Today in church, one of my pastors preached on the topic
of anxiety. He started out by telling of his own personal struggles with
anxiety, particularly during his first year in the ministry. He didn’t tell
this very personal account to pat himself on the back and show how he was
strong and overcame it. He told it to show his “own personal weakness to the
glory of God.” To many, that might not make sense. Many people today are all
about personal power. Weakness is seen as something to be ashamed of, pushed
down, and hidden. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “And he said unto me, My grace is
sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly
therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may
rest upon me.” Our weakness is there so that God’s power can come. That idea
runs so contrary to modern society. 1 Corinthians 1: 27 says, “But God hath
chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath
chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;” God
often uses things that don’t make sense, the small things, and the weak things
to make the biggest impact.
Here is the main passage that we read from
Philippians 4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is
at hand.
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus
Here is the basic outline from the sermon.
I.
Let your joy be in the Lord. He will never let
you down.
a. Anxiety
can come when we place things in a higher priority than God.
b. Our
heart follows what we enjoy, so enjoy the Lord.
II.
Have a Reputation of being a gentle, reasonable,
tolerant person.
III.
Remember that Jesus is near.
IV.
Don’t be anxious about anything. Pray about
everything.
a. Anxiety
shows a lack of faith in God’s provision.
b. Anxiety
can be fruit of a lack of prayer in your life.
c. Don’t
wait for moments of crisis to pray and trust God.
d. Develop
a pattern of trust in God to combat anxiety in the long term.
V.
Recognize God’s blessings and give thanks.
Prayer is more than just asking for stuff.
VI.
Peace comes to people of weak hearts who pray.
Just about everyone goes through times when they are
anxious about something. I know I have. I’ve had times where I’ve worried and
been afraid. I’ve stressed over things that might happen and over things that
have happened. When it comes to fear, anxiety and stress, I’m my own worst
enemy. The scenarios in my mind are usually way worse than reality. Matthew
6:27 says, “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?”
Basically it’s saying that worrying doesn’t change anything. You can’t make
yourself taller by worrying (because if you could, I’d likely be at least 6
foot tall). Multiple times in the Bible, it says not to be troubled, not to be
afraid. John 14:27 says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not
as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither
let it be afraid.” Joshua 1:9 says, “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and
of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy
God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Peace and never leaving my side.
What awesome gifts God has promised!
Let your joy be in the Lord. Notice it says “joy” and not
“happiness”. Happiness is an emotion based on outward circumstances. True joy
comes from God and doesn’t always make sense. The outward circumstances could
be horrible, but the person has that peace which is beyond understanding like
in Philippians 4:7 and a joy which can only come from God. I can’t say that my
attitude has always been one of peace and joy when going through tough times. I’ll
be the first to admit that I tend to be a worrier. But even with my lack of
faith and trying to control situations rather than hand them fully over to God,
He still hasn’t given up on me or left my side. His peace and joy are there
waiting for me every time. I just have to let go of my worries and fears and
trust that God is in control of them, and He replaces them with peace and joy.
Easier said than done at times, but I’m still a work in progress and God is
nowhere near done with me. Remember that God is near. Isaiah 43:2-3a says, “When
thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers,
they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt
not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy
God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour”. Not only is God near, He also helps
us through the trials. He calms the seas when we feel like we’re about to
drown. He may not always remove the stressful situation, but He teaches us to
have faith in Him and helps us through it. The times I’ve learned the most
about God’s strength was when I was at my weakest point. I learned about His
provision when I was in need. I learned about his healing when I was broken. I
learned what it meant when the Bible said He would never leave me when I felt
the most alone. I felt his joy and peace when I was struggling the most.
Without those hard times, I might not have been in a place to be receptive to
those lessons. That’s not to say I enjoyed them or pray for hard times. Hard
times come without me asking for them. During those times, it was difficult for
me to see any reason for it, but looking back, I can see how God’s hand was
working to bring good out of a tough time in my life.
