Conquering Anxiety

Mattew 6:25-34

Immanuel – 2/25/24

According to Forbes Health, 1 in 5 adults in the United States have been diagnosed with some form of an anxiety disorder. 1 in 3 adults have reported symptoms of anxiety and depression. Among adolescents the numbers are even higher. And all these numbers come from diagnosed and reported cases. Experts estimate the numbers are far higher because the vast amount of people do not report and never get diagnosed.

This means that if those numbers hold true within the church, then at a very minimum a third of you are afflicted with some form of anxiety.

Such a huge number of people plagued by anxiety; and this despite the fact that the psychological world considers anxiety to be “highly treatable.” Even still, among all demographics the rates of anxiety are only increasing; more and more people are being overcome by anxiety. Some experts blame these increases on COVID anxiety.

But I don’t think COVID is where anxiety comes from. Instead, from a Biblical worldview, it would be true to say that anxiety comes from a place of brokenness. But what exactly is broken? What is it in so many, what is it in you, that is broken.

To get to the root of it, let’s first define anxiety. According to the Oxford Dictionary, anxiety is defined as “the state of feeling nervous or worried that something bad is going to happen; worry or fear about something.”2

Anxiety is worry, or fear of uncertainty in the future.

Now, listen to what the Apostle John writes about fear:

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. -1 John 4:18

Follow the logic: If anxiety is a form of fear, and there is no fear in love, then what is the thing that is broken within us? Love: more precisely, our understanding of love both in our heads and our hearts. Love is broken within us; thus we fear, thus we are filled with anxiety.

And I think that’s exactly what you see Jesus addressing in our passage today: anxiety is conquered by love.

Purpose

If anxiety is going to be conquered within us, we must understand the anxiety conquering love that streams towards us from heaven. Our anxieties are conquered by trusting in God’s love.

Read vs 25

Therefore. Therefore links us back to the things that came before.

Read vs 24

The Problem of Anxiety

Does this not imply that anxiety comes from trying to serve two masters: or worse, serving the wrong master. Indeed, if your master is unloving and hard, anxiety will mark your existence. If you’re trying to do the impossible and live between worlds, anxiety will also mark your existence.

So, to be painfully practical, if you are caught up in materialism do not be surprised if anxiety is your frequent visitor.

But if you serve only one master, and that master deeply loves you, and that master joyfully empties heaven’s treasures upon you, and that master promises to meet your every physical and spiritual need, then what have you to worry about?

All that tied into Jesus’ “Therefore” in verse 25. And it is why Jesus next says, “Do not be anxious about your life…nor about your body.” Those are the two main clauses of that first sentence. Food and drink sustain your life. Clothing sustains your body. Of course, there are more things that sustain your life and nourish your body, but Jesus gets the point across.

Your life and your body need these things, but your life is so much more than the things that sustain it. Your body is so much more than the things that nourish it. Therefore, you are to use your life and your body for the higher things; the very things we saw in the Lord’s prayer: the hallowing of God’s name, the advancing of His kingdom, the doing of His will.

But everything turns upside down and breaks, and anxieties rush in, when we use our life and our body to pursue the lower things: food and drink and clothing. Pursuing material goods, bodily pleasures, man’s applause, and selfish indulgences are all pursuits of the lower things.

And chasing such things, which are inherently transient, will only fill your body with eventual hunger and your life with inevitable anxiety. You will be plagued by worry because there is no possible way to guarantee you will secure them; and even if you do, soon enough they will run out.

Notice the assumption in Jesus’ words, “Do not be anxious.” He assumes that the disciples begin in this form of anxious state. It’s just as I assume – and statistics indicate – we are all an anxious people. And we are anxious because we are so prone to seek after the lower things.

Then Jesus uses the first of two illustrations meant to combat the anxieties hardwired into our fleshly selves.

Read vs 26

Birds and Flowers

Jesus’ rhetorical question at the end of the verse is a resounding yes! You are worth far more than a sparrow. You are worth more than a forest of sparrows. God loves you more than all the earth’s sparrows. See now Jesus’ method of dealing with our anxiety is to draw us towards the love of God.

There are two ways to misinterpret Jesus’ illustration of the sparrow.

First is to think that you can flit about your life without a care in the world, and God will just do everything for you. That is not at all how this works. Have you ever watched sparrows? They never stop moving. They are some of the busiest little creatures out there. Though God provides, it does not negate the work that He calls us to. As Martin Luther so apt put it, “God provides food for the birds, but He does not drop it into their beaks.”3 Jesus is in no way teaching us to be flighty.

