There is an interesting statement in Romans 11:36 which says, “Everything… is intended for His glory” (NLT), including your anxieties, fears, worries, and doubts. During a moment or season of anxiety is when God can do some deep work within you. It will be uncomfortable. You will not like it. You will resist it. But it’s there in the depth of your pain, your loneliness, your fear, your shame and your worry that God can do something inside you that He will not do in any other way. Let God use your anxiety to help you evaluate yourself and to draw closer to Him. Everything… is intended for God’s glory. Don’t waste your anxiety, learn from it and grow from it. Continue reading
Category: Philippians (Page 1 of 2)
There is a battle going on for your mind and your thoughts. God knows and the devil knows that if they have your mind, they have you. If God has your mind, you will make decisions one way. If the devil has your mind, you will make decision another way. Continue reading
Your God is a big God, but your anxieties will try to make Him look small. The devil will take your anxieties and try to convince you that your God does not love you, has not forgiven you, does not really understand you, will not help you, and is not good to you. When you are experiencing anxiety, fear, or worry you will be tempted to doubt the greatness of God. You will ask, “Does God really love me? Does He care about me? Am I beyond help? Can He forgive me? How can anything good come from all this?” Sometimes these thoughts will come to your mind when you are confused, hurt, grieving, or lonely. The devil wants your anxiety to win. But God has something different instore for you. He wants you to experience His peace. He wants you to be aware, calm, and present for Him and others. One of the ways you experience that peace is knowing Who you are praying too.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9, NASB)
God gives you seven practices that help you defend yourself against your anxieties.
- Practice #1 is the practice of joy.
- Practice #2 is the practice of gentleness.
- Practice #3 is the practice of awareness.
- Practice #4 is the practice of calmness.
- Practice #5 is the practice of prayer. God’s Word says in verse 6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (NASB). We have already looked at the need for prayer and we saw that we need prayer “in everything.”Then we looked at the different types of prayer. The phrase “by prayer” is a general term for prayer and refers to all kinds and types of prayers in the Bible. We examined five key prayers for dealing with anxiety.
- Adoration: “God, you are wonderful!”
- Lament: “God, I am hurting!”
- Deliverance: “God, I feel trapped!”
- Confession: “God, I have sinned!”
- Guidance: “God, I need direction!”
- Supplication: “God, I need your help!”
- Gratitude: “God, I am thankful”
Today, my goal is to remind you of who you are taking your concerns too. The devil would love for you to think wrongly about your God. Philippians 4:6 says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Who is it that you are taking your requests too?
You are taking your anxieties to Someone who loves you
First, when you are taking your request to God, you are taking your anxieties to Someone who loves you. Over and over again throughout His Word, God tells you that He loves you. The reason why God tells you over and over again is because you don’t believe it or you believe it but don’t really accept it. Let me show you something.
Look at Romans 5:8, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (NLT). He doesn’t just love you, He has a great love for you. This great love began while you were still a sinner. He loved you at your worse, and He loves you now. You are taking your anxieties, your fears, your worries to Someone who loves you.
Listen to 1 John 4:16, “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love…” (NLT). When you know how great God’s love is for you it is easier to trust Him with your concerns. You can trust God’s love. He is going to love you right. He is going to love you the way you need to be loved. Listen carefully, God cannot not love you. He has to love you. That is God’s character. That is God’s nature. God is love. There is nothing you can do and nothing you can say that would cause God to stop loving you.
One more, Hebrews 12:6 says, “For the Lord disciplines those he loves….” (NLT). Let’s say you are anxious about something you did, you made a mistake, you sinned, or you did something you should not have done. When the Lord disciplines you it will be out of His great love. His discipline doesn’t come from anger or selfishness, it comes from a place of love. He is committed to your development. He wants what is best for you.
When you are taking your request to God you are taking them to someone who loves you. Have you ever been loved by someone? When you are in their presence you feel safe. That is what God wants for you. He wants you to know that when you are bringing your concerns and your requests to Him you are in a safe place, you are in a loving place. When you are anxious, don’t run from God run to Him.
