When Anxiety Strikes

Patrick Smith is a commercial pilot who flies massive Boeing airplanes and he was asked about the thing that makes people the most anxious on flights. He shared that the thing that drives up anxiety is not the takeoff or landing but the turbulence experienced along the way. If you’ve ever flown on an airplane, you know that turbulence is often unexpected and it can cause some problems including making many passengers onboard nervous about their safety… But Smith shared that from the standpoint of the pilot, turbulence is completely normal. From the perspective of the pilot, turbulence isn’t a safety issue, it’s a convenience issue. The pilot is not concerned about the plane being torn a part in times of turbulence, they are concerned about keeping the coffee of their passengers in their cups. Why are pilots so calm and passengers so concerned in these situations? Usually it’s because the pilot has a better picture and understanding of what is happening that the passenger lacks. As a result, the pilot remains focused on the goal and trusts in what he knows. The plane is strong. The wind may cause disruption but it won’t bring destruction. The flight will go on.

Whenever anxiety strikes in our lives, we are tempted to do several different things. We move our gaze from our destination to our disaster. We focus on the problem rather than the Provider. We worry about how things will work out instead of trusting in our God who is seated on His throne. Every single human being faces problems. We all are tempted to worry and be anxious… But, if you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, did you know that there is a better option available before you today? In the midst of the turbulence of this life, you can choose to be like the pilot of the plane rather than the passenger. You can rest confident in your God in the midst of the storms of this life. This doesn’t mean that the storms will disappear, but you can persevere through them by relying on God’s strength.

God doesn’t want us to spend our lives worrying about how we will survive through this or through that. He wants us to live with hope and joy as we know that our God lives as we celebrated last Sunday on Easter! There are so many things causing genuine stress and anxiety in our lives today, in fact nearly half of Americans confess that they live under persistent stress and excessive anxiety. Friend, if this is you this morning, hear me: You’re not alone. In your suffering, you’re not alone. In your time of worry, you’re not alone. In your moment of depression or anxiety, you’re not alone. The Bible shares with us that our God can sympathize with us in our weakness. Maybe you’re here this morning and you’re not a follower of Jesus Christ - friend, if you don’t know Christ as Lord then you don’t know the peace that He can bring to you in the darkness of night.

What we all need to be reminded of this morning is that our God cares for His creation and He loves His people. He wants us to trust in Him with every area of our lives. This morning, as we find ourselves back in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:25-34, ask yourself if there is an area of your life that you are struggling with this morning. Possessions, future, health, reputation, wealth, or something else. Have you given that “thing” over to the Lord? Are you trusting in God to provide exactly what you need or are you trusting in your own ability to get the job done? If that is you, I invite you to drop that burden down at the foot of the cross and pick up what Christ has in store for you. Though the turbulence of life can seem deafening, peace is still possible as we listen to God’s still small voice.

Matthew 6:25–34 CSB

25 “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? 26 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? 27 Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. 30 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? 31 So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. 34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Trust God to Take Care of Your Present Problems (25-32)

It is one thing to say that we trust in God but quite another thing to actually practice what we preach whenever push comes to shove. It’s one thing to say that you believe in God and that you would stand up for your faith in Him but it’s another thing entirely to stand up for your faith whenever no one else dares stand with you. It’s one thing to praise God whenever things are going well… But it’s another thing to do it whenever suffering comes knocking on your front door. We live in a nation of worriers. We worry about how the ends will meet. We worry about our job. We worry about our home. We worry about our family. We worry about our world. We worry about lots and lots of things! How often do the things that we worry about actually happen, though? For example, some scientists are worried that an asteroid will collide with the earth and destroy all human life. They worry about that on a regular basis and, sure, it’s good to have a doomsday plan, but will that happen and is it worth losing sleep over? Probably not.

Lucas LaFreniere was working on his PhD a couple years ago and did some research on why people worry and how worrying impacts people in the present moment with loads and loads of stress. He asked his participants to document all of their daily worries and how much time each day they spent thinking about each worry. After 20 days they were then asked which of those worries came true. His research found this: 91.4% of the things that his participants were worried about over the 20 day span didn’t actually happen. Over the 20 day period, though, those people experienced misery and stress as they spend hours and hours of their lives worrying about their list of problems. Jesus doesn’t want you to live under this weight, friends! He offers an alternative that seems otherworldly… Look at Matthew 6:25, He says this: Don’t worry about your life!

