Anxiety

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away. There was a man. And one day this man said to a friend of his, “Mister. You sure look worried”. The man responded. “Man I’ve got so many troubles! If something else goes wrong today, I’ll have to wait two weeks to get around to worrying about it.

It seems today, that the more time passes the more we have to worry about. 2020 and 2021 we had a worldwide pandemic, with toilet paper shortages, and economic downturn. 2022 looks as if we are on the verge of WWIII. I’ve said over and over, I wasn’t worried too much about 2021, cause 2020 won. We lost lol. I’m more worried about 2020 II or 2020 part II.

But as time passes, as we get older, we have more and more things to be worried about. Anxiety starts to kick in, and before we know it. We’re lying in bed, at 2am with our eyes wide open.

An if you’re anything like me, your brain is constantly moving and talking and making up scenarios. The first time I ever went on the Hulk Roller Coaster in Universal Studios, I had to play two songs while making my way in the line.

The entire walk in the line, I was blasting 10000 reasons on my headphones. Bless the Lord oh my soul…. Cause I could swear that the moment that Roller Coaster was going to blast off I would fly right off the seat and fall right to my doom. The second song was while riding the Hulk itself. John Williams Superman theme song.

Now any Roller Coaster I ride has to be with music blasting in my ear to calm my anxiety.

I and deathly afraid of heights, if I’m standing in a tall building, I can’t walk up to the edge or a window, because I feel like as I get closer to the edge, the building keeps tilting on it’s side.

We all deal with anxiety but what is it?

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) Anxiety

anx•i•ety \aŋ-ˈzī-ə-tē\ noun

plural -eties [Latin anxietas, from anxius] circa 1525

1 a: painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind usually over an impending or anticipated ill

b: fearful concern or interest

c: a cause of anxiety

2: an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physiological signs (as sweating, tension, and increased pulse), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one’s capacity to cope with it

The interesting thing about anxiety, is that it falls into a couple of categories.

By the end of this message we are going to look a those categories and couple of versus on how to deal with anxiety. Now this isn’t a 100% cure. Sometimes anxiety goes hand in hand with mental illness and God gave some the intelligence to become Doctors and psychologists to help people with anxiety even. But I do believe that Paul and even Jesus give us a few steps on how to deal with anxiety.

Please open your bibles to Matthew 6:25-34

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.

In Matthew 6: 25-34 we find that Jesus says a number of times, Do not be anxious, and he speaks negatively about being anxious, so much so that he mentions it 5 times in this passage, by either saying don’t be anxious, or what good can come from being anxious.

So what are the different things that we all tend to have anxiety over.

I. Health or Physical Attributes

Matthew 6:25–27 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?

How many times do we not worry about our health. How many times do we not feel that overwhelming sense of apprehension when a family member of ours is sick. Understand that you are more valuable than the birds of the air, and God takes care of them. Why would he not take care of you. Will being anxious or fearful add just an hour of life to you? No it won’t In fact it’s the exact opposite.

A study done by researchers at Harvard and Stanford has quantifying how much a stressful workplace may be shaving off life spans. It suggests that the amount of life lost to stress varies significantly for people of different races, educational levels and genders, and ranges up to nearly three years of life lost for some groups, and in some cases up to 33 years lost.

So being anxious actually can have the opposite effect. Instead of gaining an hour you can lose up to 3 years.

II. Physical and Material Needs

Matthew 6:28–32 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? 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.

Some people stress so much just on the way they look. Their clothes, the styles, everything has to be just right, if not they won’t get that promotion, or so and so won’t be attracted to them, etc. Look at what Jesus said. Hey don’t be anxious about what you will wear, the Lillies grow, they don’t toil and spin, they aren’t anxious, and Solomon wasn’t even close to looking like them, and he probably had some of the biggest fashions at the time. He probably had the latest Camel Klein underwear.

Fun fact we get so anxious about clothing, just for it to end up in a landfill somewhere. Landfills received 11.3 million tons of MSW(Municipal Solid Waste) textiles in 2018. This was 7.7 percent of all MSW landfilled. A recent report placed it at 13.1 million tons.

Why be anxious about our physical needs, or material needs. Our heavenly father knows we need these things. In verse 33, he says Matthew 6:33

Matthew 6:33 ESV

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

Right here comes the first thing we have to do if we are being anxious about these two categories. Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you. Sometimes we spend so much time looking for all these things, that in the end, there’s no space for God in our lives. How many people have all the money in the world, all the material possessions they could ever want, but deep inside are absolutely miserable.

But Pastor Sam, if I could just win one powerball, I’ll be good. I won’t have any more worries.

Time Magazine put out an article a couple of years ago of people that had won the lottery. The story tells of one man who one his states powerball which was valued at 60 million. In the years that followed his win, there were 186 open lawsuits against him. You know that your name goes on public record if you win, so everyone and their mother wanted a piece of his 60 million prize. The stress of courts back and forth was just too much for him he explained in the article. It was so much that he just wanted to give it all away at some point but he couldn’t because of all the lawsuits. At one point he gave his granddaughter a lump sum. Enough where she wouldn’t have to work a day in her life. He says that she got bored in college, (she didn’t need to finish, cause she wouldn’t need to work) she started partying, got into heavy drugs, and eventually she grabbed a shotgun and shot herself with it. Why the article doesn’t explain.

I have a family member who worries so much about what hes going to feed his daughters and give them to wear that he plays the lotto every week, about $100. I’ve always wanted to but never told him that if he had saved the weekly $100 he could have given them a nice college fund so they could at least have some of their college paid. He wouldn’t need a lottery win.

Psalm 37:25 ESV

I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.

Hebrews 13:5 ESV

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Seek first the kingdom of God.

