Matthew 6:25-34

In this study I want you to consider the cause of fear, worry and anxiety in your life. First, let me put this section of Scripture into its context within the Sermon on the Mount. In the fifth and sixth chapters of Matthew, Jesus was addressing three basic issues. First, Jesus sought to turn His disciples from the hypocrisy of external religion, by allowing Him to change their hearts. This is why Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Matt. 5:20). Second, Jesus addressed why the disciples should not do their righteousness to be seen by men (Matt. 6:1). Third, Jesus wanted to keep His disciples from divided hearts, and from trying to serve God and mammon, because this would be an impossible task (Matt. 6:24).  

Jesus then goes on to teach His disciples what happens to those who attempt to serve God and material things at the same time. The result will be worry, anxiety, and fear. This is why Jesus said right after warning them of a divided heart in the previous section of Scripture, Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you do not worry” (Matt. 6:25). Why did He bring up worry in this context? Jesus knew exactly what would take place when a person tried to pursue money and material things. The first thing that happens is, once you obtain all the material things you desire, you start worrying about how to protect all the things you have accumulated. In addition, if you are pursuing these things, you are failing to trust God for His provision. Your unbelief will only bring on more anxiety and worry to your mind.

What is anxiety and worry?

These emotions of anxiety and worry are in reality the same thing as a low-grade fear. When anyone is worrying, they are fearful that something will or won’t happen that they want. You must understand that anxiety, worry, and fear are all dealing with similar issues, and result from a divided heart and a lack of faith. This is why Jesus questioned those who worried in the midst of this teaching, and identified the problem when He declared, “O you of little faith” (Matt. 6:30). These issues of fear and unbelief will certainly cripple you as a Christian, and your ability to mature and be an effective servant for Jesus Christ.

When is fear and worry a problem?

Now it is obvious that everyone gets anxious and worrisome at times with the stress of life. But, most of us quickly snap out of it, and we commit whatever the issue is into the Lord’s hands and move forward. Even some of the greatest and most well-known characters in the Bible struggled with fear, anxiety, and worry. Remember the Prophet Samuel, when he was commanded to anoint David as king, expressed his own fear to the Lord about actually going to anoint him. Samuel said to God, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me” (1 Sam. 16:2). The Lord in effect told him to go anyway, and He would show Samuel how to handle the encounter. When you consider David and the psalms he wrote, he refers to his fears often and how he sought the Lord, and He delivered him from all his fears (Ps. 34:4). Even Paul the Apostle said in 2 Corinthians 7:5, “Outside are fightings, inside are fears.” Paul said at one point in his ministry that he even began to despair that he would survive the trouble he was in (2 Cor. 1:8-10). He found his only solution was to trust in the Lord to deliver him. So, everyone experiences fear and worry at times in their lives. But most believers will quickly turn it over to the Lord, and come back to a place of faith and rest.

However, there are others who don’t get a handle on their anxious thoughts, worries, and fears, and they end up battling with these issues on a daily basis. They are fearful sometimes over the smallest things, and very rarely get victory over these emotions. I have counseled people for more than 50 years, and have met many people like this who are consumed by their fears and anxieties. These fears rule their daily lives. They literally live under what I would call true terror every day. In Psalm 73:19, Asaph also described those that were consumed by the terror of fear. He described those who, “Are utterly consumed with terrors.” Therefore, when someone is consumed by their worries, fears, and anxieties, that is a real problem, because it dominates their life and destroys their relationships with others. This is a problem that must be addressed using wisdom, biblical remedies, good counsel, and sometimes medical intervention as quickly as possible. If you have physical symptoms that accompany your anxiety and fears, this reveals that you have a major problem. Some of these physical symptoms I’ve seen with people in my office are trembling, uncontrolled thoughts, heavy breathing, perspiring, and panic attacks. If this is going on in your life right now, you need to get help immediately. I would suggest you do two things. You first need to go to your doctor, and get a complete medical checkup. Some of these physical symptoms can result from medical problems, or hormonal issues. Some people that I have sent to their doctor over the years will come back to me with the results of what their doctor has found. Sometimes these issues were very serious medical issues. If you would like to read more on these medical issues, I would suggest reading chapters 12 and 13 in my book, “Winning Your Personal Battles,” which can be found at Amazon.com.