Who does Jesus think He is?! How can He say something like this? In verse 25 we find the word therefore, so we have to do some digging to see what it is there for. As we dig back into Matthew 6 we see that Jesus has been giving His listeners a “how to” lesson. How to give. How to pray. How to fast. How to focus. How to serve God. It all culminates with this final section… How does it reach a conclusion? Jesus’ point is this: If you are serving God, if you are seeking first His Kingdom, if you are worshipping Him and seeking to live for Him, don’t worry about this life. Jesus isn’t just offering a helpful suggestion either… This is a present imperative command meaning that He doesn’t want us to worry about the things of this world. Does this make anyone else feel a little uneasy or is it just me? You mean I’m not supposed to worry about food, water, or my body? Jesus says nope - don’t do it!

Why should we not worry? There are a list of psychological and biological reasons to not worry stemming from worry leading to added stress, heart problems, increased anger, and shorter life expectancy. Jesus even says that we can’t add a minute to our life by worrying! Yet, the main reason that we shouldn’t worry is because God provides for His creation. He provides for the birds. He provides for the grass. If God feeds the birds and clothes the grass, how much more do you think He’ll provide above and beyond what you need?

The birds and grass are here one day and gone the next… Yet God cares for, loves, knows, and provides for them. We have every reason to trust that God will also care for and provide for our needs today as well.

For so many of us, we look around at our present problems and we attempt to find solutions by ourselves. We trust in our ability to solve problems and whenever things don’t go the way that we expect we get nervous, we worry, and we become anxious. The solution isn’t to trust in things - that’s idolatry - the solution is to have faith in God. Jesus shares that worrying can indicate a misplaced faith or a little faith in verse 31. The word there is oligopistos and it shows up 4 times in the Gospel of Matthew and each time it’s not a good thing. Peter walking on the water and falling because he had “little faith.” The disciples on the stormy sea having “little faith.” The disciples wondering where their food would come from after Jesus had just fed the 5,000. Each time the disciples are said to have “little faith.” They failed to trust in Jesus’ love and power! Small faith often leads to worry. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t legitimate reasons to be concerned and worry - there are! But, as Christians, we have to trust that God will take care of these present problems. We have to remind ourselves that our God is greater than our worry. We remind ourselves that God is good and provides in the good and the bad.

Atheists and Pagans have genuine reasons to be anxious because they don’t know what tomorrow holds and they fear that they have to constantly appease their respective gods with their performance… Yet, the Christian faces no such fear. God loves His children and views them through the perfect righteousness of Christ. God holds tomorrow. God is sovereign over tomorrow and over the day after tomorrow… So what reason is there to be worried about it?

Why do we get anxious?

Tempted to think that we are alone and in this by ourselves

We think that we’ve been abandoned

We forget that Jesus is still at work

We remember His work in the past (on the cross) but often forget his intercession taking place in the throne room currently

Whenever we remember that Jesus is at work presently on our behalf - we know that we have no reason to fear because He is with us. He can sympathize with us. He won’t leave us. He has a perfect plan for us. He is good, holy, and loving toward His children.

Don’t have a “little faith”, have an “Even-If” faith that says that even if the worst thing happens, I will trust in God.

Trust God to Take Care of Your Future Frustrations (33-34)

Here we find command #2 in this text in verse 33 as Jesus gives us another present imperative command to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. As we focus on God’s Kingdom, we can rest with confidence that He will provide exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. DA Carson shares that to seek first the Kingdom of God is to desire and submit to God’s plan and God’s message. Whenever you live with this mindset, you don’t have to worry about the temporary things of this life because the eternal King of Kings promises to take care of you. The overall message of these final verses is that if you want to live your best life now, you can’t focus on today or tomorrow, you focus on God’s eternal Kingdom and you let God determine what your best life truly is.

Again 91.4% of the things that we worry about don’t end up happening, yet for so many of us we spend far too much time worrying about what will happen if they come true. We worry not only about today but we also worry about tomorrow. I knew of a person like this in college. They would have a test the next day and they would always sleep really bad the night before because they would be stressed out about the upcoming test. The test tomorrow would disrupt their sleep tonight. They would lay awake worried about not knowing the answers or not having studied hard enough. Have you been there before? That’s not a fun place to be at, yet, we’re there more often than not. We worry about tomorrow’s problems before tomorrow arrives! The Lord promises to provide. Don’t worry about tomorrow’s problems whenever God has only promised you strength for today! One author shared that we desperately need to memorize the words, “When the time comes.” I don’t know what to do if this thing happens… You’ll know when the time comes. Before Gabriel, I didn’t know how to change a diaper but goodness, I figured it out whenever the time came. Rather than focusing on the next thing, we have to learn how to apply God’s Word to our life today in order to succeed tomorrow. Look at what Solomon says in Lamentations 3

Lamentations 3:22–23 CSB

22 Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!

