Where God reigns, anxiety cannot

Matthew 6:25–34 CSB

“Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—you of little faith? So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

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In the summer of 1999 my big sister had the brilliant idea that we would go to Six Flags in Arlington, TX and ride every roller coaster there.

Now I cannot stand roller coasters, so every bit of the experience came with great anxiety for me. Even waiting in line proved to be a real test of my courage. But my older sister was a seasoned pro on these rides. She had ridden each one probably a dozen times or more that summer. And each terrifying step that I took, found her unshaken, with a calmness that was both frustrating and appealing.

Throughout the experience she would always have something to say to help me move forward with confidence and courage, helping me to consider the reality of my situation with greater clarity. And showing that no matter what I was feeling in the moment, everything was ultimately going to be ok.

Now I haven’t been on a roller coaster since and will barely even get on the sombrero, which is a kids ride at the front of the park, so, needless to say, I am not a lot of fun at amusement parks. But my sister taught me a valuable lesson that day. When I focused on my fears, anxiety controlled my every move, but when I allowed my older, wiser, and more experienced sister to reorient my mind toward a more reliable truth, that anxiety would vanish.

Now why do I tell you this? Because in this world so many of us isolate ourselves and focus on fears, allowing anxiety to control our every move. We need the community of the church to help us see with greater clarity that God is in control, and not our anxiety. And in our text today, Jesus is doing just that, he is helping us see more clearly by reorienting our mind toward a more reliable truth. Teaching us that wherever God reigns, anxiety cannot.

And that is good news, because anxiety is a big problem in our world today.

In fact, in 2017, The World Health organization estimated that one in five people in the United States suffered from a mental health disorder. With anxiety topping that list, and depression following closely behind. In 2024, these numbers are estimated to be even higher.

And we see it everywhere, teenagers are burning out at school. Adults are burning out at work. Suicide numbers continue to climb. And frustration and division appear to be at an all time high. But statistically our world is as safe as it’s ever been.

Our conveniences and commodities are as accessible as they’ve ever been.

And yet we are as unhappy as we’ve ever been.

There is much study behind what is causing this, and entire books dedicated to it, such as Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation and Johann Hari’s Stealing Our Focus in which they discuss the damaging rise of social media, the introduction of smartphones into the hands of children and adults, and how life is becoming increasingly more digital and increasingly less communal. Whatever the reason, people are anxious.

And Jesus in his kindness and his grace speaks directly into this. The sermon on the mount, his great teaching on the kingdom of God, finds him, directly in the middle of this sermon intentionally addressing our worries.

Look at our passage, In verse 25, he begins by telling us not to not worry about our life. That all we need will be provided. Thanks Jesus, But how are we supposed to do that? He tells us to consider, learn, observe the work of God all around us.

In this passage he uses the Greek word merimnao, translated as anxiety, worry, or concern 6 times in 11 verses. And by using the word so many times, he’s saying “I know it’s a problem,” but he counters it with the Greek word katamathete, which means consider, observe, learn. The root word mathetes is Greek for disciple, and used throughout the New Testament.

So, Jesus tells us whether we like it or not, we are disciples of something.

Either our fears, or God.

And in Luke 6:40 he says that,

Luke 6:40 CSB

A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

So, what is forming you today? Your fears? Or Jesus? Are you being trained to look more like him or are you being trained to look more like the rest of the world, anxious, angry and hurried?

Today I want us to consider a few ways that the world is forming us, and then I want us to consider a few ways that we can be counter-formed by seeking first the kingdom of God.

First, in our world:

We tend to give value to volume.

Meaning we often dwell on or abide in whatever is loudest in our life.

But peace goes hand in hand with the word quiet. And Jesus tells us that God is at work in mysterious and quiet places that we don’t often pay attention to. The birds, the flowers, places that are easy to overlook, because we tend to give value to volume.

So, we need to make God loud!

How? - Tune your heart to hear his voice. The Psalms are full of people doing this.

Ps 16 I have set the Lord always before me.

Ps 23 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil For he is with me.

27 I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living

42 Why are you downcast O my soul, set your hope on the Lord.

The psalmists are tuning their hearts to hear his voice In the noise of life.

People who play instruments or listen to music know this. If the instruments are not tuned to the proper source, the music played, no matter how beautiful it is intended to be, can sound like a real nightmare.

Well, our world is full of people walking around with their hearts out of tune!

The noise is disorienting and confusing and easily consumes us. So, find ways in your life to make God loud.

