Don't Worry! {Matthew 6}

 Today's Scripture passage: Matthew 6

There is so many important topics to write about in this chapter that I must admit I struggled with which one to focus on today, until I read through the chapter and hit the very end and wondered...

 Can we really battle our anxiety and anxious thoughts by shifting our thoughts and focus onto The Lord and away from the circumstances causing us to worry at any given moment? AND just what exactly does it mean to seek His Kingdom? I decided I needed to investigate further.

 

If you ever took Psychiatry 101 in college you most likely learned that when you or I choose to believe lies about ourselves they tend to fall into one of three categories: 

• 1. I'm helpless
• 2. I'm worthless
• 3. I'm unlovable

But what they won't tell you is that every lie we buy into about ourselves is rooted in our belief about God. Notice what Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, 

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (emphasis mine)

  It seems easy to grow anxious at times and let anxiety rule in our hearts and heads, but it's at those times we should stop to ask ourselves just what are we focusing on, in that moment?  

 Jesus tells us not to worry, and for good reason. He goes into great details here explaining how the Father knows our needs and has promised to take care of us. Our job is to lay all our anxiety, worry and fear at the Father’s feet and seek His kingdom, trusting that He will take care of us just like He promised.

So exactly how do we do that?

 Seeking God’s kingdom means trusting that He will take care of our needs, despite our circumstances. We start here because Jesus started here. When He is teaching the crowd about how to combat anxiety, He acknowledged the people’s needs and His Father’s ability to provide for those needs. The birds and flowers are taken care of, so we can trust that God will take care of us too. 

Jesus gives us the example of the birds and flowers, but I also find it helpful to find Scripture passages that we can claim when those anxious thoughts come. Like:

Isaiah 41:10 says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” or

Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” 

1.      Seeking God’s kingdom means worshiping Him in midst of our circumstances. We're often anxious over the things we cannot control. And believe it or not, anxiety can actually be a form of control that can also bring much harm to our own bodies and other relationships around us.  Worshiping while we wait on the answers/outcome is challenging, but if we approach God believing His promises and acknowledging that He is God, who is able to do immeasurably more that all we can ask or think (Eph. 3:20), we can worship. Even with imperfect faith, we can worship.

2.      Seeking God’s kingdom means finding where God is working around you and joining Him there. Trust Him and  turn your attention outward. We need to stop focusing on our needs and fears that God won’t provide, claim the verses that prove to us what Jesus has already assured us it will happen,  and ask Him how we can partner with Him in that work.  To seek God’s kingdom first we need to cultivate a heart that says we not only want to experience God in our own lives, but we want our world to experience Him too!

I I  I know I'm making it sound so simple, and I know anxiety can be an ongoing struggle that can last for years, but if you will begin to take every thought captive, measure them up to His truths He's given you, pray; seeking His help with turning all those thoughts over to Him and rising to walk in faith with Him to minister to others, I can promise you it will grow easier and the anxiety will decrease over time. 

L  Let your anxious thoughts become a barometer sort of speak that will point you to our King! 

B Blessings!

  s Sue

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