When Your Circumstances Make You Anxious: Part 5 — A ‘Time With God’ Audio Devotion

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Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Transcript

Good morning.

We’ve been talking all this week about how to respond when your circumstances make you anxious, and that is so real for every one of us, right?

It’s so easy to get totally stressed out and anxious about the circumstances of our lives. Well, stress is a part of life, right? We live in a fallen world with fallen people all around us. Things go wrong, it gets stressful. Stress is not wrong. But anxiety is a wrong response to stress.

And we’ve been looking all week at these verses in Philippians chapter 4 that say do not be anxious about anything, but rather bring the issues of your life to God in prayer, and as he gets involved, His peace will guard your heart and mind, even if those stressful circumstances are still there.

Jesus also spoke so clearly about stress in life. Let me read you some verses from Matthew chapter 6.

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Jesus is talking and he says, therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life. What you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air. They don’t sow seeds or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they are? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Haha. Well, we all know the answer to that, right? No, you subtract hours from your life by worrying. He goes on to say. And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you – you who have little faith. So do not worry, saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear, for the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom. And his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Well, such wise words aren’t they, but recognise something here. This isn’t just sort of general wisdom that’s true for anyone. The points Jesus is making about a worry-free life, are points made to people in a right relationship with God.

Right?

He says, OK, there are all these things you need, you know, you gotta worry about where the money’s gonna come from, to buy your food, to wear clothes, where are you gonna live, what are you gonna drive? You know, how are you gonna get by, how are you gonna take care of your family? All these things that produce anxiety in us, right?

But he says, God knows you have these needs. Talk to Him about them, but notice the key verse here. Matthew 6:33. Jesus says, But, OK, you’ve got all of these issues that produce worry and anxiety, but seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. God will take care of your needs as you learn to put Him first.

This is the greatest cure for anxiety in your life.

Put God first in your life, as God says, They that honour me, I will honour, says the Lord.

God takes active involvement in the lives of people who put him first in their lives. Maybe you think, well, what does that even look like? What does that even mean? Well, if you don’t have a living relationship with God, ask a Christian that you know, how do you start a relationship with God.

If you do have a relationship with God as a Christian, don’t just be a Sunday Christian, somebody who just does the habits of a Christian.

Cultivate your living relationship with God, and as you do that, put Him first in your life. As you think about your issues and decisions of life, think what would God want me to do and then do it. Listen to Him by reading the Bible. Talk to Him in prayer. Put Him first and watch God get involved in the circumstances of your life.

I’m John North.

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