3/5/23 - Do Not Be Anxious - Matthew 6:33; Philippians 4:6-7 - Pastor Jason Fritz

Not long ago, over a thousand Americans were asked to identify their anxiety triggers and this is the list of common answers…

• family and relationship problems
• work stress or job change
• change in living arrangements 
• major emotional shock following a stressful or traumatic event 
• verbal, sexual, physical or emotional abuse or trauma
• death or loss of a loved one
• pregnancy

Perhaps you can relate to one or more of the above. The Bible tells us not to worry or be anxious. It seems impossible.  Jesus himself experienced a very intense moment in the Garden of Gethsemane when his sweat became like drops of blood. Whether you take that figuratively or literally, either way it was not a pleasant time. 

In the sermon on the mount Jesus gives a message about worry. The context has him talking about the anxiety you might feel over physical objects - what you eat and drink, having clothes. He says, "Seek God’s kingdom first and God will provide what you need.” There’s a difference between needs and wants. You need not be naked and you need to be fed. Seek God first and he will provide these things for you. But what about all the other things that cause anxiety? The apostle Paul offers his Spirit inspired words…

...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6

Paul doesn’t simply say, “Don’t be anxious about anything.” He tells you how not to be anxious about anything. You see, the key to reducing your anxiety is this:  in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. We are called to pray and make our desires known to God and make all our requests with thanksgiving. What does this mean? It looks like this... You pray and ask God for something to change and at the same time you thank him for whatever response he gives. Whether he brings it into your life or he doesn’t bring it into your life, you thank him in advance because he knows what you don’t. He knows what he’s doing. If it's the wrong thing and you don’t get it, thank him for that. If he gives you the opposite of what you ask, thank him for that. You don’t have to pretend that you're not let down, but you can still be thankful. Listen to the result of thankful prayer…

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

The opposite of anxiety is peace. Peace comes from being confident in God’s sovereign control over everything, including your life. Once you go to God the Father in prayer to ask for his help to handle a serious problem or situation, then his peace will be able to start to flow into you. And once his peace starts to flow into you, then you will feel his peace starting to calm you down – even in the middle of the worst kind of storm cloud you could imagine yourself falling into.

As Max Lucado says, “Sometimes God calms the storm and sometimes he doesn’t. But he is always there to calm his children in the midst of the storm.”