You are taking your anxieties to Somone who forgives you
Number two, when you are taking your request to God, you are taking your anxieties to Someone who forgives you. The devil wants you to be anxious and worried about your current sins and your past sins. The devil will use guilt, shame, and condemnation to get you to believe you are not worthy, not valuable, and that you are not significant. That guilt, that shame, and that condemnation will produce anxieties and fears that will keep you out of God’s will. Listen very carefully, do not let your past determine your future. Don’t let the sins of the past keep you from doing what God wants you to do. Let God determine your future, not your sins. Let me show you something.
Look at Psalm 130:4, “If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings, who would stand a chance? As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit, and that’s why you’re worshiped” (MSG). God’s habit is forgiving you. He has forgiven you over and over and over and He will continue to forgive you. If your anxieties are caused by something you did in the past, God says, “Come to me, let me love and let me forgive you so we can move on together.”
Listen to this in Luke 7:48, Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven” (NLT). If you are a believer, your sins are forgiven. I think Christian needs to hear this. Listen to me, look at me, “Your sins are forgiven.” Let me say that again, “Your sins are forgiven.” Let that guilt go, let that shame go, let that condemnation go. Let that feeling of unworthiness go, let that feeling of insignificance go. You are forgiven.
When you are taking your anxieties and your worries and concerns to God you are taking them to Someone who loves you.
You are taking your anxieties to Someone who knows you
Number three, when you are taking your request to God, you are taking your anxieties to Someone who knows you. God knows what you are upset about. He knows what you are afraid of or afraid of what might happen. He knows the uncertainty and confusion you feel. All those feelings can create anxiety. He knows what you need and what you don’t need.
Look at Psalm 139:1-2, “Lord, you have examined me. You know me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up. Even from far away, you comprehend my plans” (CEB). God knows you. He knows when you sit and when you stand. He knows why you sit and why you stand. Even when you are far away from God, you knows your plans, He knows what you are thinking. He knows you.
Your God loves you, He forgives you, and He knows you. He knows the encouragement you need, the hope you need, the love you need, and the peace you need. When you bring your anxieties and request to God, you will not be telling Him anything He does not know. He knows you.
You are taking your anxieties to Someone who can help you
Number four, when you are bringing your request to God, you are taking your anxieties to Someone who can help you. God has a solution! God has an answer! He can get you through whatever it is you are going through. It may not be exactly how you thought, but God is going to make a way for you. He can help. He has the power to do it.
Look at Psalm 147:5, “How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!” (NLT)
Luke 1:37 Jesus said, “For nothing will be impossible with God” (NASB).
Mark 10:27, Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” (NLT)
Don’t give up on God. He is all-powerful. He has a plan. He has a purpose. The devil is going to tell you that God cannot help you and will not help you. This is where you remind your heart and soul that God loves you, has forgiven you, knows you, and has the power to help you.
You are taking your anxieties to Somone who is good to you
Number five, when you are bringing your requests to God, you are taking your anxieties to Someone who is good to you. Your anxieties and the devil will try to convince you that God is not good. Your God is a good God. He is not trying to hurt you. He will not reject you. He will not abandon you. He is good God. He may have you do things that are difficult or allow you to go through a difficult season in life, but He is going to cause good to come out of it. He is a good God.
- Psalm 27:13, “Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living” (NLT).
- Psalm 119:68, “You are good and do only good” (NLT).
- Nahum 1:7, “The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him” (NLT).
- Romans 2:4, “You surely don’t think much of God’s wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you. Don’t you know that the reason God is good to you is because he wants you to turn to him?” (CEV)
God is a good God. He wants you to experience His love, His forgiveness, His presence, and His direction in life. He desires that more for you than you do.
You are taking your anxieties to Someone who is faithful to you
Number six, this is not on your outline or on the screen I feel like I need to add this today. When you are taking your requests to God, you are taking your anxieties to Someone who is faithful to you.
Now listen closely to 2 Timothy 2:13, “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is” (NLT). God is faithful. When you turn your back on God, He does not turn His back on you. When you walk away from God, He does not walk away from you. When you give up on God, He does not give up you. When you are unfaithful, He remains faithful. God why are you so faithful, when I’m unfaithful? Because I love you!
