Jun 24 2018 - Wisdom for Handling Anxious Thoughts

Marianne: for the last 7 years, we’ve hosted a yard-sale, and the neighbors get to see the church in a different light.

You probably know that it rained the first weekend we tried to do this.

While I was looking out at the chaos – Rain/stop/rain/stop – it was complete chaos – wet tents, wet people, wet items that would have to be trashed – and there were tarps that unsuccessfully kept things dry – and I sighed. I was bummed. We postponed to the following week.

A woman approached me – and she had asked me to hold her umbrella as she looked at items – and she looked at me with such intensity – (and she was in my space! It was uncomfortable – she was elderly and had the sweetest face and countenance).

Here she was – talking to me as I looked at the chaos – again – intently. She said to me – you know, it is all in God’s plan. I looked at her and I wanted to say – nope – I wasn’t going for it! But people come for the experience - the joy of being with everyone.

I enjoyed getting to meet people – and some had made money before the rains started – and no one seemed upset that we postponed.

She continued – God’s plan is not always our plan – even if our plan seems good. He needs to know we trust Him and His goodness. He is sovereign – and with that – she walked away. Who uses the word sovereign in everyday life? I had to look it up.

I checked my email when I got home – and a friend had sent me an article. They are usually long – and I was tired – I intended to read it later.

As I started to shut off my computer – I thought I needed to read it.

God is at work in our most unproductive days – when it feels like we have accomplished nothing. Although it feels like it to us – it is not out of God’s sovereign power – there was that word again.

There are so many examples in our lives – something as simple as not getting to work on time and that saves you from being in an accident.

“You are being measured whether you trust the goodness and sovereignty of God – even when you can’ see how.”

I thanked God for the ones who gave me these messages. I don’t know that I would have had the push to read the commentary without the woman earlier in the day – and it struck me how God uses people. And how that woman had used the exact same words to talk to me about His wisdom and sovereignty.

The angels – they do walk among us.

Mike Marette:

Lord, thank You for the opportunity to be with You and before You – and the work you do in our lives. You are always engaged in what is going on in us. Help us to engage with what You are doing. Embed your thoughts in our hearts that we might trust You even when the circumstances don’t show it.

We have been looking at how conflict, strife, and anger affect relationships – today I’d like to look at anxiety.

Our culture creates so much anxiety within us. There are so many things – 24 hour news – that can keep us up at night.

There are things that swirl in our minds.

Prov. 12:25

Anxiety weighs down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up. (Prov. 12:25)

“Anxiety refers to one’s emotional response to a threat to one’s wellbeing. Anxiety arises because of uncertainty about the future.” (Longman)

In so many ways – we have anxiety as a response to the chaos –

Relationships can play a key role in increasing or decreasing anxiety. If you got my email – Tim Keller’s devotional book – April 15 – the Hebrew word – Anxiety – the emotional distress caused when something vital to your life is threatened. There are so many things that are vital to a high quality of life

Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)

We have more THINGS than at any time in history – and so many of those things create anxiety. Not that there are things inherently wrong with the things – but they begin to mean too much to us. When those things are threatened, we become anxious about the threat that is upon us.

Anxiety that is out of control causes us to make bad decisions, unwise choices, and bad behavior.

When we make a decision – or react in anxiety – we will tend to do the wrong thing. That is what anxiety does – so Paul gives us a pattern of how to respond. It is with us. It will not go away – it is part of being human.

The first thing he says – don’t react by trying to remove it – we think- get rid of it – in reaction – but Paul says to turn to God – Prayer. First step. When anxiety hits – don’t try to solve it, turn to God first. Yes, we may need to solve the anxiety –

We have no control over what is going on in our world. We pray – we cry out to God with our petition. God wants to know – what is it that we are anxious about? He wants our request. He wants to know what we want. It is not wrong to ask God for things – even if it seems silly or selfish – make your request known to God in every situation. And in doing that – do it with a heart of thankfulness – gratefulness. When we do that – the peace of God – which guards our hearts and minds – and once we are to a point where are controlled by the peace of God, we can make wise and good decisions.