As we remember what our God has done in the past and who He is, we can rejoice each day instead of worrying each day as we reflect on His great faithfulness. We express our gratitude toward God for all He has done for us.

Hebrews 7:25 CSB

25 Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them.

Our sinning goes to the uttermost… But His saving goes to the uttermost as well!

Therefore, what do we truly have to fear? We have a Savior who took upon Himself our sin/shame. We have a Comforter who is with us presently. We have a Lord who is interceding on our behalf today. We have a Messiah who knows what it’s like to struggle, be tempted, suffer, and even to die. So why worry about tomorrow whenever we have a Savior who promises peace for today? Instead of drowning due to our worrying and reflecting on all that has gone wrong, we can simply look to the cross and say “Thank you, Jesus” for taking my place. Thank you Jesus for knowing what it’s like to suffer. Thank you Jesus for knowing what it’s like to be a person with physical weaknesses. As we reflect on what He has done, and as we remember that He is our Master and Provider, we can relax just a bit and trust in Him to provide today and tomorrow.

What is the answer to anxiety? Romans 8:28 - a Savior who promises to hold us and work all things for our ultimate good. We trust fully in God’s provision, protection, and plan.

He gives us what we need, when we need it. He protects us from threats both seen and unseen. He has our best interest at heart and knows best.

Hebrews 6:19 CSB

19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.

We have an anchor in uncertain waters in the person, work, and promise of our Savior! Though we face problems of all shapes and sizes, we don’t have to face them alone with an anxious heart. We can face them with faith in our Father who loves us dearly.

Conclusion

Personal observations from anxiety

Whenever I was a freshman in college I came home for Spring Break and my mom and dad were returning from Florida as they had gone on a trip during her spring break the week before. My dad had told me that she wasn’t feeling the best during the trip and that she had been acting a little off on their drive back to Ozark but I didn’t think anything of it. Whenever they got home I could sense that something was wrong but we talked for a few minutes and then she went to bed. I figured that maybe it was just a long week and some rest would help her get back to her normal self. Fast forward to the start of my spring break on Saturday morning at like 7am and my dad comes into my room and wakes me up saying that my mom fell down and he needs my help. This freaks me out but I wake up and go to their room to find my mom on the floor and in her words she couldn’t figure out how to get up. We get her up but she’s clearly dizzy and not thinking clearly. We call for an ambulance and whenever the paramedics arrived at our house my mom couldn’t tell them my name… She just told them that I was her son but she couldn’t say that my name was Joel. I’m freaking out at this point! After she got to the hospital they diagnosed her with a septic infection that had gone from her ear to her brain to her knee. Her memory wasn’t all there and her leg wasn’t doing good either. The doctors didn’t know what kind of recovery she would make. They immediately began operating and tried to help rid her body of this infection.

Whenever this first happened I was shocked and worried but after the shock wore off I had this strange peace that God had everything under control and that He loved my mom and that whatever happened, if she made a full recovery or if she didn’t, everything would be ok because she was the strongest Christian I knew and I knew that she trusted in God’s love and His plan. God’s Sovereignty, or God’s rule over creation as its King, was a comfort to me in those long, dark days. I knew that God was in control, the infection was not. I knew that God had my mom in His hand, not the doctors. I knew that God knew what was going on, even if no one else did. I can’t explain the sensation but this situation that initially caused me loads of anxiety suddenly ceased doing so simply because I realized that God was the only One who could heal her and He was the One in control of the situation. As a result, I prayed that He would give the doctors wisdom and help heal her.

Fast forward several days and my mom began to remember things. She knew my name again. She began to walk. She began to laugh. Eventually she was released from the hospital and killed her physical therapy and made a complete recovery. She’s a walking miracle and testament to God’s kindness.

I knew God could heal my mom. I trusted that He would. But I knew that whatever happened, He was in control and that He loved her. This gave me so much comfort in the moment that I can’t explain it. Anxiety gave way to assurance of God’s power and plan. Maybe you can relate with this as you had a situation come up in life where you were able to have this otherworldly confidence in God’s power in a difficult moment in time. That’s easier said than done often times, though. Many times worry and anxiety come in and they dig their claws in as deep as they can and it can feel like the struggle will never end.