Your anxieties and the devil are going to try to convince you that your God has quit on you and that He given up on you. The devil wants you to believe that God is only going to be faithful if you are faithful. God is saying I am going to faithful to you. I am going to be with you, love you, help you, know you, forgive you and never leave you. I am faithful to you. God’s faithfulness to you is not determined by your faithfulness to Him. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful.
Conclusion
Your God is a big God, but your anxieties will try to make Him look small. The devil will take your anxieties and try to convince you that your God does not love you, has not forgiven you, does not really understand you, will not help you, and is not good to you. When you are experiencing anxiety, fear, or worry you will be tempted to doubt the greatness of God. You will ask, “Does God really love? Does He care? Am I beyond help? Can He forgive me? How can anything good come from all this? Can you still use me?” Sometimes these thoughts will come to your mind when you are confused, hurt, grieving, or lonely. The devil wants your anxiety to win. But God has some different instore for you. He wants you to experience His peace. He wants you to be aware, calm, and present for Him and others.
The devil wants you to be ungrateful, discontent, dissatisfied, and unthankful. He does not want you to count your blessings. He wants you to be unhappy with the people in your life. He wants you to dislike the job God provided. He wants you to be jealous and envious of others because of what they have or who they have. The devil wants you to dislike your life with the hopes you will dislike the God who gave you life.
The more ungrateful you are the more anxious you are going to feel about what you don’t have and what you wish you could have. Anxiety wants to control. Its wants to control people, situations, how things are done, and when they are done. Anxiety wants to control information whether giving information or receiving information. Anxiety wants control. Managing anxiety God’s way is learning how to be thankful within the things you cannot control and within the things you could control but shouldn’t.
Today, we are thinking about being grateful and thankful and how that protects you from being overly anxious.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:5-9, NASB)
God gives you seven practices that help you defend yourself against your anxieties.
- Practice #1 is the practice of joy. God’s Word says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice!” This is learning how to apply the attitude and power of spiritual joy based on your relationship with Jesus in unhappy situations. This is where knowing the difference between joy and happiness is crucial.
- Practice #2 is the practice of gentleness. God’s Word says, “Let your gentle spirit be known to all people.” This is learning how to express gentleness in stressful and anxious moments of life. The Holy Spirit has given you a gentle spirit and He wants that gentle spirit to dominate your life regardless of who you encounter. This will help you to remain calm when facing difficult situations.
- Practice #3 is the practice of awareness. God’s Word says, “The Lord is near.” When you are aware of how big and awesome your Lord is it makes what you are anxious about not so overwhelming. This is developing the skill of being aware of the Lord’s presence, His return, and His glory.
- Practice #4 is the practice of calmness. God’s Word says, “Do not be anxious about anything.” Another way to say that is, “Be calm.” When you are calm, you are composed. When you are composed, you are able to focus and be present to do what God wants you to do and to bless people the way God wants you to bless them. You are able to hear God more clearly and to respond to Him more faithfully.
- Practice #5 is the practice of prayer. God’s Word says in verse 6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (NASB). We have already looked at the need for prayer and we saw that we need prayer “in everything.” Then we looked at the different types of prayer. The phrase “by prayer” is a general term for prayer and refers to all kinds and types of prayers in the Bible. We examined five key prayers for dealing with anxiety.
- Adoration: “God, you are wonderful!”
- Lament: “God, I am hurting!”
- Deliverance: “God, I feel trapped!”
- Confession: “God, I have sinned!”
- Guidance: “God, I need direction!”
- Supplication: “God, I need your help!”
Gratitude: “God, I am thankful”
When you are praying about what you are anxious about God says, “Come talk to me about it. Bring it to me and ask for Me for help.” That’s what He wants you to do, but this is NOT coming to God and asking for help in a demanding way. It’s asking for help in a thankful way. Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (NASB).
