Scripture
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
MATTHEW 6:25-34
“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
MATTHEW 6:34 (MSG)
Quotes/Color
“I’ve had thousands of problems in my life… Most of which never even really happened.”
Mark Twain
“Worry and anxiety are not merely bad habits or idiosyncrasies. They are sinful fruits that blossom from the root of unbelief.”
Kevin DeYoung
Song: Someday Soon by Wilder Woods
Context
My dog Lincoln is a very good boy… But he is a little bit nuts. A spunky yellow lab, he is full of the love and affection you’d expect from his breed of dog… But he is also full of crippling fear of items that make no sense. Some of his top fears include (either in the past or in the present):
- Pinecones
- His own shadow on occasion
- Hallways
- Bathrooms
- Bodies of water
- Stairs
- Elevators
- New Homes
- Baths
- Halloween/Christmas/Easter decorations
His fears are a bit cumbersome to deal with. Because, put simply, life is full of an awful lot of “hallways”. And he is unfortunately scared of almost all of them.
There is alot of unknown behind them, and who knows what is behind those door and who knows where this thing is going… I don’t know. He is very scared of them. And lives life as a bit of a worry wart. (See exhibit A of me having to carry my 90 pound dog down a hallway…)
And he lives this way because when it comes down to it, he trusts the actualizations of his fears (worst case scenario fears, more often than not) more than he trusts me. I am with him. I am walking with him in the hallway. One of his favorite people. It doesn’t matter. The trust of his own fear overwhelms his trust in me. It’s just the way it is.
Application
This same situation is representative of fear in our lives as Christians. When it comes down to it, our repeated worries, time and time again, over the smallest of things… is the result of trusting our own worries as legitimate and worthy to be believed more than we trust God.
Worry is at its best unproductive. And at its worst is not heeding Christ’s instruction to us (Matthew 6 and Luke 12).
But you can’t just “not worry.” Worry/fear has to be replaced by something. Which in the Christian’s case is faith.
These are the things that I have found spur on and grow my faith, and thus cast out fear.
Faith in the Past
“After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”
JOHN 19:28-30 (NKJV)
I like this translation because it details that Jesus “[knew] that all things were now accomplished…” Isn’t that great? There was nothing left to be done. There was nothing left to worry about. He had come as a baby. Lived the perfect life. Was about to die on the cross. And knew that that sacrifice would put us in right standing before God and cover the sins of the world.
“It is finished!”
Jesus has already won the war. Whatever battles come in the meantime are just color. We already know the outcome.
The larger faith is in that moment in the past. The more fear and worry can retreat.
Faith in the Present
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
JOHN 14: 16-17
Jesus won the war 2,000 years ago. And leaves us with a “helper” and a “comforter” today, the Holy Spirit. God’s spirit is left with us as believers. And it is not a Spirit of “fear and timidity” but of “power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7).
The more present the Holy Spirit is in your present life. The more fear and worry can retreat.
Faith in the Future
“And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
JOHN 6:39-40
Jesus won the war 2,000 years ago (the past). He leaves us a Spirit not of fear and timidity but of power love and self-discipline (in the present). And He promises to come back again on the Last Day.
Jesus died for our sins. But more than that, He has promised to come back again. And to all that believe in him, there will be no more sorrow and no more pain. The old things will pass away and Christ will make all things new (Revelation 21).
The larger faith is in that moment in the future. The more fear and worry can retreat.
Jesus has settled the score in the past. He is with us as a comforter in the present. And will reign forever in the future. And for that reason, faith in those things can cast out fear and worry.
Something to Chew On:
- What do you incessantly worry about? What encourages your faith? To put those together… How can you go about replacing fear with faith?
GreatValue Proverb:
Worry is at its best unproductive. And at its worst is not heeding Christ’s instruction to us. Replace worry with faith.