A few ways I do this at home is to wake up with the word of God. I make a deal with myself that I do not pray until I read his Word, because I want it to be the first thing my heart hears in the morning. This silences the noisiness in my heart that I woke up with, and helps me rest in his truth, not my fear. Then I pray his truth over my fears.

Also, my kids are not allowed to turn on the TV or get on a device until they have been up for at least 30 minutes. This silence sets a much sweeter tone for the day, and makes them stare at me studying the word of God. Without them even knowing, I am forming them to know Jesus by living a life that shows them his goodness, and how much their Dad needs it before he starts each day.

We also attempt to memorize some Scripture each week, by having it up in the dining room and talking about it at dinner.

However you choose to do it, you must make God loud in your life.

Next, in this world:

We tend to follow what we fear.

Those things that are loudest in our lives are those things that we fear the most, and those things that we fear the most command our allegiance. This is what the Bible means when it tells us to Fear God. Not because God is some scary deity in the sky, but because when we fear him it puts all other fears in their proper place. Because we tend to follow what we fear, we must fear God!

How? -

In Deuteronomy 8:6 the word of God says:

Deuteronomy 8:6 NIV

Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him.

By observing his commands, and walking in obedience, we grow in our fear of the Lord. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. So, by fearing the Lord we will submit to wiser brothers and sisters in the faith, and gain knowledge through their wisdom and instruction. I urge you to sit down and listen to some stories of those who have been faithful in the church through hardship. You will be blessed tremendously.

The Bible also says the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life that frees us from the snares of death. So, by fearing the Lord, we find abundant life, and freedom from death, right here and right now. To fear the Lord, does not mean to just be afraid of him, but rather it means we allow him to be king over all. And where he reigns, anxiety cannot.

Finally, in the world,

We tend to burden ourselves with busyness.

Years ago, Neil Postman wrote a book called Amusing Ourselves to Death. In it, he talks about what our lives turn into when we always need to be entertained. We remain at surface level, never growing in depth of relationship, never challenging ourselves or challenging our thoughts or doing anything that makes us too uncomfortable. And many of us are living this out, by attempting to fill our lives with things that keep us busy.

But God’s word says to truly know him, we need to be still.

And I don’t know about you, but I tend to take Jesus seriously when he says, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest.”

Because we tend to burden ourselves with busyness, we must counter-form this habit by making time in our schedules to be still and know that he is God.

How? - First, Find a group of Christians that you can be still with. A group that helps you grow in depth of relationship, who challenges your thoughts, and allows you to rest in the sufficiency of God. That is what FBC’s connect groups are designed to do.

Next, build rhythms in your life that help you to think of time with God not as an addition to your schedule, but rather, as a subtraction to the noise and fears that keep you busy and steal your rest. There’s a lot of rhythms you can utilize for this; stillness, silence, solitude, sabbath, and those are just the ones that start with S.

Also, build intentional moments of observation for your heart, and your household. Go outside with your children and look around, pointing to God. Take the Bible with you and read what the Psalms say about him. Eat a good meal with friends and point to God.

Remember that we show the world what we think of God with the way we live our lives. So, slow down and live like you have a God worth believing, because you do!

Quick recap:

In the world, we tend to give value to volume, so counter-form that habit by making God loud in your life.

In the world, we tend to follow what we fear, so counter-form that habit by fearing God above all else.

And finally, in the world, we tend to burden ourselves with busyness, so counter-form that habit by making time in your schedule to be still and know that he is God.

This posture of life takes community. It takes humility. It takes childlike dependence. And that comes from failing, which helps us to understand that we are not as great as we think and that we need each other.

In Matthew 18:1-4 Jesus tells his disciples that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven are those who humble themselves by becoming like little children.

Children are care free. Children learn best in community. Children don’t worry what they will eat, drink, or wear, because they know their parents will provide. If we, with evil thoughts and worried hearts know how to provide for our children, how much more will he?

Our love for our children is a shadow of his love for us.

And those first disciples of Jesus had pictures of God’s provision all around them, but think of how much more we have.

We have the church. We have the resurrection; we have a risen savior; and we have the Holy Spirit of the living God who helps us to know and experience the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.

We truly have nothing to worry about, because we know how this story ends.

Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. Every tear will be wiped from our eyes.

And as J.R.R. Tolkien said in The Lord of the Rings, Everything sad will come untrue.

What a sweet gift that we do not have to worry about tomorrow. Thank you Jesus for securing that gift with your perfect love and life.

So, brothers, sisters, church of the living God, let us trust him as king of our lives, and let us seek first his kingdom in all that we do, reorienting our mind toward a more reliable truth. For wherever God is king, wherever he is in control, wherever he reigns, anxiety cannot.

LET’S PRAY.