I have personally been in Philippians 4:4-9 for a while. I am working on a personal project that involves this passage of Scripture. Back in January, I was studying verse 6. The day I was researching this idea of praying with thanksgiving in the face of anxiety I received a phone call from my wife Pam. She had already been through two bone marrow transplants in her fight against leukemia. She was currently receiving follow up treatments in St. Louis and staying at the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge. They had run several tests and one of the tests indicated the leukemia was returning aggressively and they were going to make some adjustments. We talked about how we felt about this news, prayed together, and regrouped mentally and emotionally to face whatever laid ahead. Little did I know that Pam would be in heaven two months later. God knew that I needed to be thinking about praying with thanksgiving when that call came. God’s timing is always perfect. In my heart I was thankful for how Pam was handling everything she had gone through, thankful for family and friends who had helped us in so many ways, thankful that I was healthy enough to take care of the girls, take care of Pam when she was home, thankful for the finances to help with the cost surrounding Pam’s treatments, and thankful for a lot of other things. What I’m telling you today, worked for me and it will work for you. God’s Word was right, thanksgiving is a weapon against anxiety. It protects your heart and mind.
Why would God want you and me to be thankful when facing anxieties, fears and worries?
- When you are thankful it will guard your heart against bitterness when God doesn’t answer your prayer the way you wanted or remove the problem that is the cause of your anxiety.
- Thankfulness allows you to walk into the middle of the stress knowing God has a plan and purpose behind it all.
- Thankfulness keeps you from becoming bitter and having a victim mentality.
- It keeps you focused on the blessing rather than the burdens.
- It keeps you focused on hope, rather than your hurt.
- One of the most spiritual things you can do is to be thankful to God. Thankfulness does not remove the burden, but it does help you to carry it.
Let’s take a look at the power of thankfulness and what God’s Word says about it[i]. What I want to do for the remainder of our time is to give you a good taste of God’s Word on thankfulness so you can get a glimpse of it’s power and value in your life.
Colossians 2:6-7 says, “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord (that means you accepted Christ as your Lord. You are born again. You are a believer. You are saved. You are on your way to heaven), you must continue to follow him.7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him (all that is about discipleship and spiritual growth. You are growing and learning how to follow Jesus. You are learning how to say “yes” to God more often and “no” to sin and selfishness more often. Because your spiritual roots are growing deeper in Christ you are becoming more and more immovable by the winds and storms of the world. You are learning how to build your life, your marriage, your finances, your emotions, your mind, and your values on Jesus). Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught (your trust in God and His Word is becoming stronger. You believe what God’s Word says. Your life is driven by God’s truth rather than your feelings or the culture. What is the result of all this?), and you will overflow with thankfulness” (NLT). One of the ways you identify a mature follower of Jesus is by how thankful they are. If you find a believer who is not genuinely thankful and grateful to God for the blessings they have in life then you have found an immature believer regardless of how much Bible they know, how much they go to church, or how much they give. Here is where you need to ask yourself, “Do I overflow with thankfulness?” A person who is growing in thankfulness to God is a person who is growing spiritually.
Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father” (NLT). When you get up in the morning and go to work, go to work as a representative of the Lord Jesus in how you work and what you say at work. Be a thankful employee or boss. When you go to school, be a student who represents the Lord Jesus in how you study and how you talk. Be a thankful student. When you are at home, represent Jesus to your spouse in what you do and what you say. Treat them how Jesus would treat them. Speak to them how Jesus would speak to them. Be a thankful spouse. When you are at home, represent Jesus as a thankful parent. Set the example in your behavior and words. Be a thankful parent. When you are at home, represent Jesus as a thankful and grateful son or daughter. Whatever you do or say to your parent let it demonstrate that Jesus is the Lord of your life. If you are single, be the most thankful single person you know.
God’s Word says, “whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus….” As a follower of Jesus, you represent Jesus everywhere you go. God wants His people to represent Him as thankful people. God’s Word is saying, represent Jesus by giving thanks. God does not want to be represented by ungrateful, unthankful, dissatisfied, and discontented people. Being a thankful person is part of your witness and testimony of how great your God is.
