God’s Cure for Worry

     Christians should be a happy and contented people, especially when we can practice our faith and serve God the way that the Bible tells us to without fear of any serious persecutions. We can assemble ourselves together and worship God the way that He wants us to. We can enjoy the fellowship that we are to have with one another. If we can afford it, we can get on the radio, TV, and other various media outlets and proclaim our faith in Christ and still be free to lead a relatively peaceful life. We are greatly blessed! Add to that the fact that we have been redeemed from sin; we have been placed in the loving arms of God, that we have been granted eternal life, and it becomes plain to see that unless some tragedy has occurred recently, we should not be miserable and unhappy people. “…Godliness with contentment is great gain: for we brought nothing into the world, for neither can we carry anything out; but having food and covering we shall be therewith content” (1 Ti. 6:6-8). Being content then, being satisfied, having our physical needs met, “Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, rejoice” (Phil. 4:4).

            Many Christians are not happy, though. Instead, they are full of fear and anxiety, the stresses of financial burdens, family tensions, loneliness and depression, illness, unemployment, and other things have pushed many to a critical, crisis-level point. How can a person find contentment when he is just barely hanging on by the tips of his fingers? How can a person find joy in a life full of disappointment? It’s actually pretty easy to say thinks like, “a Christian is supposed to be happy and content,” but it is another thing to try and combine that with the realities of everyday living. How do we get rid of the worry and live with contentment and peace in our lives? That is the question I want to try and answer for you with this lesson.

There are two passages that I would like for us to look at from our Bibles, and having discussed them, and learned what they are telling us, I then want to see if we can make three short points with what we have learned from those passages.

The first passage that I would like to study is found in the book of Philippians, chapter 4, verses 6 and 7: “In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.”

“In nothing be anxious.”—That doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for exception does it? In what than can we be “anxious”? “In nothing.”

The King James says, “Be careful for nothing;” New King James: “Be anxious for nothing;” NIV: “do not be anxious about anything.” By “careful” the KJV means the same thing as anxious. If we are anxious about something, then we are over-worried about it; we are fretting and worked up over something that could potentially be, and we have become tied up in knots over it. The Christian should never reach this level of worry over something. Does this mean that we are not to be concerned about our families, ourselves, or others? No! Does this mean that we are to be careless? No! It means that our concern and care for things should be kept within reasonable limits. If we become so concerned with something that we begin to be consumed by it and obsess over it, then it has become overly excessive and it fills us with anxiety.

There are things that we are to be concerned about. We are to be concerned about staying busy, not being slothful, and working with our hands (cf. Eph. 4:28). “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, If any will not work, neither let him eat.” (2 Thes. 3:10). We are to be concerned about our reputation: “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, And loving favor rather than silver and gold.” (Pr. 22:1). We are to be concerned about our families: “But if any provideth not for his own, and specially his own household, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Ti. 5:8). We should be concerned about others: “not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.” (Phil. 2:4). And, we should be concerned about our own souls: “For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?” (Mt.16:26). But, in nothing should be become so concerned, or careful, that we become anxious and full of anxiety over it.

When we worry about things to the point where we begin to become consumed by it, it begins to put into question our trust in God. The Bible tells us that God cares for us and watches over us; it tells us that through His providence we will be provided for. But, how much faith can we really have in that if we are always worrying and fretting over things? Will we depend and trust in God when it comes to much greater things like heaven and hell, eternity, and forgiveness, mercy, and grace, will we put our souls into His care, but not trust in His providence for the little things of this life here upon the earth? That seems a little bit out of balance to me. If we can depend on Him for salvation, surely we can depend on Him for a bowl of soup! What is of greater importance? Which one do we think would be more difficult to accomplish? If He can put the stars in the sky, sway the course of man throughout history to accomplish His own will, and raise the dead back to life, surely He can care for us!

Well, how do we know when healthy concern has turned into sinful anxiety and distrust in God? When we become so concerned that we forget who is in control; when we loose our proper perspective on things. When we tell ourselves that it is out of God’s hands, or that it is beyond His control, when we no longer depend on Him as we should and allow our fears and doubts about God get the better of us, it has gone too far. Things usually feel as though that have gotten out of control because we no longer believe that God is in control. If we truly believed that God is in control, then we would know that whatever it is that we might be afraid of is under control, because it is under God’s control.