Other times, people come back from their medical check-up, and tell me the doctor found nothing wrong with them physically. This means that the problem is a spiritual issue, and must be dealt with by learning how to take control of your thought life, and growing in your personal discipleship. I would also strongly suggest that you seek out an elder or pastor at your church for counseling.

Why you should not worry.

One of the most important parts of this passage is that Jesus explained why you should not worry, or live your life with anxiety. In verses 25 through 32 He gives us several reasons for not worrying. Jesus declared His first reason when He said, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matt. 6:25). Notice the first thing that Jesus declared was His command, “Do not worry.” He not only gave this command here, but also two more times in verses 31 and 34. When anyone commands you not to do something three times in a short conversation, they are obviously trying to make an impression on you concerning the importance of not doing that thing. Why then should you not worry?

1. You should not worry, because Jesus said so! This is an obvious point, but it is absolutely essential to recognize. Why? Because to disobey this command of Jesus is to sin. Yes, worry is a sin, because it is disobedience to His command. Don’t forget, this is a direct command from Jesus to you. Do not worry! That means you! Jesus stated this as a command because He wants you to obey Him. If you desire to obey His commands, then you will do the rest of what he instructs here in the context of this statement, and in the rest of Scripture. What do I mean?

Jesus commanded His disciples to not worry, just before His crucifixion, knowing the potential for them to stumble at that moment. In John 14:27 Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The word troubled is a Greek word that means to be anxious, or fearful. He said, “Don’t let your heart be anxious.” Jesus explained by these words, that it’s a choice that you make to worry, or not to worry. You can choose to let your heart become troubled and anxious, or you can make the choice to come to the Prince of Peace, and receive His peace within your heart. When you trust Jesus to take control of your heart and mind, then He is going to bring His peace. Peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). If you choose to come to Him and ask for the infilling of His Holy Spirit, He will not fail to rule inside you. Nothing in this world can ever give you peace like the peace He gives. In other words, the kind of peace Christ offers is unavailable in this material world. This brings me to my second point.

2. You should not worry about material things, because external things can never satisfy you. Jesus said in verse 25, “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” In other words, real life does not come from things or material wealth. Life doesn’t come from some physical thing that you put on, what you eat, someplace you go, or something that you do. The abundant life that Jesus gives, does not come from some external possession, or some physical pleasure. Real life is the fruit of an internal work of the Spirit of God within your heart. Life is something that happens inside you, which is an essential truth to understand. Material things can never satisfy. There is no place, or any circumstance or experience that can give you lasting peace or satisfaction. Life and peace are only found in a Person, the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. This is a fundamental concept that every person who wants peace must come to understand. In Proverbs 27:20, Solomon wrote, “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.” Note the absolute statement made here: “Never satisfied.” You can never be satisfied by anything that your eyes can behold in this world. Your heart will never be satisfied with things, places, or a position you hold. You will always see something else next week that will make you think, This will make me happy. Remember what God has said, “Never satisfied!”