Colossians 4:2 says, “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart” (NLT). One of the reasons why God wants you to devote your prayers with a thankful heart is because we naturally are not thankful people. It takes intentionality to be thankful when most people are ungrateful. It takes effort to be a thankful spouse, a thankful employee, a thankful son or daughter, and a thankful hospital patient. Instead of gripping about the things in your life, focus on being grateful for your life. Don’t be that person who is always complaining about the government, whining about their finances, criticizing their spouse, and finding fault with others at work. Rise above that and be a person with a thankful heart. “Devote yourself to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” Another way to say this is to dedicate yourself to focusing on your blessing in life.
Romans 1:21 says, “They knew God, (that does not mean they are born again, does not mean they are believers, followers of Jesus, or Christians. They knew that God existed, that God created everything. They believed in the existence of a God) but they wouldn’t worship him as God (they believed there was a God, but for one reason or another they wouldn’t worship him or honor him. Instead of worshipping him, they ignored Him. But then God’s Word adds this…) or even give him thanks. (One of the indications that you are not a worshiper of God is that you don’t give him thanks. You may be a thankful person generically, but you don’t thank God for your blessings. You may say, “I’m thankful for my family, my house, my health, or my job.” But who are you thankful too? Do the words, “I am so thankful to my God for all the blessings that I have. He has blessed me more than I deserve.” Another thought, I think when a person stops worshipping God privately and stops worshipping God publicly with a local body of believers, they eventually will become ungrateful and unthankful. Worshipping God and being thankful to God go together, you cannot separate them). And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. Once you stop worshipping God and being thankful to God you will change your God to fit what you want Him to be rather accepting Him for who He is. You start thinking up “foolish ideas” about God. As a result, their minds became dark and confused (Romans 1:21, NLT). They didn’t think clearly anymore, their mind turned to worthless things, as a result their life had no real direction or purpose. They were in the dark and confused. Their reasoning behind their beliefs and values and the way they live and see life made no sense. When a person is not worshipping God or thankful to God, it leads them away from God.
Ephesians 5:4 says, “Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God” (NLT). There are three things that God says “are not for you.”
- Obscene stories (aischrotes) – This refers to dirty language or stories that would be considered degrading or disgraceful.
- Foolish talk (morologia) – This is taking something that is shameful, and you make it appear acceptable by the humor that you put into it. It some way it removes God from the equation or belittles God’s Word on the subject. Foolish talk tries to make irrelevant on the subject.
- Coarse jokes (eutrapelia) – This refers to taking an innocent statement or word and turning it into something dirty or vulgar or inappropriate.
God says, “these are not for you.” As a follower of Jesus, they do not fit who you are anymore. They are like clothes that are too big or too small for you. You don’t look right wearing them.
“Instead,” as a follower of Jesus, “let there be thankfulness to God” that comes from your heart and out of your mouth. Thankfulness (eucharistia) means to be thankful for someone or something by recognizing their worth or significance. Thankfulness helps you to see God’s divine activity in a person or situation that you cannot see in any other way.
Conclusion
God does not want you to go through life uptight, upset, or easily offended. He does not want you to be easily angered, annoyed, and irritated by things that don’t matter. God wants you to experience His peace that no one can completely understand and goes beyond our imagination. The kind of peace that drives, governs, and controls how you think and how you feel. One of the ways to protect your heart and mind against anxieties is to pray saying, “God, I have a need” and “God, I am thankful to You.” The devil does not want you to talk to God about your needs and the devil does not want you to be thankful. He knows the power of praying and learning how to use prayer as a weapon and shield against anxieties, fears, worries, and anger. God wants you to be aware, calm, and present. The devil wants you to be confuse, nervous, and distracted.
[i] Thanksgiving (eucharista) refers to the expression of gratitude and appreciation for favor and mercy shown.