“…But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”—Since we know that all things are under God’s control, the very first place we should think to go to when we begin to worry about something is God. If there is anyone who can take care of our problems, it’s God! Instead of being “anxious” about anything, we should be “in everything” going to God. It means “everything” with reference to our wants, afflictions, and spiritual needs. If we are concerned about something, we should talk to God about it. If we are bothered by something, we should go to God with it. There is nothing that we can’t go to God about; there is nothing too great, and there is nothing too little. “Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart, And lean not upon thine own understanding: In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he will direct thy paths” (Pr. 3:5-6).

There are three specific directions given to us here in order to keep anxiety out of our lives; three specifics with regards to our going to God with our problems and requests: “by prayer,” “by supplication,” and “with thanksgiving.” We’ve already said that we need to be willing to go to God; we need to pray to Him. It doesn’t have to be a long prayer, it doesn’t have to be a complicated prayer, we just need to think to pray. We can pray while we’re in traffic, while we’re pushing a cart through the grocery store, or wherever; it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we pray. A “supplication” is an earnest request, a strong and yearning desire that we make humbly and consistently known to God through prayer. We keep asking and keep pleading with Him until the need has passed. And it is always to be with an attitude of thanksgiving. We should always be mindful and full of gratitude for all that God has done for us and continues to do for us. So we are to be praying, praying earnestly, and with thanksgiving. If we will do these this, assuming we already believe and trust in God, and that our prayers will be heard by a loving heavenly Father, then we will have the peace that we are seeking without the anxiety that we are to be without.

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.”—Not only will we have “peace” instead of over-worry, or anxiety, but also it is such that “passeth all understanding,” only God can comprehend it in its fullness. And it will “guard” our hearts. Like we might think of a small army guarding a position against attack, it will guard our “hearts and thoughts” against unnecessary worry which attacks us so often.

I said earlier that there were two passages that I wanted us to look at in this lesson, the one was Philippians 4:6-7, which we just went over, and the other one is Matthew 6:19-34. What we find in this passage is a specific example of how the principle taught in Philippians might apply.

There are few things that people are more over-worried, or anxious about, than money, and in this passage, Jesus is telling His disciples not to be so anxious over money. And, as we will see, the reason they shouldn’t be too worried about money is because God will take care of and provide those things that we need. It reads,

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also. The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is the darkness! No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment? Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value then they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life? And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Mt. 6:19-34)

Jesus tells us that we are to lay up our treasure in heaven where it won’t rust or be stolen; He tells us we cannot serve both God and money; He then tells us not to be anxious, or not to be consumed with worry over money. Money is not what life is about anyway, it is about serving God and glorifying Him. But we do need some amount of money in order to survive, and He next gives us a list of reasons why we should not worry so much about having enough money.

We need money in order to buy food, but we should not allow ourselves to worry and fret over that because God will provide (v. 26). The birds in out in the wild don’t grow crops or store up food in barns. They just eat from what God provides for them and they have enough. Aren’t we worth more than birds? If God provides food for them, won’t He provide food for us?

What good does worry do? What good ever comes out of worry? We could worry about being too short all day long, but it won’t make us any taller. No matter how much we worry, we will still be just as tall as we are going to be, with or without worry (v. 27). So, why worry about it?

We need clothing in order to clothe ourselves, but just as with food, we should not allow ourselves to worry and fret aver that because God will provide (v. 28-30). Just like the birds have enough food to eat, the “lilies of the field” are clothed with bright and beautiful colors. Not even Solomon could compare! Are we not worth more than lilies? God will cover the flowers that grow out in the wild in such a way, how much more will He see that we are clothed?

When we worry so much about things like food and clothing, we are more like the heathen, than children of God (v. 31-32a). The child of God knows that he will be taken care of; he knows that his heavenly Father is watching over him, but the heathen does not believe in God or a future home in heaven, he believes only in what he thinks he can provide for himself and the riches to be had in this life. He serves “mammon” rather than God. We are not to be as those who do not trust in God.

God knows our needs (v. 32b). It is not as if God is unaware of the things that we have need of, and if He knows we have need of these things, He will see that we have them. How many parents will let their children starve and be naked? How many earthly parents will let their children go without the things that they need? God is like a Father who loves His children and will not let us go without those things that we need.

