The Death of Anxiety
Notes
Transcript
Today we will be addressing a rather difficult subject. Many modern Bible translations refer to this section of the sermon on the mount The Cure for Anxiety. That sounds lovely, doesn’t it? A cure for anxiety. Is that even possible? Anxiety is something every person struggles with in some form or another. We are not all anxious about the same things, nor do we experience anxiety in the same ways.
The Anxiety & Depression Association of America reports that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 19.1% of the adult population. For teens between the ages of 13 and 18, anxiety disorders affect 31.9% of the population. Anxiety disorders include things like panic disorders, social anxiety disorders, certain phobias, stress, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Faced with issues such as these, we can be left wondering, “Can we really see the death of anxiety? Let’s talk about that. We will be in Matthew 6:25-34.
Last week, we discussed making eternal investments instead of temporal ones. We must have a vision of the future that is centered around God’s plans for our lives instead of settling on asking God to bless our plans. A heavenly focus changes our perspectives and enables us to make investments that impact eternity.
The very first word in verse 25 is Therefore, or for this reason. It is connecting the main idea from the previous verses we looked at last week to the verses we are looking at today. In other words, Jesus is saying, “Because you are to have a heavenly mindset,” or “because we are making investments for eternity, then this follows.” If we understand what Jesus was saying in 6:19-24, then what follows will be easier to grasp. When read in isolation these verses may sound like a lofty idea. When read in context, then the death of anxiety is actually possible.
Let’s read together:
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
So, Jesus is saying, when you have a heavenly mindset, when you are committed to making eternal investments, have fixed your eyes on heaven, and have chosen your master, you don’t need to worry. We know this is easier said than done. But let’s talk a minute about the reason for anxiety.
The REASON for anxiety.
The REASON for anxiety.
Look at the things Jesus mentioned as reasons for anxiety. We see three things: what we will eat, what we will drink, and what we will put on. This covers our basic needs. Jesus is saying we don’t have to worry about them. The reality is that not many of us do. When was the last time you didn’t know where your next meal was coming from? When was the last time you worried about having enough water to drink? When was the last time you didn’t know what you were going to wear? There are many of us who haven’t worried about those things in decades. But there are some among us who might be more genuinely worried about those things.
School kids...
We do worry about other things. We are anxious about the direction of our nation, the economy, our financial futures, the future of our children and grandchildren, business success, and so much more. We have reasons for worry. So this is not about whether we get anxious, but a matter of when we get anxious. The question is what do we do about it?
To answer that question, Jesus provides us with two examples:
“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
“And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
“And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
Using the examples of birds of the air and lilies of the field, Jesus addresses the matter of the remedy for anxiety. So let’s talk about the remedy for anxiety.
The REMEDY for anxiety.
The REMEDY for anxiety.
The birds of the air do not work the fields and store up food like we do. They go out every day and gather food, and every day they find it. Birds don’t farm. They gather what they need and God provides it every time. The lilies of the field grow and are adorned in natural beauty as God created them to be. One day they are here, and the next they are not. But in every season, the landscape finds a way to survive and flourish. God has provided for them.
What Jesus is doing here is using an argument from the lesser to the greater. If God is so faithful to take care of the birds and lilies, which are less significant than you, then won’t he also take care of you, since you are obviously of greater significance than they? The answer is an obvious yes! But then he hits the nail on the head in the final words of verse 30: You of little faith. What is the problem here?
The problem is not with God. The problem is we lack faith. Somehow, we can place our trust in Jesus to save our souls but we do not trust him for the day to day aspects of our lives. Yet, the Bible shows us consistently that God can be trusted because of his unchanging nature.
The Bible overwhelmingly describes God with an unchanging nature.
“Of old You founded the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
“Even they will perish, but You endure;
And all of them will wear out like a garment;
Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.
“But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
“For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
God always fulfills promises. He always does exactly what he says he will do. This is evidenced by the fact that the birds of the air and the lilies of the field were here before us and will continue to be here as long as the earth endures.
The remedy to anxiety is trust in God’s promises. If he is going to take care of birds and flowers, won’t he take care of you? When you belong to him, why would he not provide for you? The remedy is radical faith in God’s promises based not on wishful thinking, but by looking at his faithfulness for all time.
The REACTION to anxiety.
The REACTION to anxiety.
So having understood the reason for anxiety and the remedy for anxiety, let’s talk about our reaction to anxiety. When we do get anxious, what is our response?
“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’
“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
The remedy for anxiety is the confidence in the promises of God. The reminder of his promises changes our perspective. It reminds us we have a God who can be counted on. Because he never changes, he is trustworthy. The Gentiles did not have this. In virtually every religion outside of Judaism at the time, gods were not thought of as unchanging.
Matthew (2. Paradigmatic Preaching: The Sermon on the Mount (5:1–7:29))
Anxiety characterized pagan religions, which were dominated by fears of a capricious and despotic deity who constantly had to be appeased.
So if you were not a Jew back then, you had to hope you caught your god in a good mood or you had to hope that what you offer as a sacrifice appeased him or her enough that they would give you what you asked for. This is not our God. Jesus says don’t worry because you do not have to. Your father in heaven knows what you need and he will provide it. That promise is rooted in the unchanging nature of God.
This frees you up then to fix your eyes on heaven. Seek God first. Seek His righteousness. If you focus on heaven, you will receive everything you actually need. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Today has enough trouble of its own. Don’t be ignorant about tomorrow. Don’t be a fool and fail to plan for tomorrow, but don’t borrow from tomorrow’s trouble today. God has you in his hands today and he will have you in his hands tomorrow.
So how are you going to react to anxiety? Trust in the goodness of God, in is unchanging nature, and in his promises. Look at the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. God takes care of them. He will also take care of you.