However, in Luke 12:32, Jesus said, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” In other words, God wants to give you what will satisfy your heart. He wants to give you a gift. Life, peace, and a satisfied heart are all a gift from God, not something you obtain by your own personal effort, or by achieving some position in life. These gifts are something you receive by faith. However, when your focus is on trying to achieve life and peace in this world, the life that He wants to give is literally choked out by your desire for other things. I mentioned this point in our previous study, but it bears repeating again. In Mark 4:19, as Jesus taught the Parable of the Sower, He explained that a person who received the seed of God’s Word, could eventually become unfruitful in their Christian life if they became caught by “The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things.” I don’t think anyone wants to become unfruitful, and experience the emptiness of their soul once again. However, according to Jesus this is clearly one-way believers can become unfruitful. Notice that Jesus said specifically that when the cares of this world, with the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire or other things enters your heart, these will surely coke out your life, and cause you to become unfruitful. You must also take special notice that Jesus connected the cares, anxiety, and worry of this world with the deceitfulness of riches, and a lust for other things. These three issues are directly connected together. The word care in the phrase the “cares of this world” is the same Greek word for worry or anxiety. Jesus was saying that if you allow worry and anxiety to control you, then you will choke out the true spiritual life that God intends you to possess. Obviously, you would never allow anyone to put their hands around your neck, and coke the physical life out of you. Then why would you allow other things to choke out your spiritual life? This is why Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Note His words, “I will give you rest.” Spiritual rest is a gift from God. Just come to Him and receive it by faith! Don’t go to the world, and the things of the world, and think that they will give you the rest and peace you need. That won’t happen! Jesus is the only One who gives this rest, but you must come to Him to receive it.

3. You should not worry, because you are highly valued by God. This third reason why you should not worry is given in Matthew 6:26. Jesus declared, “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” This is a great question. If God takes care of the birds of the air and feeds them, will He not take care of your needs? This is an argument from the lesser to the greater value of His creation. So, who is of more value? You! Yes, He cares for the birds of the air, because He cares for all of His creation. But man is a special creation of God. He was made in God’s spiritual image, which makes us more highly valued than animals. Remember, Jesus was the One who said that men are of more value than animals. Therefore, you must not worry, because you are highly valued among God’s creations. You are cared for by your heavenly Father. Probably the easiest and most obvious way that you know that this is true, is by the fact that the Father gave His Son to die for you. He gave Himself for you so you could be forgiven, and come to know Him! So, if He gave His only begotten Son so that you could have life, then He must value you very much. You are precious to Him. You are more precious than anything He has created, because you can make a choice to accept or reject Him. Animals don’t have that option. God declares in Lamentations 4:2, as He was speaking about His people, He called them, “The precious sons of Zion, valuable as fine gold, how they are regarded as clay pots, the work of the hands of the potter!” Paul used this same image of us as clay pots in the New Testament. He declared that these clay pots of our physical bodies have this incredible treasure of Christ within them. Christ is the treasure held within, these earthen vessels, or clay pots (2 Cor. 4:7). Clay pots are a good way to describe our physical bodies, because we were made from the dust of the earth. Yet, within you is the most incredible treasure of all, Jesus Christ! That’s why He called His people, “The precious sons of Zion, as valuable as fine gold.” If you are valued as a treasure, loved by God so much that He gave His own son to redeem you, then you should not worry about all the lessor stuff of life! He will take care of His treasured ones, just as you would take care of some physical treasure you possessed.

4. You should not worry, because worrying can’t change one thing. Jesus gave this fourth reason for why you should not worry in Matthew 6:27-29. Jesus said, “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” If you have ever looked at a flower petal under a microscope, it’s one of the most incredible things you could ever view. You would see intricacy and detail that is truly amazing to behold! All of the glory of some piece fine of embroidery on the clothing of Solomon could not be considered even close to the glory that God has created in plant life. But think about this fact for a moment. God displays His magnificent artistry on a flower that is here today and dies tomorrow. And never forget that man cannot ever make even one flower pedal to match what God does every day. So, the equation is obvious. Jesus explained that you should not worry, because you are powerless to make one lily in the field on any day of your entire life. But He is so powerful that He does this feat every day. You must take to heart this fact, that you can’t add one cubit to your stature, but He has created you to grow everyday into adulthood. The point that Jesus was making is quite simple. If you cannot do any of the things that He does effortlessly, why not trust Him to take care of you the same way He does with the flowers of the field. In addition, think of all the things you have no power to change. You can’t change the weather, or when the sun comes up every day. You can’t decide if you will be healthy or sickly, or whether you live in a world at war or peace. There are innumerable things over which you have no control. But God has control of all things.