Worry just makes us miserable. If we know that God is caring for us, why go looking for things to worry and be miserable about?  We have enough to worry about today, why go looking over into tomorrow, or sometime into the future, for things to worry about? “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (v. 34). In what we often refer to as the “Lord’s Prayer,” what did Jesus pray for? “Give us this day our daily bread” (Mt. 6:11). Each day has enough of its own things to worry about without barrowing from tomorrow.

So what is the answer to worrying over money? Don’t worry about the money that we need to survive God will provide those things. Does that mean sit on the couch all day watching The Beverly Hillbillies  reruns and everything will be done for us? No, of course not, but if we do what we can, we don’t need to worry, we will have the things that we need. 

So what do we do: “But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” He didn’t promise that Rolex watches and fancy sports cars will be “added unto” us. What He is saying is that those things that we need, such as food, clothing, and shelter will be “added unto” us.

Well, we have looked at two passages now: Philippians 4:6-7 and Matthew 6:19-34. If we were to take just three lessons from these two passages about worrying, what might they be?

There is No Need for Worry

God doesn’t want us to worry, and it is actually a sin to worry about things the way that we so often do. But, besides that, isn’t it a great blessing to know that we don’t have to worry, and to know that we serve a God who desires for us to be at peace and contented? He has told us not to worry.

One of the biggest reasons a person might have for going on a vacation is to get away and take a break from the worries of life, but for a person who trusts in God and His providence, there really is nothing to worry and fret and be anxious about. Of course, that’s assuming that what we want, or might worry about, is in harmony with God’s will. If what we are worried about are worldly things, then yes, we might have reason to worry, but if what we are worried about are things that we need, or things that are in accordance with the will of God, then there is no need to worry. “Seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

The Solution for Worry is God

The cure for worry is not found in ourselves, but in God. If we don’t believe or trust in God, then there is reason to worry because we have turned away from the very reason we have not to worry. The peace that we are searching for is the peace of God (Phil. 4:7). Not the peace of a big bank account, or of material wealth, but that of God. Well, where is that found? It is found “in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7).

Why was Daniel so calm when he went into the lion’s den, or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneggo when they were cast into the fiery furnace? They trusted in God! How were Paul and Silas so calm when they were in prison that they were able to sing songs to God, even while their feet were in stocks? They trusted in God! How did the apostle Paul endure all of the suffering that he went through for the cause of Christ and keep on going forward time after time after time? Because, he said, “I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13). Am I hungry, am I beaten and battered am I in prison, am I in shipwreck? It makes no difference, I will find that strength that I need to get through it in the Lord! The “peace of God, which passeth all understanding” was guarding the hearts and thoughts of those great men of the Bible, and it can do the same for us today. How? “In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you” (1 Pet. 5:6-7).

This is Not Only True About Money

We looked at a specific example of this principle in Matthew 6, when Jesus was preaching about the care and worry over material wealth. We saw that we should not worry about those thinks that money can buy for us, or that we need money for in order to survive. God knows that we need those things and He will provide. Instead, we are to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. That principle applies to everything else that we may be anxious about as God’s children. I just used Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abedneggo, Paul, and Silas as examples of this from the Bible, and there are so many more that we could use.

What are we worried about today, food, clothing, health, shelter, work, or family? Have you prayed about it? Do we really believe that God cares for us as dear children? If so, then let go of the worry and take comfort in Him.

“…All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Ro. 8:28). Are you a child of God this evening? Do you love Him? Then know that “all things work together for good to them that love God.” If you need to, will you confess it to God, repent of it, and ask Him to forgive you? He will (1 Jn. 1:9; cf. Pr. 28:13).

If you are not a Christian, please take note of the last phrase of this verse, “to them who are called according to his purpose.” This blessing of peace is not for everyone unconditionally; it comes with a condition. Those who are called are those who have obeyed the gospel. They have repented of their sin, confessed their faith in Christ, and had their sin washed away in baptism. If you want to be able to live a life free of the anxiety that so much of the world is drowning in tonight, if you want to be cared for as a child of God from this day forward, then please respond to the invitation this evening.