness. He contracts their understanding of the law with His revelation of that same law. He talks about the superficial practice of giving, praying and fasting versus truly righteous giving, prayers and fasting. He teaches about the necessity of setting our sights on the things of heaven and not the things of this world, of having our treasures in the right place.

Then Jesus comes to the anxieties of life and how to deal with them.

Remembering that this all comes from a declaration of having a righteousness greater than the Pharisees, Jesus tells us not to worry.

Central Truth: A life of faith cannot also be a life of anxiety.

Dealing with anxiety:

Jesus commands us not to worry (Matthew 6:25-32)

Life offers us so much to worry about, almost from the moment we are able to think. We can worry about whether people will like us or not. We can worry about what this new food will taste like. We can worry about whether we’ll ever find someone willing to marry us, and then worry about whether we’ll have children or not. We can worry about how the kids are growing up, our jobs, our bosses, whether the car will start tomorrow. You name it, we can worry about it. It’s a natural thing to do for a lot of people.

When it comes to worry, Jesus says, “Don’t.” We could stop right there, but that really doesn’t help us. We have a command from Jesus, but we need more. And Jesus provides us more. He gives us two examples and a contrast between His disciples and non-believers.

First, Jesus reminds us we need to have our priorities in place. Why worry about what we will eat or what we will wear when there are far more important things to life. Jesus’ words are, “Is not life more important than food, and the body more than clothes?” (v.25b).

The examples Jesus gives us are the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Of the birds, Jesus reminds us that they are always well fed and cared for, even though they do not sow or reap or store grains in barns or silos. Of the lilies, Jesus reminds us how fleeting flowers are, yet they are decked out in finery that puts our best clothes to shame. If God can do that for the birds and the flowers, why should we question whether He can do the same for us?

In the midst of these two examples, Jesus asks the question, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (v. 27). If we think about it, most of the things we worry about are things we consider happening in the future. If we do worry about things that have already happened, our worry is not on the event, but on the consequences of the event. How will it play out? How will it affect me, my spouse, my family, my career? Jesus’ words reminds us that worry doesn’t change anything. We cannot change the future by worry about the past or about tomorrow.

That’s not to say we can’t or shouldn’t plan for the future. It does mean that there is a difference between planning and worry. Planning is carefully considering, with prayerfulness and an awareness of God’s will, tending to take care of the things that we can control to some degree or another. Anxiety or worry is stressing over things over which we have no control, to the degree that planning does no good.

Nor should we confuse worry with concern. Concern is an awareness of the difficulties ahead, but trusting in the Lord to see it through. Worry sees the dangers and tries to deal with it on our own. It may seem like semantics, but there is a huge difference.

Finally, Jesus comes back to the command: Do not worry. He then states that such an attitude is consistent with the attitudes of pagans and disbelievers. But Jesus says, “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them” (32b). Earlier in the Sermon, Jesus taught the Model Prayer, or the Lord’s Prayer. Including in that prayer is the line, “Give us today our daily bread” (6:11). God knows we need food and clothing. Our prayers must be that God provide our needs, not our wants or worries.

When it comes to worry, Jesus is very clear: Don’t.

Set priorities (Matthew 6:33)

“That’s all well and good, telling us not to worry. But you don’t know what I’m going through, what my family is going through.” Again, it’s not me saying not to worry; it’s Jesus. But I agree, it’s easy to say something, but another thing to do it. Jesus is quick to give us the way to overcome worry. His answer is get our priorities straight.

Our first and foremost priority in life is not taking care of ourselves, but it’s in seeking God’s kingdom first. Jesus is saying let God take care of us, and let us be about learning and doing His will.

Seeking the kingdom is in trusting God’s promises. It is in offering ourselves as living sacrifices as our spiritual form of worship. It is in dying to the world through Christ and letting Christ live through us. Seeking God’s kingdom is learning His will through prayer, Bible study and fellowship with other believers. It is earnestly looking for His direction in each area of life. It is practicing the presence of God on a daily and moment-to-moment basis. Seeking the kingdom is having a vibrant, growing relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ by letting the Spirit speak to us and through us.

Once we set the proper priorities, God will take care of the rest. That is a statement of fact from Jesus Christ Himself.

Jesus’ last statement on the matter is simple: Do not worry about tomorrow. Don’t add to the troubles each day will bring in and of itself. There’s plenty to worry about, but don’t worry. God has it in hand.