Don’t be anxious about anything. Pray about everything. Psalm
46:1, 10a says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in
trouble. Be still, and know that I am God”. Sometimes we get so worked up
thinking about the problems in life, that we fail to see the answer in front of
us. God is in control even when situations seem out of control. In our language
today, it’s like God is telling us “Chill out. I’ve got this.” It’s hard to be
still. We live in a busy world and most people are in a constant state of
multi-tasking. I know I am. Take my internet browser for instance. It’s rare
than I have less than 5 tabs open. And that’s just on one device. It’s not
uncommon for me to be watching something on my tablet while doing something on
my computer, and then I’ll take my hands off the keyboard/mouse and do
something on my smart phone. It’s so easy to find out information and to be
distracted by what’s on the screens. Then throw in the rest of my day – caring for
my family, teaching my son and his cousins, communicating with friends, keeping
my house from looking like a tornado went through, etc. Even with all of that,
God still says to be still, and that’s something I need to work on. Making time
during my day to be still and focus on God. I need to take time to pray, not
just before meals and in those last few minutes before I fall asleep, but
throughout my day. I need to focus more on thanking God and less on asking for
my requests to be answered. I need to daily make the choice to replace the
anxiety and stress with prayers. It’s not something that happens overnight. It’s
a choice that I need to continually make until it becomes a habit and then keep
making the choice. Recognizing God’s blessings and provision in the past helps
to keep in the front of our minds that, not only is God capable of helping us
through trials, we’ve experienced it in our own lives in the past. That
remembrance helps us to be more confident in trusting God in the future. He has
never left my side or let me down in the past, He’s someone I can trust in the
present and also in the future.
The last point is that peace comes to people of weak
hearts who pray. This ties in with some of the other points. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Casting
all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” The God who created everything
cares for me, and not only does He care for me, He wants me to give him all my
stress and anxiety. I have a wonderful family and some awesome friends that God
has placed in my life. When I’m having a hard time, I can go to them and share
what I’m doing through. They can commiserate with me, give me words of wisdom,
and encourage me, but they can’t take away my problems. As great as they are,
they’re imperfect humans with limitations just like me. Not only can God listen
to me tell him about my problems, He can carry me through them and make good
come from them. When I’m at my weakest, God gives me strength to keep going.
Matthew 11:28-29 says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek
and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” How many times
have you needed rest for your soul? I know when I’m anxious and stressed, I
feel completely drained. Anxiety is emotionally, mentally, and physically
exhausting. It’s during those times of utter exhaustion that I need that peace
and rest for my soul the most, and during those times that God is able to show
his strength to me in the most amazing ways. When Jesus walked on earth, His
ministry wouldn’t have stood out as much had He not done any miracles. In order
for Him to heal, someone had to be sick or injured. In order for him to bring
someone back to life, they first had to die. In order for Jesus to give someone
sight, they first had to be blind. Being sick, injured, blind or dead aren’t
good things, but without them, Jesus wouldn’t have been able to show His power
in as mighty of a way. If a storm hadn’t come while Jesus and his disciples
were in a boat in the middle of the water, the disciples wouldn’t have needed
to ask Jesus to save their lives, and He wouldn’t have shown His power over the
wind and seas. If my life was always peaceful and stress-free, I wouldn’t need
to ask God to help me. Like my pastor, God uses my own personal weakness to
show His glory. My life is not free of stress, anxiety, and trials, but no
matter the situation, I know that I never have to go through it alone. When I’m
weak, He is strong. When I fall down, He lifts me up. When I feel like I’m
sinking in the middle of a storm, He calms the storm and brings me peace. When
I’m feeling run down, He gives me rest for my soul.
This is part of a song my church choir sings every so
often. It’s one of my favorites and fits so well with what I’m trying to say.
He is My Peace
Words by Nan Allen
Music by Dennis Allen
He is wonderful.
He is marvelous.
He is Savior. He is King.
He is Comforter.
He is mighty God.
He is Lord of everything.
But more than all of these,
He is even more to me.
He is Jesus. He is my Peace.
Through the storms He holds me,
Through the dark He leads me,
Through the pain He calms me
With His quiet, tender voice.
Through the storms He holds me,
Through the dark He leads me,
Through the pain He calms me
With His quiet, tender voice,
So I rejoice!
If you would like to hear the full sermon, it is uploaded
to my church’s website. Here is the link: http://faithpb.com/sermons/sermon/2016-08-28/rejoice-in-the-lord-dont-be-anxious
