← Stay True with Madison Prewett Troutt
Stay True with Madison Prewett Troutt
What the Bible Says About Anxiety (Matthew 6 Explained)
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Matthew 6:25 says, 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? I've been someone that has struggled with anxiety in my life, and I remember studying this passage and hearing the words from Jesus, do not be anxious. And I was thinking to myself, what was the most unhelpful words that someone could tell me in the midst of my anxiety? Yeah, it was, don't be anxious. And I just was thinking, why is it different when Jesus tells me to not be anxious? You know, if my friend says, grant, just don't be anxious, I'm like, hey, that's not helpful. But when Jesus says it, there's life and peace. Well, the person that responds to you, don't be anxious. The weight in which they carry over this situation determines how powerful those words are to you. And so if I was rushed to the hospital and my friend said, grant, don't be anxious. You're going to be all right. That's a different story than after all the tests, the doctor walks in and says, hey, Grant, don't be anxious. I all the tests are perfect. You're perfectly okay. That second one with the doctor changes the game for me more than it does the friend. And what I want to say to somebody is, it's not just a friend or a parent or a sibling saying, don't be anxious. It's the God that holds all of creation in his hands saying, don't be anxious. I think there's two different responses. When we start to feel worrying, I think we can begin to take worry into our own hands and say, how am I going to figure this out? How will this work out? Will they ever like me again? Will that relationship ever work out? Will I get this job? Will I get into that school? Will I ever be forgiven for what I did? That's an anxiety that I believe. Jesus, right now, in this moment, wherever you're at, wants to invite his hands out to you and say, would you trust me with your worry? Jesus, in this illustration in Matthew 6, seems to take your eyes from yourself, and he says, look up. Do you see the birds? Do you see the flowers? He says, do you know that your Heavenly Father feeds the birds. And your Heavenly Father clothes the lilies of the grass. I love that Jesus is this master illustrator. And it relates to me in a way that I have a one year old daughter. And when we walk outside, we'll walk by the trees and we'll walk by the grass and we'll start to hear the birds of the air. And I get to look at her and I say, hosanna. Do you know that Jesus feeds those birds? And how much more will he feed you? Who are his daughters? And do you see those flowers right there? How beautiful they are? Jesus says, how much more beautiful are you? And he will clothe you. I want to speak to somebody today that might be holding on to their worry. And the title I simply have is the war against worry is Worship. The war against your worry is worship. You see, where you place your worry is actually what you really worship. If you want to hold your worry and say, I'm going to take that on today, what you really worship is you. I'm going to figure this out. I'm going to handle this. I'm going to get through this. And what Jesus is saying is, just as I provide for the birds and just as I provide for the flowers, would you trust me to handle your worry? He says it three different times in Matthew 6. He says, do not be anxious. And I want to ask you, what is it called when Jesus says do not do something and we keep on doing it? It's sin, it's disobedience to not do what Jesus is saying and to disregard it. It actually is to be disobedient. And here's the reason that so many people look at the church today and say, I'm not really sure about that. Because nothing makes our God look smaller than to claim we have a heavenly Father that cares for us and worry just like everybody else. What's so impressive about your God if you're just as worried as the person that doesn't believe in God? Now I know you might be hearing this and you're like, grant, that's not helpful. I'm just anxious and I don't know what to do. Well, Jesus has a. He has a response. He says this in Matthew 6:33. He says, but seek first, not second, not third, not fourth, not under your worry. He says, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and living a righteous life, and all these worries of yours will be added to you. What Jesus is really doing is in this passage, he's taking your eyes from yourself, looking up at his creation and ultimately up to heaven to say, seek me first and I will give you all that you need. I don't think we believe Jesus, or I think we believe that we've put wants in the category of needs, and then we're upset at God for not giving us what we quote, unquote, need. You see, Jesus knows what you need. And the activation of his presence to give you peace is not worry. It's actually placing your worry into his perfect and beautiful hands and saying, I trust you, not me, for this. You see, the only thing that you can do is be present. Why would you worry about tomorrow when you're not in control of tomorrow? Why would you worry about the past when you can't change the past? God Almighty is saying, in your present circumstance, you can choose to worry or you can flip that worry to worship. The greatest threat to the enemy that's coming after your mind is when you feel worried, not if you feel worry. When you feel worry, direct that worry into worship. Prayer is taking worry and directing it to worship. That's what it is. God, I need this today. I'm worried about this today. I'm anxious how that will turn out today. I therefore turn to you, and I'm going to seek you first. That's it. And so if you're in the car or you're in your workout or you're at the airport, or you're in your room or wherever you are, here's what I know to be true about you today, is that you will have things that will make you worry. Things will come up, you will get anxious today. That's not an if. That is a human part of your life and my life. The question is, what will you do with it? And so I just want to simply guide you through a prayer of centering yourself on the Creator of the universe, that he's not distant in heaven. He's actually closer to you than your next breath. And he does not want you to carry that burden. He actually invites you to drop all of the buckets that you're carrying and say, there's one thing I need you to focus on, it's looking at me. And when you chase me with everything you have, I know what you need. And I'm going to provide for you like I provide for the birds and like I provide for the lilies of the grass. This isn't a prayer of not walking in your responsibility. The same way a bird still goes out and hunts for food is still what Jesus is saying for us is that we have to go and walk in our days and walk in our work. But what he's saying is, who do you trust to provide you with the outcome? So I just want you to close your eyes and take a deep breath. Jesus, I trust you today. I trust you with what I'm worried about and I choose to give you what I'm worried about today. You tell me that I don't have to be worried, that when worry comes, I have a response. I actually get to offload that worry onto you, God. And you're not a God that has no control over my life or my situation. You're actually a God that has every ounce of control. The same way I feel relieved when a doctor tells me you're fine, no need to worry. How much more will the God of my life who tells me there's no need to worry, impact the way that I carry my anxiety? Lord Jesus, I ask you to meet me in my anxiety. The person right now listening to me that feels like they're spiraling. Their thoughts are so jumbled they don't even know how to center their thoughts. You are the God that steps in and says, I command silence. I speak peace. The Bible says you keep him in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on you. Lord, I speak peace to everybody listening right now. And I invite every single person into the shalom, the perfect peace that you, Jesus offer us. I know that anxiety might not go away in this very second, but as we proactively progressively fix our eyes and our mind from ourselves to creation, to heaven's king, that our anxiety will begin to flee like the darkness when the light shows up. I speak light over every dark situation. Dark mind, dark heart, listening right now. And I say that the name of Jesus is what gives us peace. There's two things we can do. We can worry or we can worship. And the war against our worship is to direct that worry and turn it into a praise God situation. I bless these friends listening right now and I bless their day. And the next time that they feel worried or anxious, would they take a moment and go, if all I do is seek God and seek his righteousness, everything I need will be added to me in Jesus name. Amen.