What does this mean, considering that over 50% of all believers live in the Two Thirds world and that a substantial amount of them live below the poverty line. What we must consider, is not to chase after or worry after the things that we need or want. Money, clothing, health, etc. We need to be chasing after the King who owns it all. The kingdom of God is the most important thing to chase after. Everything else is bupkis.

The final thing we get anxious over

IV The Future

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.

The future is a scary place. Because we don’t know what it can bring. Jesus says don’t anxious about that either. Tomorrow will have it’s own worries. Leave tomorrow where it is. Tomorrow. It’s said that 90% of what we fear, never happens.

Pastor Sam that’s all great, but what do I do? I’m seeking God but I’m still worried about all of these things and more. The thoughts still keep me up at night. I’m glad you asked. We turn to Paul. Cause some of you are probably thinking well it was really easy for Jesus to tell don’t you worry about a thing. Cause every little gonna be alright. Cause he was Jesus. It was God in the flesh.

Let’s go to Paul. Now I like to look at this passage in two parts, first what to do, and then how to do it. In this passage like I said in the beginning we don’t find a 100% cure for anxiety, but we come across a way that we can help it subside, at least enough to clear our heads.

Turn to Philippians 4: 6-7

Philippians 4:6–7 ESV

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Do you remember where Paul was writing this epistle from? From prison! he wrote this letter during his first Roman imprisonment. And from Prison, which would be cause for anxiety for just about anyone. He writes in chapter 4. Do Not be anxious about anything!

Does he say Don’t be anxious about, storms? Food? Clothing? the Future? No he says Don’t be anxious about ANYTHING!

Then he goes on to say that Prayer relieves anxiety. How? Here three words describe this prayer.

Prayer and supplication. Supplication is a humble request for help and mercy from someone in authority. You are going before the throne of God and humbly asking him to help you with your anxiety, your problems, the causes of that anxiety, with thanksgiving. This prayer is to be offered with thanksgiving. The attitude of gratitude accompanies all true approaches to the father. You go with thanksgiving because you KNOW that he’s going to answer your prayer. Whether or not it’s the outcome you wanted is up to Him. But rest assured the prayer will be answer so go to him with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.

Let your requests be made known to him.

But doesn’t he already know what I’m going through. He does, but he still wants you to put it in words. He wants you to stop thinking about your problems and thinking on Him. Seek first the kingdom of God. Remember?

Then Paul says first if you do this, the peace of God, or rather God’s divine peace comes in. The answer to anxiety is the peace of God. This isn’t peace because your circumstances have changed, or your external needs were met. In fact sometimes God allows certain things in our lives, because that honestly might be the only thing that keeps us on our knees in prayer. This is a Divine peace that transcends all understanding.

Peace excels over knowledge. Paul no doubt had in mind a situation where knowledge is insufficient. Sometimes knowledge cannot explain or help our situation. The more we know about the sickness or whatever the circumstance will not do anything to help us.

But peace is there. And it’s a divine peace that not only surpasses knowledge, but it guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. I don’t know about you, but when I’m anxious about something and I can’t sleep, my mind doesn’t stop. It spins round and round, and it can even cause physical pain.

About three months ago we were getting ready to go out the house. I opened the door, and in the midst of opening the car, I had to turn around and get something from inside. I told both my kids guys get back inside I need to find x (my wallet, my phone I don’t remember) Inside the house I find what I needed to find and I start to call the kids, Samuel David my six year old was sitting on the sofa. Caleb my 4 year old wasn’t there. I look into the play area, he wasn’t there either. Bathroom? nope. Now I start to freak. I start calling his name louder, my wife now getting worried goes upstairs he’s not there, and the backyard was also empty.

That was the moment, my mind started racing. Where’s Caleb! In the time it took me to run out the house and start calling his name outside thinking he had stayed outside. My mind went through 15 different possibilities, all of them ending horribly. My heart started pounding in between my ears. I started to get dizzy and I started to feel pain in my chest. The neighbors even came outside to help look for Caleb when they heard our cries calling his name.

Then at the last second before I collapsed right then in there in the parking lot, I look into the backseat of my car, and there’s Caleb sitting in his car seat waving at me with a big smile.

I opened the door, asked him why he hadn’t answered when we were calling him, and I broke down in tears from the anxiety. I was shaking for the next hour.

My mind had gone to so many places that my chest had started to hurt.

The divine peace that God promises us, is a peace that will “guard your hearts and your minds. “Guard” is a military term, implying that peace stands on duty to keep out anything that brings fear and anxiety. It helps guard your brain from those crazy thoughts that start to spin around and around in your heart and your mind.

Prayer not only brings peace but it brings Jesus himself as the guardian of your mind and heart.

So how do I keep the thoughts out, and with this last passage we finish.

Philippians 4:8–9 ESV

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Paul basically tells us to keep our minds on the things above. Think about your anxiety. That which you are distressing over.

Is it true, (90% never happens) But it is true that God is good! is it honorable, Nope. But God is. IS it just to keep bashing yourself over the head with these anxieties and fears? Not a chance. But God is just and if the anxiety is stemming from an injustice, God will bring justice, maybe in his own time but he will. Is it pure, lovely, or even commendable? He will never leave you nor forsake you. Remember that Paul even says in Romans ALL things work together for Good for those that love God. That truth is excellent and worthy of praise. So guess what thing about these things. It’s a cliche saying, but don’t worry about how big your problems are, In fact tell your problems how big your God is.

Finally he says What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Practice these things. Do like Nike says. Just do it.

Theres a reason that Fear Not in a number of different variations is stated 365 times in the Bible. One Fear not for every day in the year.

This won’t be a 100% cure for anxiety, but it helps bring relief. Because the God of peace will be with you.

Let’s bow our heads and close our eyes.