However, you can control something very important, which is how you respond to the troubles you encounter in life. What do I mean? Simply obey what God has commanded in Philippians 4:6-7. “Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus.” You may not be able to control many external things, but you can change what happens inside of you. If you don’t want to be worrisome and anxious, then pray, and God will give you His peace within. You can also change your conduct. God told His people through the Prophet Jeremiah, “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place” (Jer. 7:3). When you repent and amend your ways before God, He will then bring good things to you, and His blessings upon your life. This is what He was promising the Jews, if they would simply come to Him, and turn from their sins. Therefore, trust in God’s sovereign ability to do things beyond what you can ask or even think, and believe that He is going to take care of those things that you need. He is faithful!

5. You should not worry, because worry reveals your lack of faith in His love for you. The fifth reason you should not worry is given by Jesus in Matthew 6:30-32. Jesus taught, “Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” It is important to note in this passage that Jesus connected worry with a lack of faith. Remember I have previously explained that worry and fear are directly opposed to faith. If you want to reject the control that worry and fear have over your life, then you must grow in your faith. But, what and who should you put your faith in? Put your faith in the God who loves and cares for you. Jesus has already touched on this issue of trusting the Father’s love when He talked about His care for animals, and how much more He cared for you.

But here is the problem that Jesus was addressing. Do you realize that whenever you question God’s love, you will stumble in your faith? Let me explain this truth from an account given in Mark 4:37-40. Jesus told the disciples to get into the boat, and go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Then, “a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Note the disciple’s question to Jesus, “Do You not care?” They are saying to Jesus, “Don’t you see what’s going on here?” Now, have you ever heard yourself say these words to the Lord? They sound like, “Jesus, don’t you see what’s going on here? I thought You loved me, and that You cared about me. If you loved me, then you would not have allowed this to happen.” This is questioning His love, just as the disciples did. Then notice how Jesus responded, “Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, ‘Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?’” Jesus made the connection between their lack of faith in His care for them, and their fear. Therefore, faith and fear are diametrically opposed to one another. If you struggle with worry, anxiety and fear, you are in reality doubting His love for you. Do you trust His loving care over your life? Do you trust that He sees your needs? You must trust His love, if you are to overcome your worry and fears! The Apostle John declared, “Perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). Trusting His love casts out all fear. The next time fear and worry begin to captivate your heart and mind, bow in prayer and acknowledge your trust in His love for you!

“If God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? If He knows every need of every creature He has made, the Lord knows and sees your needs too. If you are going to live as a true believer and not as one who just professes faith, then you cannot live like the Gentiles who only seek after their material needs. If you only seek after material things, this reveals that you believe the material world is all there is. But Jesus said to His followers that they must first seek after spiritual things and the kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33). This is where you will begin to find a solution to your fear and worries!

What was Christ’s solution to fear and worry?

News flash! Jesus has a solution to your fear and worry! He wants you to live your life without fear and worry, if you will only obey His commands. So, let me give you some principles for overcoming your fear and worry, that Jesus explained her in the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere.

1. Begin by seeking first the Kingdom of God. Jesus taught these words immediately after warning His disciples about worry and fear. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33). This is such a simple principle. I like simple! Jesus didn’t want to make following Him to be some complicated thing. In fact, all of the principles I’m about to explain to you are summed up in the principle of seeking first the kingdom of God. Jesus was simply saying, “Put Me first and everything else second, and you won’t have to worry about the rest.” The whole context of this passage of Scripture is about who is first in your life. Go back and begin to read from Matthew 6:24, and you can see this clearly. Jesus began to teach there, “No one can serve two masters; for he will either hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” The question is, who is first? Who and what do you love above all others? Whatever you love first, is what you will seek first. There is no way around this fact. So, is He first? Do you seek Him first in your daily routine? Or, is your own kingdom and wealth more important than His kingdom? When you forget the simple issue of priority, you are going to have trouble. Jesus this topic of priority very clear in Matthew 10:37. He warned His disciples, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. He who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” He declared again in Luke 14:26-27, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” The term Jesus used here to hate father or mother is an obvious hyperbole, meaning that you must love them less than you love Him. In other words, Jesus was saying, “I will not take second place in your life.” If He is second, He is not Lord! It’s that simple.