God does not want you to go through life uptight, upset, or easily offended. He does not want you to be easily angered, annoyed, or irritated by things that don’t matter. God wants you to experience His peace that no one can completely understand and goes beyond our imagination. The kind of peace that drives, governs, and controls how you think and how you feel. That is what we are looking at today. Continue reading
There are going to be times in your life where you will feel anxious, nervous, afraid, worried, frustrated, and angry. Those are normal feelings everyone has. However, those feelings of anxiety should be a light on your life’s dashboard telling you, you need to check in with God. You need to talk to God about what you are nervous or upset about. God does not want you going through life driven by your anxieties, He wants you to manage them rather than your anxieties managing you. God gives us seven practices of peace that help will help you remain aware, calm, and present for God and others so you can focus on what God would have you to do and be a blessing to others. These seven practices are found in Philippians 4:4-9. Continue reading
Everyone faces anxieties. We are not all anxious and nervous about the same things, but we all deal with our own fears, worries, and stresses in life. God wants you to manage the anxieties, rather than your anxieties managing you. That’s what this sermon series is about. Continue reading
God wants you to be calm. The devil wants you to be upset. God wants you to still, the devil wants you to agitated. God wants you to experience inner peace, the devil wants you to experience inner turmoil. God wants you to be calm, composed, and relaxed. The devil wants you to be nervous, uptight, tense, and restless.
Because of this God has given you seven weapons to help you manage your anxieties. They are all found in Philippians 4:4-9.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (NASB)
Out of those six verses, we see the seven practices of peace. We are looking at practice #4: The Practice of Calmness.
Do you have a hard time relaxing and being calm? Do you ever feel like you must be doing something all the time, or you do nothing because you are trying to escape something? That’s what anxiety does. It will cause you to be busy and doing all the time or it will cause you to shut down and avoid what needs to be done.
Job experienced something similar. He had some legitimate reasons to be stressed out and emotionally exhausted. The Sabeans stole all his donkeys and oxen (Job 1:13-15). A strange fire killed all his livestock and the servants who were attending them (v. 16). Then the Chaldeans raided his camels and took them all and killed the servants (v.17). Finally, he was told that a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house where all his children were eating. It collapsed on them, and they all died (v.19).
Job’s response to that was deep grief and he worshipped God (v. 20). To make things even worse he developed boils and sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head (Job 2:7). Job was experiencing physical pain and emotional pain. His world had been turned upside down. God’s Word says that “Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said” (2:10). Then he had three friends who came to stay with him to comfort him and encourage him. He opens up to them and tells them how he feels and what he is thinking and how he is struggling through all this (Job 3). When Job gets to the end of his speech, he says this, “I cannot relax or be calm; I have no rest, for turmoil has come” (v.26, CSB).
Your life may not be as traumatic as Job’s, but you can relate to his statement, “I cannot relax or be calm” and “I have no rest.” Because of your anxiety you find it difficult to relax, be calm, and truly rest. Your internal engine seems to be running at a high rpm. You seem to feel uneasy most of the time and you may not know why. You find yourself overly concerned about things, checking things over and over. You may not feel good enough, worthy enough, or that no one really likes you. You struggle with your inner critic, the shoulder giants, expectations, and the routines of life. For whatever reason, you cannot relax and be calm. You feel wound up most of the time. If that’s you in any degree, then today’s message is for you.
When you are calm, you are composed. When you are composed, you are able to focus and be present to do what God wants you to do and to bless people the way God wants you to bless them. This is one reason why God’s Word says, “Do not be anxious about anything” (Philip. 4:6, NASB). I define anxiety as the feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about a real or perceived upcoming event or current situation. God is saying you do not have to live your life worrying about everything, nervous about what might happen, or be uneasy about what is currently happening. You can be calm, still, and at peace. You do not have to be anxious about anything.
Jesus had something significant to say about this Matthew 6:25-34.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matt. 6:25-34, ESV)
There is a lot of divine truth about anxiety, peace, and faith in that teaching by Jesus. I want you to notice that Jesus mentioned anxiety six times and three of those times He specifically commanded, do not be anxious. There are a lot of things people worry about in their life. Some worry about food, water, clothes, or what might happen tomorrow. The very basics of life. Others worry about their children, marriage, finances, or health. Some people get stressed out over their job, their house, cleaning, clutter, cooking, car, or their yard. We can become unnecessarily nervous about a lot of things. Jesus says, Do not be anxious about your life and Paul says, Do not be anxious about anything.
