Anxiety and Pandemic

Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  18:51
0 ratings
· 173 views
Files
Notes
Transcript
As we start this morning I want to take a moment to ask you some honest questions.

How are you doing?

Have you taken some time to really think about that in the past week or so? How are you doing?
We are living in a time of heightened anxiety - if you’re a natural worrier? I pray the Lord’s mercy on you right now, because this is hard. If you’re a leader in the community or in a business right now, you’ve been working over-time these past two weeks. You’ve made plans and a contingency plans and you’ve thought you were all set and then the President, the Governor, the County Executive, the Federal CDC, or the County CDC makes an announcement and you’re back at square one - your plans are out the window.
We are living in unprecedented times. We already live in an anxious times, but throw out the word epidemic or pandemic and watch the anxiety rise. When people are anxious they do odd things, like hoard toilet paper. We are already anxious people. As human beings, part of our sinful nature is anxiety and worry.
When we face the unknown our fight or flight mode kicks in, and not seeing anything to fight we begin to run, but since we don’t know what we’re running from, or where we’re running too, we just run and we get no where. We’re like the hamster that gets on that little hamster wheel and goes full tilt. We run, we run hard, but we’re not going anywhere, and so we suddenly stop and the wheel keeps spinning and we just go around a few times (whew, whew, whew), and come out dizzy, exhausted, and still in the same spot.
Next Question:

How’s your soul?

I ask that question seriously. How is your soul? Are you turning to God or to CNN, FOX, MSNBC?
Where do you find yourself looking for something to hold on to?
I’ve been spending a lot of time in prayer - not only myself, but with others…properly distanced of course. I really believe that this is an incredible opportunity for you and I as Christians to stand out from the crowd, and for our witness to be strong, for our light to shine its brightest.
So many people are wondering what does this pandemic mean to our economy - not only my financial needs today but what you had saved for retirement? What about school? That’s still in limbo. What about work - how am I going to pay for my mortgage, rent, clothes, food, toilet paper!?! What about my health?
We seem to think these worries are new, but if you think about it they were the same worries that people had back in Jesus time. Jesus speaks to these in our passage for this morning, and I want all of us to take some time this morning and step off of that hamster wheel and turn to God.

In times like these turn to God

We’re going to be looking this morning at Matthew 6:25-34, but first let me ask God to open his word to us. Please pray with me.
Holy God, you invite us into your presence and in the midst of all the noise around us we too often miss your call. Quiet our hearts now, Lord. Calm our anxious minds to be able to feast upon your Word. Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit that as the Scriptures are read and your Word is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. You are our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Our passage this morning is from Matthew 6:25-34. I’m going to invite you to just listen to it as I read it to you, and I will highlight portions as we work through it this morning.

Matthew 6:25–34 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? 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.
Did you catch that? Three times Jesus says, “Do not be anxious...”

“Do not be anxious...” (vs. 25, 31, 34)

Three times! It is clear that Jesus does not desire us to be anxious. Not all anxiety is bad, obviously. Paul expressed his anxiousness in the positive sense to see or be with the churches of Philippi and Corinth in his letters to them. I experience that same anxiousness in that I look forward to being with you again. The anxiousness that is being spoken of here might be translated “worry.”
It’s the anxiousness that so many are caught up in right now, that causes them to not be able to turn away from the news, and they worry about every new announcement. As we go through these three occurrences pay attention to the details:
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?
Think of all the things we worry about: food, drink, clothing - these sound like such basic needs and we should be justified in worrying about them. But no, Jesus says,
Matthew 6:26–27 ESV
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?
We can all be pretty much assured there is not a single bird out there wondering about where tomorrow’s meal is going to come from. But we do.
The truth is we don’t add anything to our lives by being anxious. In fact we know being anxious or worrisome can actually take away from our lives, causing high blood pressure, stress, and all kinds of ailments. Jesus goes on:
Matthew 6:28–30 ESV
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?
That little addition at the end, “O you of little faith.” It hurts. Because it does let us know where we’re putting our trust. We’re putting our trust, our faith in what we can acquire, our food, our drink, our clothes. Yet, it is God who truly provides all of these things. From the fall in the garden of Eden we see humankind trying to be self reliant and provide for ourselves. That’s not our job. That’s God’s job!
God provided for the Israelites in impossible circumstances as they were fleeing Egypt. God is our provider too.
Verse 31, we read again, “Do not be anxious...”
Matthew 6:31 ESV
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
and reminds us that God knows we need these things.
Matthew 6:32 ESV
For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
We are not to be seeking after food, drink, or clothing. Our focus is not to be upon the things of this world. This is where I think our world has lost its focus and why I think we have such an opportunity to shine our light in such a way that it will be more evident to the world around us - by how we deal with this crisis. Do we trust in the things we can buy, in our hoarding of food, and drink, and clothing, and toilet paper? OR do we seek after something different.
Matthew 6:33 ESV
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
As Christians ours should be an eternal perspective. God has something so much better and bigger for us than what we see and our world seeks after in this world. Your life is not limited to this world that is here today and gone tomorrow. Your life in Christ is eternal.
Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Jesus concludes with these words:
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.
In the movie Apollo 13 there’s a scene where there’s an argument ensuing between Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, and Jim Lovell, says, “Alright, there’s a thousand things that have to happen in order. We are on number eight. You’re talking about number six hundred and ninety-two.” That’s what anxiety can do to us. We can get to thinking of all the causalities that are going to happen, and our minds naturally go to the worst case scenarios.
Or you may remember the old TV commercial encouraging you to get rid of cable:
When your cable company puts you on hold, you get angry.
When you get angry you go to blow off steam.
When you blow off steam, accidents happen.
When accidents happen, you get an eye patch.
When you get an eye patch, people think you’re tough.
when people think you’re tough people want to find out how tough you are.
When people want to find out how tough you are, you end up in a road side ditch.
Don’t end up in a roadside ditch…get rid of cable and get...
That’s much like what happens when we focus on tomorrow’s worries. The hamster wheel of our anxieties runs with all kinds of possibilities, but in the end it does not get us anywhere. They’re all based in fear, and they’re all lies.
Be present in today. Focus on today. Focus on God today. Seek first his kingdom, today, none of us knows what tomorrow may bring.
While it is today, focus on seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness trusting that God truly is in control, and that God really does care for us.
1 Peter 5:6–7 ESV
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
God really is in control, and he cares for you deeply. Remember that.
I’d like to close with a blessing from St. Patrick of Ireland.
May the strength of God pilot us.
May the power of God preserve us.
May the wisdom of God instruct us.
May the hand of God protect us.
May the way of God direct us.
May the shield of God defend us.
May the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world.
May Christ be with us,
Christ before us,
Christ in us,
Christ over us.
May your salvation, O Lord,
be always ours this day and forevermore. AMEN.
Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more