The statistics are pretty grim: about 20% of Americans over the age of 18 have some type of diagnosed anxiety disorder, and the numbers are higher for those between the ages of 13 and 18, about 25%. (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/facts-statistics). Although the data is not clear yet, many believe that one of the outcomes of the COVID pandemic is that these numbers have been pushed higher. An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA Network, reports a significant increase in self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depression (JAMA Network, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2778458).
Anxiety is a very real struggle, and it affects the health, wellbeing and peace of millions of people in the US and around the world every day. Anxiety often results in physical as well as emotional distress. Anxiety is a real thing in the Bible as well; God talks about it directly in several places. In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus addresses anxiety by using a direct and rational approach.
“v.25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” In the previous verse, Jesus had told His followers that they could not serve both God and “mammon”, referring to valuing wealth above God. Jesus was challenging them to have the right perspective about wealth. Similarly in this verse, He was challenging them to put their need for food and clothing in the right perspective. In the culture at the time of Jesus, people were judged by what they ate and what they put on, and if they did not have the right garments, or were not sitting at the right table (usually the head table) they were looked down on, or completely ignored. Sound familiar? Today, we worry about what brand clothing or sneakers we have, or whether our food is the store brand or not. In the end, does it really matter?
“v.26Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” I put bird food in my back yard for the birds that like to visit; I enjoy watching them fly in, eat and fly away again without a care in the world. But I know that there are lots more birds out there than I and other bird lovers can feed. And yet they eat, grow, thrive and live to have babies. God sees and provides for each of them. We are worth so much more in God’s eyes than they are! Christ died, rose and ascended, extending grace and forgiveness to all who believe. He did not do that for the birds!
“v.27And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” There’s the million dollar question: what does worry actually do? Does it change outcomes? What is the added value to your life? It does not extend your life; in fact, it probably takes hours, days or years away from your life!
“v.28And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,” Jesus gives another example from nature: lilies, representing flowers. There’s a reason flowers are given as a symbol of love or care: they are lovely, and they light up any room in which they’ve been placed. Their colors are so rich and vibrant, that some of them were used to die the clothing people wore. And all they do is what they know to do: grow!
“v.29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.” Solomon was the richest, best dressed man of his time. But he did not hold a candle to those flowers! He probably delighted in his own extensive flower gardens, and might have even used some of them to dye his and his household’s clothing. In Old Testament times, those colored garments were special and anyone who had them stood out as a special person.
“v.30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!” Jesus challenges his followers’ faith again by comparing their greater value to the lesser value of grasses that are burned up. And yet God takes the time to make every blade of grass a beautiful green, every wildflower in the field beautiful, knowing that their life span is short. If God takes such care with plants, of course He will take greater care of us!
“v.31Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’” Therefore, because of everything Jesus said in the previous verses, don’t allow those anxious thoughts to take up space in your head and eat up your emotions.
“v.32For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. The Gentiles did not know God, and therefore did not have His assurances that He would provide for them. Instead, they spent a great deal of time thinking about all these things. Jesus is chiding the Jews, with their rich history of seeing and experiencing God’s favor, blessings and provision, for not remembering and holding onto what they knew, and instead allowing anxious thinking to creep in.
“v.33But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Jesus is again challenging His followers to have the right perspective, to seek God first, and not to worry about other things so much. This is the third time in these few verses that Jesus has brought up the idea of perspective. Placing our thoughts and energies on earthly things, rather than on the Lord, promotes anxious thinking: it does not lead to peace. Focusing on the Lord, and trusting in His ability to provide, puts anxiety to rest.
“v.34“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” And by the way, worrying about tomorrow won’t help either: prepare, yes; worry, no. This verse tells us that if we worry about tomorrow today, we will still worry tomorrow as well, because we will find something else to worry about!
God knows we worry because He knows us inside and out. Jesus knew people worried, so He explicitly taught about it while He was here on earth, and it is as relevant today as it was 2000 years ago. In therapy, the approach that Jesus took with His followers is called “Cognitive Behavior Therapy”, and is quite widely used as an effective treatment model. Jesus challenged their thinking and their perspectives and offered them a different way to think. What is your perspective? Would it benefit you to review and adjust your perspective? Would a shift in focus put those things which consume your energy, thoughts, emotions and talents in a different place?
If you need help, please do not sit alone with anxiety. Reach out to a friend, a pastor, a doctor or a therapist. There is help. And enter, rest and remain in the presence of the Light of the world, in Whom there is perfect peace, and through Whom we have perfect peace.
More to come next time about anxiety and peace in the Bible. God bless with you with peace and rest!
Living in the Light of the world 