The word anxious (merimnao) means to distract, to divide, and to pull in different directions. It’s that nagging feeling of apprehension, that relentlessness of uneasiness, or that brooding fear and worry that doesn’t seem to go away. You are overly concerned or agitated about something that should not hold your attention so severely. When you get like this you feel distracted. You can’t focus on what or who you need to concentrate on. You feel divided between two things: what you need to do and what your anxiety wants you to do. Because of this you feel pulled in different directions. It’s like there is a tug of war going on inside of you, and your anxiety is winning.
What needs to happen is, your mind, heart, and soul need to become calm, still, and at ease. How does that happen? God’s Word sheds light on this.
Be Searching
First, you need to be searching. Let’s start with what Jesus said. He teaches that instead of being anxious about everything you should seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matt. 6:33, ESV).
The word seek (zeteo) means to try to learn where something is. It has the idea of attempting to learn something by careful investigation or searching. This word also comes with a desire. Make sure you have a desire for God’s kingdom more than even the basics of this world. You are searching to understand God’s kingdom because you have a desire for God’s kingdom.
God’s Word does not say, “seek for the kingdom of God.” That’s what Jesus would have said if He was speaking to unbelievers. He was addressing those who were already kingdom citizens. He is telling them to make the interests of God’s kingdom their priority. Seek first the kingdom of God. Make God’s kingdom, God’s truth, God’s values, God’s mission, and God’s authority your primary desire.
To make God’s kingdom first (proton) you put it at the top of the list, it’s the most important and prominent thing in your life. It means first in time, place, order, and importance. It is the dominant concern of your life. When your earthly concerns are dominant you will become stressed out over them. When God’s kingdom is dominant it changes the way you see the things that are creating anxiety in your life.
Jesus also says you should seek God’s righteousness. This refers to doing things the right way, the way God wants you to do them. You treat your enemies right, your spouse right, and your kids right. You treat your boss and the company you work for right. You treat yourself right. You want to do things the right way, God’s way. The way you do that is to make God’s Word a priority. This is why God’s Word says in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right” (NLT). God’s Word will teach you what is right.
It’s like Jesus is saying, “I have told you not to worry about and be anxious about things like food, clothing, and shelter. Those things are important, but they are not as important as you may think. What’s really important is the kingdom of God. Instead of focusing on earthly concerns, put that energy into the seeking, understanding, and promoting the kingdom of God.”
Jesus says that if you will make God’s kingdom and doing what is right in His eyes the priority in your life then all these things will be added to you. All the things you need to pursue God’s kingdom and to live the kind of life God wants you to live will be added to you. Whatever food you need, clothes you need, shelter you need or any other needs that you require to accomplish God’s kingdom and righteousness in your life He will provide. Wherever God guides, He provides. This is what Psalm 84 is telling you, “The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right” (v. 11, NLT). Once you fully embrace God’s kingdom and righteousness you will be able to manage your anxiety more successfully instead of your anxiety managing you.
When you pursue God’s kingdom and righteousness you discover yourself becoming more aware, calm, and present to represent God, do what God wants you to do, and minister to the people God has placed in your life.
Be Growing
If you want to experience kingdom calmness you will need to seek God’s kingdom and His rule over your life more than anything else. You need to be searching, but number two… you need to be growing.
Look carefully at what Peter says in 2 Peter 1:2, May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord (2 Peter 1:2, NLT). As your knowledge of God grows, deepens, and becomes more precise you will experience more and more peace. You will be more calm in more situations. There is something about having a growing intimate knowledge of God that helps you stay calm.
I love the way The Message paraphrases Jeremiah 17:7-8. Take a look at this.
“But blessed is the man who trusts me, God, the woman who sticks with God. They’re like trees replanted in Eden, putting down roots near the rivers— never a worry through the hottest of summers, never dropping a leaf, serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season.” (Msg)
God’s Word mentions “droughts.” There are all kinds of droughts, and we are familiar with droughts that involve long periods of no rain. A drought is defined as “a prolonged or chronic shortage or lack of something expected or desired.” You can have a financial drought where there is a prolonged shortage of financial income. You can have a health drought where there is a prolonged lack of health. There can also be droughts in a marriage where there is a prolonged shortage of love, compassion, understanding or affection. There can also be a companion drought where you have long periods of time where you feel lonely, alone, or without friends or someone special.
