Anxiety is something we face every day. Our lives are full of worries. Jesus our Lord is confident we can overcome worries in Him. John Wesley was once on a mission trip to America. The ship is caught in a violent storm. Everyone on board was terrified and panicking. However, one group, the German Moravians, displayed calm and peace during the storm. Afterward, Wesley asked them if they were afraid. They answered they were not afraid to die. They proved that they had peace in their hearts through Jesus Christ. John Wesley wrote, “This was the most glorious day I had seen” because he had witnessed the power of Jesus manifest so clearly in their response to the storm.

Last week we learned three points from Jesus:

• Knowledge matters – worrying is not beneficial to any situation. If you know this, then worry should not be our first reaction.
• Thinking matters: Consider who God is and realize the truth. Understand how God takes care of His creatures and you are more valuable than them.
• Faith Matters: by faith, we can trust and enjoy God because God is faithful.

How do we apply faith in our circumstances? We must go to God’s word, find a promise that applies to our situation, reflect and meditate on that promise, stand on God’s word in that situation, and give thanks.

Two more points to deal with worry. First, is our relationship with God, and second is our devotion to God.

Our relationship matters. Knowing God as Father matters. We have a divine Father therefore we are not alone. What a comfort it is that you are not going through your situation alone. No father abandons their child just because they have made a mistake. How much greater is our heavenly Father’s care for us.

“Do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink and do not keep worrying”. Jesus is referring to our basic needs. The nations of the world are the gentiles and the pagans. They have no room for God in their heart and only react to their circumstances according to their own wickedness and blindness (Ephesians 4:17-19). The gentile can only understand according to the flesh. Their attempts at religion are futile and they have no relationship with the Father.

God the Father is the first person of the Trinity. Whatever God the Father does is good because He is good. He is the real and perfect Father. Isn’t it amazing that Jesus’ Father is our father (John 20:17). God the Father is so kind. Irrationally kind. There are low points in life where we sometimes question our salvation. We look at ourselves and see nothing good. But this is exactly how we know we are saved. Because God saves the sinner (Romans 5:6-7). This is our wonderful Father who gives you life for all eternity. So you do not have to worry because God is your Father. He’s not someone else’s Father but your Father. You are adopted into His family through Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of His will (Ephesians 1:5). So the Christian is adopted into the family of God, which is called the church, to be coheirs with Jesus Christ and to receive the same love from God that Father that is given to Jesus Christ (John 17:23). So do not worry! God loves you as He loves Jesus Christ, as His very own child.

“But the Father knows that you need these things.” He knows presently what you need. He is always there with you and He always knows your deepest needs every day. Nothing happens without God’s knowledge and presence. He knows the past, present, and future (Psalm 139:4). He knows what you need before you ask Him in prayer (Matthew 6:8). He knows your needs and responds just as our earthly father would do. He leads, guides, protects, provides, teaches, and disciplines. He is our friend, our helper, our leader, and more. He does all these things perfectly and abundantly (Philippians 4:19). We might not understand all His ways and His timing or how He does things. But He is our Father. Therefore we must trust the Father. We must rest in the Father. Our Father is Yahweh. We can depend on Him by waiting patiently (Psalm 27:10).

Secondly, our devotion matters. Jesus commands what to do instead of worrying. “But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you”. This is the devotional attitude we need to overcome our anxiety. Seeking refers to a single-mindedness of heart and focus on the kingdom of God (Luke 15:8). Seeking is an active and consuming pursuit. We must seek Jesus because He is ready and wants to help us.

We are to seek the kingdom of God which is where Jesus is. Only the born-again believer can see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). Being born again means you have life and understand how good God is and would not trade God for anything in this world (Matthew 13:44). We seek God’s kingdom by prayer (Philippians 4:6-7). Remember to always turn to God in prayer in your time of need. This must be our first reaction to everything. Pray to God in the same way we would dial 911 for emergencies. Seek God by reading the Word of God (Isaiah 55:1-2). God’s word and commands will not fail (Isaiah 34:16). God’s word is given to us so our joy may be complete (1 John 1:4). His word is good and will encourage you (Proverbs 12:25). God’s word is perfect. Place your confidence in the Bible. Take God at His word.

When you seek first God’s kingdom then “All these things will be added unto you”. More than we know and more than we ask, beyond our expectations, God will provide. Therefore do not worry but trust in your Heavenly Father and seek Him in prayer and in His word.

Jesus continues to provide evidence for His command: Do not worry. Thanks to this command, as Christians, we can live free from anxiety and free from worries. This is because we believe in God Almighty who has no worries. He is our faithful Father and if He does not worry then His children have no need to worry either.

