Tag: anxiety

A Response to Anxiety

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Matthew 6:31-33

31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

We live in an anxious age. How many people do you know who are on antianxiety medication? How many are speaking with a therapist regarding anxiety? We have so many things that would bring us fear and worry.

Over the past few years, we have seen an increase in global causes of fear. The economy in the US is plummeting. Many were terrified in 2020 and 2021 for medical reasons. All we hear or read in the news related to the border crisis, the fall of Afghanistan, or the Russian invasion of Ukraine all cause a good deal of discomfort.

How great is it, then, that we see the Lord Jesus, in his teaching on living as a citizen of God’s kingdom, call on his people not to worry, not to be anxious? Specifically, Jesus tells his people, beginning in Matthew 6:25, not to worry about what we will eat, drink, or wear. Do not let yourself fret regarding the future and your provision. His reasoning is simple. God feeds the birds. God clothes the flowers in the fields. And we are worth far more to God than are they. Thus, if God cares for things as small as birds and flowers, he will surely care for his people.

God knows our needs. And God calls on us to seek not those needs, at least not first. We are to seek first God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness. We are to have our lives and our hearts hungering for the Lord and for that which magnifies him. And when our hearts are set on God, we will not fear this world.

Consider the simplicity here. Just imagine that your heart truly hungers and thirsts after righteousness. You want Jesus. You want to be like Jesus. You want to act like Jesus. You want every step to magnify Jesus. You want to glorify Jesus. You want to love his word. You want to share his gospel. You want to see his glorious return. The more you want these things, the more you set your life toward these things, what will happen to your anxiety? If you know Jesus and therefore know that you who trust in Jesus are fully accepted by him, fully made part of his family, fully guaranteed eternity with him, you will not fear. What can this world take from you?

Jesus tells us that the gentiles, here meaning the lost and not merely an ethnic component, seek after food, drink, and clothing. They are terrified that they may not have the money they want, the clothing they want, the jobs they want, the vacations they want, the health they want. But Jesus says this is not the way of his followers. To follow Jesus is to love him, desire him, find satisfaction in him, trust him.

One beauty here is that this type of thinking is not a mere command to stop worrying. Yes, stopping worry is good and right. But we do not tend to kill anxiety with a direct thrust of willpower. We defeat anxiety best, according to Jesus here, when we have our focus changed. When we are deep in the gospel, turned toward the Lord, loving him and his kingdom, this is when our fears will be conquerable.

A response: Dear Lord, help me this day to desire you above all things. Help me to seek first you, your kingdom, and your righteousness. Give to me a true hunger for your ways. Let me trust in you totally. I know you provide for the flowers and the birds. Surely you will care for me and for my family. Please, Lord, show me your goodness that I might better rest in you. Please forgive me for allowing myself ever to be anxious about this life. My hope here is only in Jesus and in your great grace.

Where Is Your Mind Stayed?

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Anxiety, fear, even depression are common issues among modern people. One might think that with the rise of technology, the prevalence of medications, and the ubiquity of mental health language, we would be a people who are the happiest and healthiest ever. But, in truth, we as a society are as frightened and miserable as any generation before us.

The reasons for this are many. Modern psychologists have a faulty understanding of humanity. They miss the significance of what it means to be created by God or to sin against that God. They also miss the comforting concept of the presence of God, the Holy Spirit, or the promise of eternity. And so the psychological community continues to try to work people through exercises and medications to be able to limp into the future.

But the word of God is clear that there is something else that brings peace to the mind of a child of God. And it is not a modern, atheistic, psychological technique.

Isaiah 26:3

You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.

Who is in peace? The one kept by God is at peace. Why is she at peace? Her mind is stayed on the Lord. Why is he stayed on the Lord? He trusts in the Lord.

Friends, when our souls are not at peace, our first test needs to be one of where our minds are stayed. Where do you let your mind go? Where do you let your thoughts rest? Is your mind centered on the truth of the Lord and his promise of eternity? Or is your mind centered on the things you fear might come, the things you are afraid could happen?

Many people have told us not to borrow trouble from the future. Jesus himself warned us at the end of Matthew 6 that to worry about the future is a gentile activity. But those who truly consider the Lord and truly believe, they find their minds comforted and their hearts at peace.

Have your minds stayed on the Lord. Make the truth of God the center of your thoughts, and do not let your thoughts move away from that truth. This is where the rubber hits the road in dealing with anxiety. Is the Lord we claim to serve real? Is he capable? Is he good? Are his promises true? Do we understand that any earthly outcome is tolerable in the light of eternity? Do we understand that God will do perfect justice in his time? Do we understand that our light and momentary affliction builds up for us an eternal weight of glory to come (cf. 2 Cor 4:16-18)?

How do you keep your mind stayed on the Lord? There are lots of answers to that. But let’s simply suggest a few:

  1. Regularly spend time in the word of God so that your mind will be stayed on the Lord.
  2. Pray.
  3. Talk about the things of God with mature Christians who will direct your mind toward the Lord.
  4. Encourage younger believers to focus their lives on the glory of God, and this will focus you as well.
  5. Attend worship service and take part in the glorious opportunities we have to hear the word preached, to pray, to sing, to participate in Lord’s supper, and to encourage other believers.
  6. Cut out of your life worthless things that trap your mind in worldliness and fear.
  7. Intentionally force yourself to think eternal thoughts, thoughts of heaven and the return of Christ (cf. Col 3:1-4).