You may be in a season of drought in your life. When you are in a season of drought you will be tempted to become nervous, worried, anxious, restless, and impatient. However, God’s Word has something to say to you if you are in a drought in your life.
One thing God says is, “Blessed is the man who trusts” God and blessed is “the woman who sticks with” God during a time of drought. If you want to experience the blessings of God in your life, then you will need to trust Him and stick with Him through the droughts of life. Rely on God and hang tight with God.
As you trust God and stick with God through your personal drought here is what is going to happen. God’s Word says you will be “like trees replanted in Eden,putting down roots near the rivers.” Sometimes you need to be replanted. From time to time you will hear me say or pray asking God to realign our thinkings and lives under God’s will and authority. Being replanted is the same thing. Sometimes we plant ourselves in bad ground and we need to replant ourselves into good ground. When you trust God and stick with God you are replanting yourself with God.
Now watch this. When you trust God, stick with God, and replant and realign yourself with God something incredible happens. God’s Word goes on to say that you will not have a “worry through the hottest of summers” and you will not “drop a leaf.” When your drought is at its peak you will not worry or fear. On top of that you will not “drop a leaf.” Meaning, you will not fall apart. You will keep it together.
Because of all this, you will be “serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season.” When you are living through a heat wave and a drought in life, everything around you looks like it’s dying. But for those who know and trust God they will be “calm” and fruitful even though everything around them is drying up and dying.
I think one of the reasons why we struggle with trusting God and sticking with God and experiencing His peace is because we are too busy. We have to get up and get ourselves ready, get the kids ready, drop them off at school, get to work, pick up the kids after school, go shopping, get supper ready, clean the house, take care of the yard, pay bills, do laundry, repair the car, go to family functions and a host of other things that are a part of life. Somewhere in all that we forget God and don’t think about Him or His kingdom. For some that creates anxiety.
In addition to the business of your personal life, there is chaos in your world. In Psalm 46, the Psalmist talks about trouble, earthquakes, tidal waves, and nations being in conflict. For some, those things create anxiety in their life whether they are a part of it or just hear about it. At the end of all this chaos, trouble, and business the Psalmist says, Be still, and know that I am God! (v. 10, NLT). Not only does the knowledge of God help you to be calm, but being calm also helps you to know God.
One more thing before we move on. The knowledge of God creates greater understanding about life, people, and situations. This is why God’s Word says in Proverbs 14:17, “Someone with a quick temper does foolish things, but someone with understanding remains calm” (Proverbs 14:17, NCV). The greater your knowledge and understanding that comes from God the greater you can remain calm when everything or everyone around you is wanting you to become agitated, frustrated, or panicked. Instead, you can be aware, calm, and present.
Conclusion
God wants you to be calm. The devil wants you to be upset. God wants you to still, the devil wants you to be agitated. God wants you to experience inner peace, the devil wants you to experience inner turmoil. God wants you to be calm, composed, and relaxed. The devil wants you to be nervous, uptight, tense, and restless.
Listen to what Jesus said in John 14:27, “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (NLT). Peace of mind and a calm heart starts with a relationship with Jesus.
If you are not careful, you can be so busy doing life that you don’t even notice the presence of God in your life. This is what happened to a man named Jacob. Jacob lived a life on the fast track doing business deals and making lots of money. He was on the go. Going from one thing to another. One night God caught up with Jacob in a dream. Jacob woke up from the dream and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” (Genesis 28:16, NLT). Continue reading
One of the weapons against anxiety is awareness, spiritual awareness. The devil does not want you to be aware of what he is doing, what God is doing, or what is happening inside you. The devil wants you to be oblivious to what you are thinking, feeling, and doing. He doesn’t want to see God at work in your life or around your life. Awareness implies vigilance in observing what is occurring around you. Continue reading
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