Anxiety

Anxiety is something that has become increasingly more common in our day.

More and more, people are realizing that the feelings that they have of unease and restlessness are not good things, but rather debilitating things that need to be addressed.

We’re stressed out because of our job, finances, the future, politics, homework, test scores, the list goes on and on.

So, with that in mind, I’d like to tell you about the first time I had a panic attack.

2020, trying to submit my Master’s dissertation, had gotten really bad feedback

Didn’t think I was going to pass

I felt alone

Feeling of weight in my chest, pressure, panic, and an inability to breathe.

I wish I could tell you that after that everything got better and I never had another panic attack, but I can still get them from time to time. However, Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, talks about anxiety and what we are to do with it.

We’ve been going through the Sermon on the Mount for the last two months, and in it, we’ve talked about anger, keeping our word, prayer, and a variety of other things. Jesus, in this short sermon, teaches us what a true human looks like. He gives us the way that we, if we are truly followers of Jesus, are supposed to be.

And, because Jesus is the smartest human that has ever lived, included talking about anxiety.

Matthew 6:25-34

In this short passage on anxiety, we can see the root of our anxiety and the cure for our anxiety.

The Root of our Anxiety

What are some things that we get anxious about? (I told you about a panic attack, so you can’t abandon me now)

Jesus lists three main things that we can see in the passage about the source of anxiety in vs. 25

Matthew 6:25 ESV

“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?

From this, we can see four, but I narrowed it to three because that made the most sense to me. They are:

Life in General

Health

Finances

So, we’re worried about what’s going to happen in the future (with us, with school, with the world, etc.), we’re worried about if we’re going to be healthy (body, mind, and soul), and we’re worried if we have enough money.

I was interested to see if this changed at all now that we’re all evolved and stuff and don’t have the same problems that 1st century Jews had. So, I looked at a couple of different articles from the APA (there’s not one study that tracks all of anxiety), but the general conclusion among all of the papers was that people are very anxious, increasingly so, and that what they are worried about is

Life in general

Health

Finances

Clearly we haven’t evolved as much as we think we have.

And so, we could take these three things and then make a sermon out of that. “How to be happier, healthier, and richer,” and it might make you feel a bit better!

But, I think that would be like putting a bandaid on a gunshot wound: it might cover it up, but it’s only trying to fix a symptom, not a problem

So, what is the root of all of this?

Why is it that we’re so anxious, and seemingly have been since Jesus’ time and probably before (or else He wouldn’t have talked about it)

I think that all of these things deal with our purpose.

If our purpose for living is unclear or unhelpful, anxiety will be present.

That goes back to what Jesus says in vs. 25 “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

Depending on who you ask today, they might disagree with Jesus!

Oh, we might add things like a big house or a pretty person next to you or a good college or a better job, but it’s all back to having more than enough and feeling comfortable and in control.

And we see that in our friends and neighbors with how they approach their purpose to life and the fear that they have

Finances: Always afraid of losing security or the job or just trying to get enough to make yourself look good in front of friends or family

Or, for parents, always trying to get your kid to be successful (meaning wealthy, it doesn’t matter what their soul looks like)

Health: The fitness gurus who always have another fad diet or new workout or new challenge. Aren’t willing to accept aging or human frailty, but they do know how much kale you have to eat to live to 100

Life in general: Filled with fear for all things. I think that this is most prevalent in politics right now. We’re fed a 24 hour news cycle that gives you as much bad news as they can cram down your throat, or there’s social media that’s trying to highlight where everything is bad so that we can hyper-fixate and be terrified.

Or, it’s the general fear of just everything that we can get so lost in.

All of this comes back to purpose. What is your purpose for life!

I’ve referenced this before, I think I mention it at least twice a year, but I love how the Westminster Shorter Catechism talks about this.

What is the chief end of man?

Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

Anxiety typically comes from faith in the wrong thing.

Obviously, there is space for a clinically diagnosed anxiety that can come from altered brain-chemistry or a spiritual attack of some sort, but oftentimes, it comes from trusting something that can’t contain our trust.

When I was having my first panic attack, I put so much faith in myself and my nonexistent supervisor, all the while I was drowning in self loathing and doubt because I knew that I couldn’t make this thing happen on my own.

All of this is purpose stuff, right? I felt like my purpose was to succeed and get great grades so that I can do well and succeed and then everyone will like me!

It’s a flawed logic!

Instead, by the end of that process, I was given the opportunity to submit myself to the Lord and tell Him, “Whatever You have for me is what’s going to happen, and that’s going to be ok.”

If my purpose for my life is off, or if I’ve placed my faith in the wrong thing, I shouldn’t be surprised when I am racked with panic!

But, thankfully, Christ provides a way forward so that we don’t have to live in fear anymore.

The Cure for our Anxiety.

This statement is definitely a bit of a misnomer!

There’s not just a few things that you can do that suddenly anxiety disappears!

And, some anxiety is good! You should be a little worries about a test, and lock your doors at night, etc!

This is not going to be some empty promise that says that if you just do a few things then you don’t have anxiety anymore. Rather, these things that Jesus mentions are to start us on the path towards trusting in Christ more and letting Him rule our life.