Probably the best place to see the struggle with priorities can be found in the life of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:40-42. In this passage, Martha and Mary have Jesus as their house guest. As He rested, it says that Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Jesus and said, “Lord, do You not care?” So, she is questioning Jesus’ loving care for her. “Do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” Martha was commanding Jesus as to how He should have responded to her perceived problem. Have you ever told the Lord what He should do, when you don’t like what you see happening in your life? I’m afraid we have all done that a few times, thinking we know better than He does. Jesus responded to her, “Martha, Martha.” Do you hear His love and gentleness in these words? “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.” Notice how Jesus coupled being worried and anxious with her questioning His love. Jesus continued, “But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.” If you read the context of this story, where was Mary? She was seated at His feet seeking and waiting upon Him. Mary had put Jesus first before her tasks for that day. Now, this doesn’t mean that you should choose not to make dinner for your children. It doesn’t mean you should refuse to go to work, and just sit around and read your Bible all day. It all had to do with Martha’s priorities and being distracted. This word distracted means to be anxious or worried. She was so anxious and worried she became distracted. Let me give you a simple illustration of distraction. Distraction is like tuning the dial on your radio just a little; you still hear the people talking or the song being played, but you are not fully tuned in. You are distracted by all of the hiss and static. Then there are some people who aren’t tuned in to hear Jesus speak to them at all. Which is it for you today? Do you need a slight adjustment to get tuned into God’s frequency? You might not be listening at all, or do you have your radio turned off? I believe it is essential for each of us to recognize the things that distract us, and deal with those issues. If something is distracting you, it is stumbling you, and it will continue to do so until it is resolved. This is why Jesus encouraged Martha to address this issue in her own life. I think we should all assume that Jesus probably saw Martha’s anxiousness at other times, and took this opportunity to speak to her need. If you are given to anxious worry and fear, will you allow Jesus to speak to your distraction?

2. Commit your tomorrows into His hand. Another of Christ’s solutions for worry, fear, and anxiety is found in Matthew 6:34. Jesus declared the third time, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” In other words, Jesus was saying, you have enough trouble to deal with today, without worrying about tomorrow. Does this mean that you should never think about the people you are to see, or the job you need to do tomorrow? Does Jesus mean that you should never plan for tomorrow? Absolutely not. He is not talking about planning; He is talking about worrying. In addition, the Scripture is full of encouragements for good planning in the Old and New Testaments (Ps. 33:11; Prov. 16:9; Prov. 21:5; James 4:13-14). Jesus was saying don’t be distracted in your thinking about tomorrow. Don’t let worry and anxiety captivate your attention. You need to be careful about your thinking process. Planning is an important aspect to clear thinking. I heard a Bible teacher this week make a powerful statement that I think you need to consider. He said, “Many people crucify themselves between two thieves, the regret of yesterday, or the worries of tomorrow.” This is so true. People destroy the life that is in them, because they are worrying about the future, or beating themselves up over the past. Don’t do it! On the contrary, when you hear people say, “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. I have enough to deal with today.” Where did we get that concept? It came right from this passage, “Do not worry about tomorrow!” So, don’t worry about tomorrow. Don’t get caught up in the anxiety of tomorrow. Proverbs 3:5-6 declares, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding.” When you lean on your own understanding, this incites anxiety, because you are usually thinking about how you are going to handle whatever the problem is. You are trying to figure out what is going to happen tomorrow. Instead, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.” In other words, give the problem up into His capable hands, trust Him to show you how to handle the problem, and He will!