There is a second way to misinterpret Jesus’ illustration about sparrows; where if you trust in God then nothing bad will befall you. For every year there are countless birds that die from starvation or exposure or predators or whatever else. Jesus is not teaching that life will be free of pain. In fact, the illustration isn’t about suffering at all. It’s about God’s provision. Whatever the sparrow eats, it comes from God. Likewise, whatever you eat, it is because God has given you this day your daily bread (6:11).

If it is God who provides for them, and He cares so tremendously more for you, then He will provide for your needs too.

Read vs 27

Another rhetorical question. Worry all you want; you won’t live an hour longer; not a second longer. In other words, worry is good for nothing. It does nothing, it helps nothing, it produces nothing.

Actually, that’s wrong. Worry/anxiety does produce something: stress. Stress is well documented to cause or intensify health concerns. Ironic. Worry about your life all you want, but likely you’ll only end up bringing an early death. Worry cannot add an hour to your life, but perhaps it can take a few.

Then Jesus moves into His second illustration.

Read vs 28-30

If we don’t think carefully about this illustration, it’s easy for Christ’s main point to become a little foggy. We easily get distracted by thinking about what it means to be thrown in the fire. But don’t worry, Jesus’ isn’t making a reference to hell in this passage. He’s talking about the incredibly brief and utterly insignificant life of flowers.

The plant that grows is almost entirely passive. It doesn’t toil or spin; if you watch the plant, it looks like it does absolutely nothing. Yet how beautiful its flower! King Solomon – the wealthiest of all Israel’s kings – clothed in his most lavish and regal adornments, even he could not match the beauty of a single flower in the field.

But in a moment flowers fade and their stems blend in with all the other grasses. The Israelites would gather whatever grasses they could find, bundle them, dry them, and burn them for their cooking stoves. How arbitrary the life of a flower: beautiful, then faded, then used for fuel.

But if God takes pleasure in adorning the grasses so extravagantly, how much more will He take pleasure in caring for your body?

Listen to David wax poetic over how much care God has put into us.

You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. -Psalm 139:13-14

A flower fades and is thrown away. This body is amazing; or as David puts it, fearfully and wonderfully made. Yet similar to a flower, these bodies fade. (Some of you know that more than others.) But entirely unlike flowers, God will raise our bodies up, clothe them in unspeakable glory, and care for us in endless ages. We will run and not grow weary, rejoice without worry, and shine in the splendor of the Son. Yes, how much more will your Heavenly Father clothe you!

Jesus then finishes that illustration with, “O you of little faith.”

Especially in the Gospel of Matthew, faith is confidence that God will act on behalf of His people. Faith is trusting that God is for you, that He will provide for you, that He cares for your needs, that He loves you.

And love is not something meant merely for intellectual ascent; it’s meant for the heart! Thus, you can believe with your head, but if your heart doesn’t understand, you are of those that Jesus speaks of: a disciple “of little faith.” A person who has great faith is a disciple whose heart beats with the knowledge that God is for them, and nothing in all creation can separate you from His love (Romans 8:39).

Again, fearful flock, do not worry. Little faith or great faith, the gates of heaven are flung wide for any amount of faith! For faith even smaller than a mustard seed is God’s gift to you unto salvation.

What great promises we have in Christ! And by faith in Jesus, we are truly the blessed of the Beatitudes – possessors of the kingdom of heaven, comforted in the love of God, heirs of the earth, satisfied in God’s righteousness, lavished with mercy, and welcomed into the very presence of God as His sons and daughters.

Such does our faith declare! Why then, why are we anxious? Let us repent of those old anxiety inducing pursuits and believe in our Lord who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Read vs 31-32

Just as verse 25 began, so does verse 31 begin with a therefore. Commentator Leon Morris puts it perfectly: “Therefore leads on to the logical consequence. Since God takes such care of the lower orders of creation, certain consequences follow for His people. Jesus is not saying that His followers may be as careless as the birds and flowers, doing no work and simply looking to our Father to provide everything. It is a condition of our life here and now that we work for our daily bread. But there is all the difference in the world between doing this in anxiety and fear and doing it in trust in a loving Father.”4

Disciples of Peace

The Gentiles, meaning unbelievers in this context, seek after lower pursuits: food, drink, clothing, materialism. They wrap themselves up in the fading and failing concerns of the world. They are ignorant of the love of God, and they have no trust for Him whom they do not know. All the unbeliever has is their own ability to grab and to get, to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, to follow the leading of their own sick hearts, to work with no end.