Jesus, multiple times in this section, simply says, “Do not be anxious.” (25, 31, 34)

He also has these very simple phrases that are so memorable.

Matthew 6:27 ESV

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

Matthew 6:34 ESV

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

It reminds me of this old Russian saying that I think is simply comically accurate.

When someone in Russia asks if they have time to do something, a common phrase is, “If you do not die first, you will have time to do it. If you die before it is done, you don't need to do it.”

But someone who has a history of anxiety can see those moments in Jesus’ sermon where He says don’t be anxious and can get frustrated.

“Oh thanks God, that’s all I needed was to stop doing the thing that I hate doing, now I’m all better!”

However, in all of these simple phrases and statements like “Don’t be anxious,” He provides us some tools that we can see even in practice today, you just might not see them at first.

How to not be anxious.

Look outside of yourself.

Look at vs 26 and 28!

Look at the birds, consider the fields

So much of our anxiety comes from being in a little echo chamber of fear. We haven’t taken the time to look at something other than ourselves, and so the problems that face can feel insurmountable and unique.

When we take some time to move our scope of focus to beyond us, we see something much different.

Take a walk

Spend some time in nature, not worrying, just noticing

Talk to someone else

Be honest, see what someone else has to say.

Read of the lives of those who have gone before

Be encouraged by those who endured hard things that God still used!

Submit to God.

When Jesus talks about the birds and the lilies, He mentions how it is God that feeds and clothes them, and then compares us to the birds and the lilies. He points out that God takes care of you just like He takes care of the birds and lilies.

So, submit yourself to Him.

Take some time in prayer to acknowledge what you’re afraid of and bring it to God.

Spend some time in silence before the Lord

If you want to know more about that, ask me, I love talking about it! (Parents, ask your students, I bet they can give you a lot of information!)

If you are not a follower of Jesus, this is especially true!

Maybe you’re racked with anxiety, or maybe you’re not, but can tell you that if you are not a follower of Jesus that the purpose for your life is not going to hold up in the face of real life.

One of the things that we talked about last weak was that we were built with eternity in our souls, so something impermanent is never going to satisfy us.

You were created by the Lord of all creation who loves you deeply and intimately. We have broken from this created purpose because of our sin, or the things that we’ve done and have been done to us that pull us away from God. There’s nothing that we could ever to do to bring us back into relationship with God.

And so, Jesus, who is God in the flesh, came down and showed us the way to live and brought in the kingdom of heaven and provided a way to life and life to the full and then He died as a sacrifice for our sin and rose to new life three days later that we might be saved from our sin and brought to eternal, full, real life!

SUBMIT TO HIM! There’s no other way to find true satisfaction or life or fullness, all of life can only be found in Jesus.

Seek first the kingdom.

Matthew 6:33 ESV

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Jesus tells us that “all these things” will be added to you if you can just first seek the kingdom of God.

So, what Jesus seems to say here is that if you follow Jesus, it’s going to work out!

You might not be the richest, your kid might not be an olympian, you might not get your dream college or job, but you will be full of light and life and joy that can only come from the Lord!

Make God the point of your existence!

Ask yourself, “Where is the purpose of my life?” If it isn’t in Jesus, then we have some adjusting to do!

Breathe

This is a good one to end on.

The two created beings that Jesus focuses on in this passage are birds and flowers. They’re not the most effective, aggressive, or hardworking. They are fairly simple creatures.

I believe that Jesus chose these animals purposefully (because He’s God, He knows what He’s doing)

Breathe, it’s not all up to you, it’s actually entirely up to God.

If you can’t take a day off from always being the one who’s working on something, maybe God is prompting you to stop trying to do it on your own.

If we can’t stop trying to be the best at our sport, class, job, or social standing, that illustrates where we put our faith in.

Take some time to rest in God this week.

If you don’t believe in Jesus, then there’s no point to resting because it’s all on you to succeed. With Jesus, I know that it’s not actually up to me at all, so I have to be able to let go and let God work.

I know we already mentioned this, but even if you do all of these things, you might still be super anxious!

Just doing things is not going to turn you into a completely relaxed person.

And, even if you throw yourself entirely on the Lord and trust in Him completely, you can still be racked with anxiety because of our brain chemistry or something in our soul.

I know very strong followers of Jesus that still have problems when they are completely trusting in the Lord.

However, at the end of time, when we go before the throne of God and get to see Him face-to-face and experience what some have called the beatific vision: where we see God and know Him: YOU WILL NOT BE ANXIOUS. Anxiety will cease when we are fully with the triune God. It might be easier or more manageable on earth, but it will be fully eradicated in the face of the living and breathing and moving God who loves you.

I can’t promise you that you will never have anxiety or will never be anxious about something just because you are a follower of Jesus. I can’t tell you that things will just be so easy that you don’t have to worry about anything.

I can tell you that life and light and joy is found in Jesus. Anything else will not satisfy, and can fill you with a sense of dread and anxiety, because it is not sufficient for us.

What’s your go-to movie snack?

Is trusting God easy for you? Why or why not?

How can you identify what the purpose for your life is? (Privately, what would you say that your purpose is?)

Which of the 4 methods of helping anxiety (Look outside of yourself, submit to God, seek first the kingdom, and breathe) stuck out to you most? Why?