3. Stop avoiding the places or activities that you fear. The third solution for worry is to stop avoiding what is fearful or worrisome; instead confront these fears and anxieties head-on. But this is not how people usually handle their worries and fear. If you are avoiding places or activities that cause you fear or anxiety, then you are only prolonging your own torment! People have said to me, “I’m not going there ever again. That is where I almost lost my life last year.” Or, “I can’t deal with that individual. I don’t want to be around people like that, because they are just like that person who hurt me.” Or, “I can’t go to big stores, because that is where I had my panic attack.” Yet, when you avoid your anxieties and your fears, do you know what happens? Those anxieties and fears grow even stronger. Why? It’s because anxiety and fear are sin, because they are rooted in unbelief. Any sin that you try to avoid or control in your own strength will only gain in strength within you. Why is this true? Because you are trying to deal with the issue in your own power. The Bible teaches that the “Strength of sin is the law” (1 Cor. 15:56). This is why as Paul revealed in Romans chapter 7, that the harder he tried to resist sin by his own will power, the greater sin gained control over him (Rom. 7:16-20).   

Let me give you an example of what I mean. Many years ago, I counseled a man who was trying to deal with a parent who was completely bound to his room because of fear. His father had been traumatized in a grocery store during a robbery, and believed he was almost killed. From that day forward he said to himself, I’m not going to that store anymore. Later, he decided that he wasn’t going to any grocery store. As he yielded to this fear and avoided all grocery stores, he then believed that all big box stores were also unsafe. Then he decided he wouldn’t go anywhere where there were large crowds. After a while he would not leave his house, because of his fears. As he continued to avoid what he feared, he then wouldn’t go out of his bedroom. Consequently, this man was locked inside of his bedroom by his own fear and anxiety. His family member came to me and said, “How do I help him, because this person is completely captive and consumed by his fear and anxiety.” I explained to him that the order must be reversed. His father must do what he feared, and realize that nothing bad would happen to him. He had to start going out of his bedroom, then out of the house, and then back to a store. It was a long hard road back, but he did it.

Therefore, if you yield to your fears, worries, or anxieties, and you just try to avoid that circumstance or place which seems to create your anxieties, you are misplacing your faith. Peace is not found in a place or circumstance; peace is found in a Person. Peace is experienced by viewing the situation or circumstance in faith, trusting that He is with you, and He is in control. Then praying for God’s power to come and empower you to face your anxieties and fears. As I mentioned earlier, Paul made this point in Philippians 4:6-7 when he said, “Be anxious for nothing, 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 through Christ Jesus.” Peace is found through trusting prayer. Give Him your anxieties and fears, and He will help you to overcome them. He gives a peace that passes all human understanding, so seek Him!

4. You must become a man or woman of believing prayer. Even though I finished my previous point encouraging you concerning believing prayer, I must add some further comments. Believing prayer is how you exchange your anxiety for God’s peace. If you want to be free of anxiety and worry, you need to become a man or woman of believing prayer. You must connect with the Prince of Peace, who is the only One who can give you personal peace. Touching Him through prayer is where you will find the infilling of the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 5:22 Paul declared that, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace...” If you struggle with anxiety, you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, because His presence within is where peace will be found. The God who cares for you, will fill you, and will deliver you. David declared in Psalm 34:4, “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all of my fears.” Note that David didn’t say God delivered him from some of his fears, but all of his fears. He found that prayer was the means to his solution, because God Himself was the answer to his fears and anxiety. Peter also taught the same thing in 1 Peter 5:7. He commanded us, “Casting all your care on Him, for He cares for you.” The word care in this verse means anxiety. You must cast all your anxiety upon Him through prayer, and He will give you His sufficient peace. Why not cast your cares on Him right now? He will gladly take them.