Anxiety is natural for unbelievers. But we are new creations in Christ, and anxiety was not an ingredient in our remaking!

You see, anxiety is born out of unbelief. Worry comes from a place of faithlessness. To worry is to take your eyes off God and place them on yourself and your stormy surroundings. Think of the terrified disciples as they tossed in the wind and waves of Galilee, not understanding that they sailed with the Prince of Peace. Think of Peter, who followed Jesus onto the buffeting waves, only to sink into them when his gaze fell from Christ, and to the waves, and to himself.

But why would we, as disciples of Jesus Christ, as sons and daughters of our Father in heaven, why would we fret and worry about material things, about position and jobs and money and housing? Our generous and loving Father knows that we need them all. Trust Him, He will provide! We were made for so much more!

Read vs 33

Unbelievers anxiously seek after material and temporal things. But we followers of Jesus seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. We seek a higher purpose, a greater orientation. To seek these things is to first hunger and thirst, like we saw in the Beatitudes. But then, like busy and faithful sparrows, we are to live in such a way that the righteousness of God would flourish, and His kingdom would expand. Such a life will lead not to anxious worrying, but to the blessed satisfaction only found in the kingdom of God.

Seek first His kingdom and all these things will be added unto you. It’s not a promise of health and prosperity; but it is a promise that so long as God extends this life, He will equip you in every way to hallow His name, work for His kingdom, and do His will.

Read vs 34

Again, anxiety is worry or fear of uncertainty in the future. It is fear about tomorrow. But Christ tells us to let tomorrow worry about itself. But he’s using a bit of wordplay, for tomorrow never comes, we only get today. So, if you restrict your worrying for tomorrow you are free, free to live in this day, the day that the Lord has made.

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. -Psalm 118:24

I love how the Psalmist is so present and content and joyful. He has learned how to battle anxiety.

Now what I want to do next is show you three Scriptures meant to help you in your battle with anxiety.

First, battle anxiety with promises that lead to contentment:

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.” So, we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” -Hebrews 13:5-6

Hear those promises! God will never leave you nor forsake you. He is by your side. He is closer than your breath. He is there in your time of need. He is your infinitely powerful, unendingly wealthy Helper. All that you are and all that He has given you is secure, what can man do to you? Be content. Be at rest. His presence is the calm in the storm. When the wind and waves rise, remember His promises, remember His security, and rest content.

Second, battle anxiety with prayer and thanksgiving.

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. -Philippians 4:6-7

Prayer is any form of conversing with God. Supplication is a form of prayer, but it is more specifically an urgent request for help. So, when anxieties arise, go immediately to prayer and supplication. But though you are desperately needy, don’t forget to be thankful. Thank Him for His great mercies, for the blood shed on your behalf, for the countless provisions in your life, for His boundless love. Thank Him.

And as you thank Him, in all prayer and supplication, watch how the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. He has promised it!

Finally, battle anxiety by trusting that God loves you.

[Cast] all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.

-1 Peter 5:7

Casting your anxieties on God is Peter’s version of in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Cast all your anxieties on Him!

And then Peter writes, because He cares for you. In other words, cast your cares on Him because He loves you. The Father gave everything that He has, most preeminently His Son, so that we could have life and salvation and everything we could possibly need.

God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. -Ephesians 2:4-5

God has a great love with which He loves us! It’s more love than the universe can contain. It’s more love than eternity could exhaust. It is a great love. So when anxieties arise, when worries come to steal your peace, believe in the Father’s great love for you. Trust Him for all the things you are tempted to worry about. Fear not, O you of little faith.

When you see that there won’t be enough to make rent; fear not, He loves you, He will care for you. Be busy like a sparrow and one way or another, He has a good plan to meet your needs. Hasn’t He always provided? Do you trust Him?

When you worry that people are not going to like you, or that they will treat you poorly; fear not, He loves you, He will care for you. Does it really matter what people think if you are being faithful to Him? Do you trust Him?

When your body starts doing things that it shouldn’t; fear not, He loves you, He will care for you. He has a better body waiting for you. And if He takes your life, He will care for those you leave behind. Do you trust Him?

As Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

1Booth, J. (2023, October 23) Anxiety Statistics and Facts. Forbes Health. https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/anxiety-statistics/

2(2024) Anxiety. Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/anxiety?q=anxiety

3France, R.T. (2007). The Gospel of Matthew. Pg 268. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

1Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel According to Matthew. Pg 160. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.