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| Look at the birds of the air. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? |
Our small groups last evening were discussing the portion of the Sermon on the Mount that deals with anxiety (Matt. 5:25-34). It's always a good time to discuss any portion of Scripture, but this topic was especially helpful in light of the current Covid-19 circumstances.
As our pastor explained on Sunday, the context of the anxiety spoken here is over what we think we lack, that we think there are needs that God is not providing for us. This kind of anxiety is borne out of distrust in God's care. Why do we not trust Him to do as He has promised throughout the Scriptures?
Someone brought up the aspect of contentment in our circumstances. The Apostle Paul wrote that he had learned to be content in whatever state he found himself (Philippians 4:11). It's important to note that Paul said he had learned to be content. Paul went through many struggles that taught him to trust God. Our own struggles can do the same for us if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness as we are going through them. We're told to do that in this same passage on anxiety (Mt. 6:33). When we are tempted to anxiety, God has made a way of escape--seeking Him and His righteousness in the midst of it.
Not all anxiety, though, is borne out of a lack of trust of God's care and concern. Not all anxiety is sin. For example, Paul wanted to send Timothy to the Philippian believers because he had "no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare" (Phil. 2:20). The same Greek word for anxious in Matthew 5:25 is the same word used for concern in the Philippians passage. Timothy and Paul's concern/anxiety was not for themselves, but for other believers.
Most of our anxiety, if you're like me, is not about other people, though. It's about ourselves. As Paul tells the Philippian believers, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (4:6). God wants to hear from us. He loves us with an enduring love, even when we don't feel it.
We will sense His love more when we have a heart of gratitude for how He is providing our daily manna. Look around. His touches of grace are everywhere to be seen if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. Look for His good graces, and be thankful for them. We won't see so much of what is causing anxiety in the present moment if we're looking for the good things all around us.
Edward Welch has a new book that I read just after the Covid-19 stuff started happening. God used it to calm my spirit in many ways. It's a book of meditations on fear, worry, and trust. I recommend it to you--A Small Book for the Anxious Heart. You can read some quotes from the book here.
Kingfisher image via Pixabay