5. Learn how to control your thoughts, and fight the spiritual battle in your mind. Controlling your thoughts is another very important way that you can overcome anxiety and fear. But most believers don’t even realize that controlling their thoughts is even possible. Yet, learning how to control your thoughts is a process, and a battle that you must win, if you are to overcome your anxieties. Controlling your thoughts is very much a spiritual battle that takes place in your mind. So, what is the process? First, you must realize that you can control your thoughts. Scripture declares that you can do this by a simple choice that you make. I will explain how to do this later. Second, most believers don’t understand that controlling their thoughts is a spiritual battle that the enemy of their soul is waging against them, and he uses our minds against us very effectively. Remember, it was satan who put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus (John 13:2). Third, people allow themselves to play the, “what if,” game in their minds. What if this happens? What if that happens? What am I going to do if they do ______? Now, you can play this what if game all day long, but this only proves that you are not trusting the sovereign God Who loves you. You are not trusting that your God is big enough to take care of you. So, stop going down those rabbit trails in your mind! What you think about is a choice that you make every day. When prideful or lustful thoughts come into your mind, what do you do with them? Don’t you choose to reject these thoughts and put them out of your mind? You can do the same thing with anxious or fearful thoughts too. Therefore, declare to yourself and the devil, “I’m not thinking about this or that anymore. God has control of my life, my mind, and my future. God, I’m trusting you! Fill my mind with your truth and your promises!”

Now, let’s go deeper into this concept of the spiritual battle for your mind. Paul taught in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” These verses clearly declare that there is a war going on for control of your mind. Paul declares that this is a spiritual battle, and there are weapons that you possess that will enable you to win this battle. What kind of weapons do you have? These weapons are not carnal or fleshly, but mighty in God, such as prayer, faith, a free will to choose how you will live, and the word of God. These weapons are for pulling down strongholds, and casting down arguments that come up in your mind. When you use these weapons, you will be enabled to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. But the key here is that you must cast down anything that is contrary to what God declares in His Word. This is your choice. The words cast down are in the present tense, which mean that you must continually reject thoughts throughout your day that exalt themselves against the truth of God. Your sin nature is contrary to the truth of God. Satan also is contrary to, and fights against the truth of God that the Father wants to plant in your heart. This is why you must cast down and reject anything that comes into your mind that questions God’s truth. To cast down means to throw down or destroy completely. That’s something you must do continually when you realize your thought life is not in a good place. This command to cast down and bring into captivity every thought, means that you are in control of every thought. This is why Scripture declares here, “Bringing every thought,” not just some thoughts, or most thoughts, but every thought “into captivity.” The word captivity means to control. So, when you are thinking in a prideful, lustful, resentful, or envious way, whatever thought that is contrary to what you know is right, you must cast it down and reject it! If you don’t, your thoughts will captivate and overcome you. This is how it happens, and this is what you must do. Fearful and anxious thoughts must be controlled and rejected. If you want to go more in depth on this topic of controlling your thoughts, see chapter six in my book, “Winning Your Personal Battles.” You can find this book under my name at Amazon.com.

6. Turn your focus off of yourself, and begin serving God and others. Another critical method for rejecting anxious and fearful thinking is to take your focus off of yourself, and put it on serving God and others. Anxiety, fear, and worry are basically you turning your focus on yourself. When you begin thinking, What will happen to me? What will someone think of me? What if that happens to me? What am I going to do if this doesn’t take place? This kind of selfish thinking feeds anxiety and worry within. You have to recognize this self-focus, turn from it, and turn to the Lord. This was why Jesus commanded the disciples to, “Seek first the kingdom of God.” When you start serving the Lord and others, this is how you take your focus off yourself. This is also how fear and anxiety will be conquered.