Last year I went to bed one Saturday night and woke up after about 30 minutes to a racing heart that wouldn’t calm down. Upon a trip to the ER the doctors said that everything came back normal and that there was no discernable problem. Over the next 5 nights I got a total of 10 hours of sleep because of a racing heart every time that I attempted to close my eyes. It didn’t matter what I tried to do or what sleeping medicine I took, I genuinely couldn’t sleep and my mind would go a million miles per hour trying to figure out what was going on and what the solution would be and this and that. It didn’t matter what test the doctors ran, everything came back perfectly healthy. My heart was fine. My thyroid was fine. My blood count was fine. Yet, I was incredibly worried that something seriously was wrong. I worried myself to the point where I couldn’t even sleep at night!

I knew that God was good. I knew that He loved me. I knew that He was in control. Yet, I struggled for weeks and weeks with worry and anxiety thinking that there was something wrong and that I just needed to do more and more work and research and that eventually I’d figure it out!

What I’ve learned in the months since is what I learned immediately years and years ago: God is sovereign. He is the One who is in control. He is with us in the mountain high and He is equally with us in the valley of the shadow of death. Even though He might not change our circumstance, He will guide us and not abandon us. He will change our heart and our mindset. My anxiety was due to a lack of belief in God’s goodness and sovereign power. I was so focused on my health and my work and my abilities that I often lost sight of the truth of Matthew 6:25-34 and Philippians 4:6 as God is good and promises to give me exactly what I need day by day. Now, I know that even when there is a sleepless night or something that comes across my mind that worries me, I can have peace knowing that God will use whatever struggle I have for His glory and for my ultimate good as I am literally forced to stop trusting in my own power and to trust wholly in His sovereign goodness. This is what Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 12 as he boasts in his weakness.

Everyone faces anxiety and worry and problems day in and day out. For many of us these problems are due to a focus problem. We focus on on our stress and worry and we think that we can eliminate it by our own power and by doing more things… The root of this type of worry is sinful as we fail to focus and trust in God and, instead, we rely on our own understanding and think that we can work harder and figure everything out. We trust in ourselves and this leads to despair and frustration. Jesus’ answer to our anxiety dilemma is simply this: Have confidence in His power and trust in His grace. Lay your anxiousness down and trust that He will truly meet and satisfy your needs.

There are other forms of anxiety and depression that are not circumstantial - they are not because our focus is on the wrong thing and we lack faith in God, they are due to biological abnormalities in our bodies. If you are a person who struggles from this type of anxiety please don’t think that you’re a weak Christian or that you wouldn’t have this problem if you just had more faith… That’s a lie! That’s the equivalent to going to a cancer patient and telling them that they wouldn’t have cancer if they would have tithed more or if they had just done more good things for God. That’s ludicrous and insensitive. If you need help, seek help by all means and by God’s grace there are pathways to get help in this world! But as you seek biological help, don’t forget to seek God along the way. The God who took care of our greatest problem at the cross and rose to achieve our victory in the tomb can be trusted to take care of our daily problems in this life too! He loves you. He died for you. He is with you. He knows what it is like to suffer. Trust in His love, provision, and sovereign power today and rest assured that you are not forgotten. He holds you in the palm of His hand.

Maybe you’re here today and you’re struggling with worrying and anxiety. You’re afraid about something going on in your life or in the this world. Jesus doesn’t want you to live your life in a state of constant worry. He invites you to lay your burdens down and allow Him to give you rest and peace that surpasses all human understanding. If you’re worried about how things will work out, He invites you to come and have Him reorient your life from the inside out. To seek first His kingdom, not the kingdom of this world. After all, if He dresses the lilies with beauty and splendor, how much more will He clothe and protect you and me? What we so desperately need is to see things the way that He see’s them. Whenever anxiety strikes, don’t immediately turn to your own ability and definitely don’t immediately look to your problem… Look to your God. Look at all He has done in the past. Look at His promises in His Word. Look to His provision in your life. Seek first His Kingdom and pray for His guidance. Hold firm to Romans 8:28 and be reminded that God is at work even when it doesn’t seem that way. He will work all things for His glory and for your good. Though the night might seem to last forever and ever, joy will break through with the morning.

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