Six principles to be free from worry. We will cover three of them today.

Knowledge matters. You must know what worry is and that worrying is useless. If you keep worrying, instead of helping you, it eventually becomes poisonous. To be worry-free, you must realize there is nothing worry can really do. Jesus says, “And which of you by worrying can add a single cubit to his life span? Therefore, if you cannot do even a very little thing…” Worry cannot add to or lengthen anyone’s life span. People are living longer these days but no matter how disciplined or healthy you are you cannot determine when you die and prevent your death when your time is up (Deuteronomy 34:7). No amount of anxiety can extend one’s life beyond what God has determined. Our life is not under our control but God’s (Luke 12:20). At the pinnacle of your life, if God deems it, he can demand your soul. All our days are ordained before we are even born (Psalms 139:16). So you don’t have to worry because there is nothing worry can do.

“Why do you worry about other matters?” When you start worrying about one thing, it will spread into other matters. Worry starts focusing on small matters and brings you down (Proverb 4:23;12:25). Stress and anxiety cause many health issues in our generation, even acting as a catalyst for cancer. Worry has zero nutritional value. It’s harmful. So do not be friends with worry. As a Christian, worry is your enemy.

Thinking matters. To prove His point, Jesus asks us to “Consider the lilies, how they grow”. He is telling us to think in a particular way. Consider is the keyword (Luke 12:24). It means to observe and think carefully to gain understanding. What are we to consider? How God cares for the lilies in the best way even though they don’t do anything. There are flowers everywhere in all parts of the world. Why do those flowers still grow and bloom and display their beauty though they don’t worry or labor at all. Because God shamelessly provides everything they need to bloom beautifully. Their beauty is greater than Solomon, the most wealthy and extravagant king in all of history.

So Jesus rhetorically asks, “How much more will he clothe you?” Humans are different than plants or animals. Man was created in God’s image with a great purpose (Genesis 1:27-28). God values people more than anything else in creation. Believers are not second-class citizens or slaves. Believers are special, they belong to Him, bought by the sacrifice of His only beloved Son. That’s how precious we are in God’s eyes. God loves us and saved us (Romans 8:32). Jesus says, if you think about how much God cares for us than lilies, then we have no need to worry. Consider the fact that you are in Christ. Lilies have nothing to do with Christ, but you are in Christ. That’s the difference of “how much more”. That’s why Paul can say to die is gain. Whatever happens, consider you are in Christ. When you begin to worry, remember you are in the Lord. Reflect on your spiritual status. You are a Christian who is in Christ! Whatever happens is caused by God for our good. We can trust Jesus without worry.

Faith Matters. Faith is the best deterrent against anxiety. “How much more will He clothe you?” This is God’s fundamental promise to every believer. God will provide what you need (Luke 10:4, 22:35). This promise is echoed in Psalms 37:25. “I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread”. Jesus pinpoints the source of our worry. “You of little faith.” Little faith means small faith. It’s not no faith but it is little faith. These are believers who fail to display their faith outwardly. Though they have faith, it is a faith that is not practiced or tested.

By faith we know who God is and how to please Him and seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). God is known and pleased by Jesus Christ. Therefore Jesus Christ is the only object of our faith.

Characteristics of little faith

• Ignorant of God (little knowledge of God and His word). Lots of assumptions about who God is.
• God seems smaller than their issues. God seems weaker than men (Numbers 13:2). This causes us to be too embarrassed to act on faith. Genuine faith is not blind faith but faith that stands on the word of God. The Bible teaches us who God is and what He says. Faith believes and acts on God’s word.
• Tries to handle things on their own. Even though Jesus is always with us, near us, and able to help us, instead of relying on Jesus, we rely on ourselves. Turning to Jesus for big and small needs is not shameful but being faithful (Mark 4:37,40). God doesn’t want you to handle as much as you can by yourself and only turn to him when you fail. That’s not how faith works. From the beginning faith acts in obedience (Hebrews 11:8).

Great faith sees Jesus clearly in the darkest situations. Peter could see it was Jesus walking on the water during the raging storm. Even in the darkest circumstances, faith places its trust in Jesus. When the situation gets tougher, Jesus must be closer. Fix your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). Don’t look at anyone or anything else. Why do you worry? You have lost sight of Jesus. Does Jesus change? Does Jesus grow weak? Is he far away? Of course not. We must seek Him diligently, especially in His word. Spend time with Jesus in meditation and prayer. This is the proven way of faith.

Conclusion

Three things to be free from worry. Worrying is useless and worrying will not change anything. Think about God’s care for you and how much He loves you. Have faith and look to Jesus. Then instead of worrying we will know the will of God for us. New time, three more points about being worry-free.