Anxiety—The Greatest Concern For Our Lives

Jesus made an incredibly revolutionary statement when He said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”(Matthew 6:33)

Think about it.

Here in America, especially, we’ve been bred to work hard, study hard, invest well and get all your ducks in a row before taking any calculated risks. It’s that survival of the fittest mentality that places everyone’s own well-being as their top priority. “We only have one go at this life, so grab all you can, run for the door and don’t look back.”

He (Jesus) made this commandment at the end of a lecture about anxiety. We’re often so quick to volunteer for the service of God but we have all these excuses: “what shall we eat? What shall I wear?”(Matthew6:31) “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home” (Luke 9:61). What good is it to say “Lord, I will follow, but…”?

We cannot allow our anxieties to cloud our willful service to God.

Paul reminds us in Philippians 4:19 that “God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Again in Romans 8:32, “ He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

The kingdom of God is here and yet so often we let our anxieties get in the way and place restrictions on our commitments.

“The great concern of our lives is not the kingdom of God but how we are going to take care of ourselves to live. Jesus reversed the order by telling us to get the right relationship with God first maintaining it as the primary concern of our lives, and never to place our concern on taking care of the other things of life.” Oswald Chambers

Whether it be our fear of provision or social status, whatever it may be, let us remember that “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God”(Luke 9:62). Let not our fear of what the world may throw upon us dampen our resolve to obey or hamper our trust that God will provide everything we need.

Philippians 4:5-7: “The Lord is at hand; 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.”

“God, let us remember to cast all of our anxieties on you, because you care for us(1 Peter 5:7). Let us ‘not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself'(Matthew 6:34).”

If we are anxious for anything may it be that the greatest concern for our lives is that we place our relationship with God first, and everything else second.

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The Worry Wart—Trust

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

I meet one-on-one with a few senior guys from my youth group on a regular basis. Usually our time consists of about 45 min of goofing off, eating ice cream and talking about life. Then we get down to business.

The following hour or so is where it gets real and we dive deep into the Word and/or whatever book we’re going through. The purpose of this time is to cultivate and disciple these fellas to love the LORD.

As a 23 year-old, it’s way too easy to forget what it’s like to be 17-18 and trying to figure out what college to go to, whether or not I’ll need to work and all the other stresses that come with young adulthood. I, myself sorta skipped the whole college phase and went right into the music scene/road show circus. I still, however, know what it’s like to be in their spot: faced with a tough decision and having to duke it out to make the right choice.

I get it. It’s scary knowing that whatever decision you make right now could ultimately determine where you end up in life. We all know, we face these questions all the time. Peter reminds us to “cast our cares and anxieties upon Him(Christ) because He cares for us.”

Again, Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Just before that He says:

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?…But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

What I constantly try to remind these guys is that “yes, we need to be proactive and obedient to His call in our lives but also that God will provide our needs and take care of us. In the meantime, ‘seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.'”

Did you hear that? Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. That’s the proper perspective we need to have. Why do we get all bent out of shape when we know that He’s got it down? He’s got our problems and issues under control.

Stop being a worry wart and trust in Him fully, today.

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