Matthew 6:25 - "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

The context of this – you cannot serve God and money or things. You will love one and hate the other. If we love money and things to the point where we begin to live for them – it will cause us to turn away from God. The love of stuff turns our hearts away from God. We all have different stuff that is important to us. Your stuff might be different from my stuff – but don’t touch my stuff, right?! Money and stuff are part of life. God doesn’t want all of us to become desert monks. Maybe you but not me! (Laughter).

26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

We probably aren’t worried about what we will drink today – we turn on the faucet and water comes out. About what to wear – we have too many things – I don’t know what looks right – so if the wife is asleep – I am worried about what I wear!

26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

The root cause of anxiety – we have forgotten how valuable we are to God.

27 "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

Somehow, we think worrying is helpful. Anxiety has no control over a situation. It accomplishes nothing – you can’t change anything through anxiety.

28 "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!

Anxiety is connected to lack of faith. This isn’t like – a person of great faith where God answers everything you ask for immediately. This is referring to a lack of faith that God gives security to your life – confident of His love for you in your circumstances. God is intimately involved.

31 "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' 32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

What anxiety does – it causes us to repeat questions to ourselves. What will I eat? For us it might be – what will the doctor’s report be? Or when will the next terrorist strike? When will the next school shooting happen? How will I pay the bills – asking these questions over and over again and it takes control of our lives. God knows what you need – your health report, your bills, the chaos in our world – and He tells us to seek first His kingdom – what He wants to accomplish in the world.

Newsbrief – what happened just now? We don’t need that! It just stresses us out.

I was at a pastor’s conference – Robbie McAllister was the final speaker – and I have known him since 1979 – there are like, 2000 people groups who have no witness. A Kairos moment – a moment of opportunity – there is an island off the coast of Greece – and it is 6 miles from Turkey – and every year, thousands try to swim it to escape refugee camps. 3000 have died this year. This island is mostly Christians – and 99% who come across are Muslims – and they are feeding them and caring for them – and they ask – Why are you Christians doing this? We see this and think, OH NO! But we could look at this: God is at work.

There was a man from Mosul – a bomb killed everyone in his apartment building. He asked – why are you doing this? And they led him to Christ. Started discipling him – this camp holds thousands – he was there 8 months – his asylum was denied – shipped back to Iraq – and that morning – he was talking to him on facetime – and he had to go to Northern Iraq because of his faith.

I think sometimes we allow our fear and anxiety to prevent us from seeing what God is doing in the world. Our prejudices prevent us too. God is behind all of this – trying to get us to see “Look what I am doing – jump in! This is My kingdom work for you to do!”

A couple of practical things to close with:

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

He cares for you in that situation.

Conflict in the Home

Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife. (Prov. 17:1)

Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred. (Prov. 15:17)

It is a simple reality that our broken world has misplaced that value system – and that misplaced value system is such a source of relational conflict.

Psalm 94:17 If the LORD had not been my help, My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence. 18 If I should say, "My foot has slipped," Your lovingkindness, O LORD, will hold me up.

How often do we say our foot has slipped?

19 When my anxious thoughts multiply within me (about 3 in the morning!), Your consolations delight my soul.

What a wonderful verse. We’ll close with this:

Isaiah 41:10 'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Anxiety springs from fear.

Peter told the young church that was being persecuted by the Roman Empire – Have any of you seen the movie – Paul the Apostle? It came out recently. It is actually pretty good, although not entirely factual – and there are a lot of Scriptures in it. The movie takes place over the last few days of Paul’s life when Nero was burning the Christians and was about to kill Paul.

And it was in that context that Peter says these words: In no way be alarmed by your opponents – we are such alarmists. Such alarmists – because the fear and anxiety well up within us. He went on to say -

“A sign of destruction for them, but salvation for you.”

When we look at what is going on in our world, it is a sign of salvation for us.

Let’s pray.

Lord, I pray that You would be able to build into our hearts and minds a new and heavenly perspective. We need it. Lord, I need it. I need to have this mind reworked to see things the way You see things – and to respond the way You would respond. To see that You are at work through the things we never thought You would work through.