Practical steps to overcome anxiety (Philippians 4:6-9)

Setting our priorities is only the first step in the practical application of Jesus’ command not to worry. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write a more detailed way of overcoming the temptation to worry. He wrote it to the Philippian church, a church that is near and dear to the apostle’s heart. In chapter 4 of the book, Paul reminds us that we are to be anxious for nothing. He follows with instructions on how to not worry.

When we feel anxious or worried, our first step should be to bring it to God in prayer. Paul says this applies to everything—our worries, our doubts, our hopes, our dreams, our plans, our concerns—if it is in our thoughts, then we need to talk with God about it. That means, not just tell Him what we’re thinking about, but also take the time to listen to His response.

These requests are to be included with thanksgiving. Please note that this isn’t a magical formula that will make God answer our prayers, just as saying “in Jesus’ name” isn’t the Christian equivalent of “abra cadabra.” The thanksgiving must be a genuine affection we have toward the God who hears and answers. It is how we express our gratitude to Him for meeting our daily needs, for bringing us into His family, for making it possible for us to enter into His presence with prayers and petitions.

As we enter into God’s presence with an awareness of all for which we have to be thankful, we can tell Him what’s on our mind. “Present your requests to God.” That means, tell Him what we’re thinking and feeling. If we’re worried, tell Him what’s worrying us, why it’s worrying us. God knows our hearts and knows our needs before we ask Him, so there’s freedom to speak to Him openly and frankly.

As we talk with God about our worries, Paul tells us something will happen. The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. In other words, God, who wants us to live in peace in all ways, pours His peace upon us by removing our worries from us, both from our feelings and our thoughts. As we truly give them to Him, He replaces our frets and fears and worries with peace and assurance, and we are protected by the presence of Christ in us. As we’ve said numerous times, this is a fact, not a theory or a possibility. It is a promise of God that we can always rely on. We take the feelings that lead to our worry, and we submit those feelings from Satan to the faith we have in God. Walking in faith, the feelings will eventually follow that faith.

Paul continues to show us how to overcome worry by reminding us that we need to determine how we will view life. We can see the dark clouds or we can see the silver lining. We can be an Eeyore or we can be a Winnie the Pooh. It all depends on whether or not we will choose to set our thoughts on those things that Paul lists in v. 8—the things that are true, noble, right, pure and all the other positive attitudes and attributes that should be the focus of our thoughts. When we begin to see the possibilities in Christ, we begin to realize that we can and should have a positive outlook in life. The positive outlook reduces greatly the temptation to worry.

Finally, Paul tells them to follow his example. This is a man who has suffered so much for his faith in and obedience to Christ. He endured imprisonment, beatings, stoning and numerous other persecutions at the hands of those who reject Christ. Yet through it all, Paul never gave up hope, never wavered in his faith or his commitment or his love toward God. Paul always knew that God was always with him, and this enabled him to continue without fear or anxiety.

The last statement of v. 9 is a reminder to us all again—the God of peace will be with us. He is always with us, and He is always aware of what is happening in our lives. He knows before we even tell Him.

So why do we need to tell Him? Why do we need to pray? It helps us in our decision-making. It’s not unusual for me to ask Kim whether one tie or another goes better with a particular shirt. I have an idea of which one I want to wear, but I need her input. I want her input. The same is true of other decisions. Usually, the harder the decision, the more it helps to talk with someone about it. Some of life’s most difficult decisions are centered around our worries and anxieties. That’s why Paul tells us to talk with God about it. We need His input, we need that sounding board. And, as we pray, we begin to give that worry to God, trusting Him to take care of it for us.

Conclusion

We live in worrying times. We’ve always lived in worrying times, but these days seems to give us more urgent things to worry about. Are our families healthy, are they able to buy groceries, pay rent or mortgages, put gas in their cars? Are our jobs still going to be there after all is said and done?

Yes, we have a lot to worry about, almost all of them things beyond our control, which only increases our worries.

But we also have a God who knows what we’re going through. He is with us during these trying times, and He offers peace. He is in control, and He will lead us through these times. If you’re worried about, stop. Take it to God in prayer with thanksgiving and confidence. Let our faith see us through these times, and let that same faith lead us into whatever the future holds for you and me.