This concept of serving God without fear is clearly seen in the prophecy of Zacharias, who was the father of John the Baptist. Zacharias recognized by the revelation of the Spirit would usher in the coming Messiah. He then declared that God would, “Perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham: to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear” (Luke 1:72-74). This was the promise of God to the Jewish people that they would be granted the ability to serve God without fear. Note how the Holy Spirit connected service to God and courage. That is exactly what the Lord wants to do in His people’s lives. He wants to give each of us the ability to serve Him without fear. Trying to serve God with fear does not work very well. Therefore, turn your focus off yourself and on serving the Lord and others. Seek first His kingdom, and fear, worry, and anxiety will be overcome.

7. Trusting in the sovereignty and will of the Father. Anxiety and fear are not only issues of self-focus, but also an issue of trust. I have already previously addressed this issue of trust, when Jesus questioned the faith of the disciples in Matthew 6:30. But what must you trust? To conquer worry and fear you must trust in your caring, powerful, sovereign God. Notice how Jesus addressed the disciple’s fear of death in Matthew 10:28-33. He said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” If our sovereign God knows when every sparrow falls to the ground and dies, then He has understanding of everything that is happening everywhere on the earth at every moment. He also knows everything about you, and the struggles that you are facing right now. Yesterday, I saw a strand of hair on the floor, and I thought to myself, God knew when this hair fell out of my head. Think of it! While you are worrying about this one little thing, He knows about every hair falling from your head, and every other little thing that is happening in 7 billion people’s lives around the world. If this is true, then He is a sovereign and powerful God that has power and ability beyond anything you can conceive. Then should you not trust Him to care for you, and the things you are worrying about right now? God is working all things out according to the counsel of His will in your life (Eph. 1:11). Do you believe this fact? Why not commit yourself and your life into His hand, and say to Him, “Lord, you have all things under your control. I’m going to put You first, and I’m not going to worry about all these issues that concern me. I’m going to trust that You are going to take care of all the little things in my life. I don’t know how You are going to work all these things out that I’m worrying about, but I’m going to trust that you will. I don’t know how you’re going to take care of this financial need, or how you’re going to take care of the needs in my personal life or that of my family, but I trust you, because You are big enough to handle it all. You can handle me, and everyone I care about.” 

The counsel I have just given you, is exactly the same counsel that Daniel gave to King Nebuchadnezzar when anxiety filled his heart over a dream that he had one night. The King said to Daniel, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream” (Dan 2:3). Notice Daniel’s counsel to this anxious King was to trust in the sovereignty and power of the God of heaven who had raised him up. Daniel explained that God was completely sovereign over him, and all the kings that will come after him. He told him, “He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings” (Dan. 2:21). In other words, God was saying, “I’m in total control of your kingdom and all kings and kingdoms of the earth. I raised you up, and I can take you down and remove you whenever I choose. I’m the Sovereign here, not you!” God’s assertions that He was the real Sovereign calmed the king’s anxious mind. Why? Because the king realized that the Lord of heaven and earth was in control! So, are you trusting in your abilities to control everything, or are you trusting in a sovereign God who is truly controlling everything? It is your choice! My encouragement is to put your trust in Him!

8. Get some good counsel. If you struggle with worry and anxiety, you should talk to someone who can give you good biblical counsel. Let someone encourage you! That person may be your best friend, it may be your spouse, or it may be one of the elders or pastors at your church. But you need to talk with someone about your anxiety. I have found that when people verbalize their anxieties, and they refuse to continue stuffing them down inside, freedom can be found. People have said to me after they have shared their struggles, “It feels so good just to talk about what I’ve been thinking. I’ve just been battling inside my mind for so long. I’m relieved to talk about it.” Counsel allows that person to apply the Word of God to your fears and worries. Hopefully, what I’ve written here will also give you some encouragement and answers as to why you worry, and how to handle these issues in the future. Remember, in Proverbs 12:25 Solomon declared, “Anxiety in the heart of a man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.” So, let somebody speak that good word to you that will make your heart glad, because that is God’s intention. He wants you to be glad, as you experience His peace within.