“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.” (Matthew 6:34, RSV)
The American Psychological Association stated the following belief on its main web site: “Stress affects all systems of the body including the musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, nervous, and reproductive systems.” Worry and anxiety from stress can make the brain atrophy, mess up one’s hormone levels, cause ulcers, put an extra workload of the heart, and more. Anxiety and stress affect the way you think, the way your body responds to pathogens, even your weight. Without a doubt, stress and anxiety also affect your spiritual life.
Proverbs 12:25 claimed that anxiety “weighs the heart down”. Paul warned that the faithful should “have no anxiety about anything” and suggested that prayer, supplications, and thanksgiving drive out these feelings (Philippians 4:6). In the scripture chosen for today, Jesus noted the detrimental effects of anxiety with these words: “do not be anxious about tomorrow…” (Matthew 6:34). The Bible makes it abundantly clear that anxiety, worry, and stress must be “corrected” by dedicated faith in God along with a healthy dose of prayer and a committed trust in God.
The main reasons that anxiety and worry and stress are so dominant in the world today are plain to see. Many people don’t place their trust fully in God. Those that have even made promises and commitments to God do not have a good enough relationship with God. They lack a deep prayer life. They look for protection and security not in God but in wealth, alliances, military power, strength, health and more. Contrary to the words of Jesus, many people of this world (Christians included!), are full of anxiety and worry and fear because they stress about “tomorrow”. They focus not on God but on a laundry list of “what-ifs”. What if I lose my job? What if I get sick? What if the cancer comes back? What if COVID comes back? What if my spouse is cheating on me? What if my son fails the seventh grade? Obsessing over “what-ifs” is based on a lack of faith and a spiritual life corrupted with anxiety and worry.
Rev. Darlow Sargeant wrote the following words:
“NOT a few Christians live in a state of unbroken anxiety, and others fret and fume terribly. To be perfectly at peace amid the hurly-burly of daily life is a secret worth knowing. What is the use of worrying? It never made anybody strong; never helped anybody to do God’s will; never made a way of escape for anyone out of perplexity. Worry spoils lives which would otherwise be useful and beautiful. Restlessness, anxiety, and care are absolutely forbidden by our Lord, who said: “Take no thought,” that is, no anxious thought, “saying what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed?” He does not mean that we are not to take forethought and that our life is to be without plan or method; but that we are not to worry about these things. People know you live in the realm of anxious care by the lines on your face, the tones of your voice, the minor key in your life, and the lack of joy in your spirit. Scale the heights of a life abandoned to God, then you will look down on the clouds beneath your feet.”
After finding Rev. Sargeant’s words, Lettie Cowman added that “It is always weakness to be fretting and worrying, questioning, and mistrusting. Can we gain anything by it? We are sinking by our struggles when we might float by faith.” (Streams in the Desert, p. 292).
If you find yourself weighed down by anxiety and worry, God has the answer. You need faith. You need to trust HIM. You need to throw yourself wholeheartedly into prayer.
“While touring Italy, a man visited a cathedral that had been completed on the outside only. Once inside, the traveler found an artist kneeling before an enormous wall upon which he had just begun to create a mosaic. On some tables nearby were thousands of pieces of colored ceramic. Curious, the visitor asked the artist how he would ever finish such a large project. The artist answered that he knew how much he could accomplish in one day. Each morning, he marked off an area to be completed that day and didn’t worry about what remained outside that space. That was the best he could do; and if he faithfully did his best, one day the mosaic would be finished.” (Today in the Word, September 5, 1995, p. 32).
So often, what-ifs will cause you to worry about tomorrow. Though Jesus said not to be anxious about tomorrow, if you let all the what-ifs blast you with doubt, you will not be able to complete what God has for you to do today. If your focus is shifted from God to “what if something goes wrong….”, your faith will weaken, your body will start to react to the anxiety, and your spiritual life will take a hit. Disease, psychological stress, and many other detrimental effects will overtake you. Focus on God; focus on today; be faithful to God; be faithful one day at a time.
Proverbs 12:25 claimed that anxiety “weighs the heart down”. Paul warned that the faithful should “have no anxiety about anything” and suggested that prayer, supplications, and thanksgiving drive out these feelings (Philippians 4:6). In the scripture chosen for today, Jesus noted the detrimental effects of anxiety with these words: “do not be anxious about tomorrow…” (Matthew 6:34). The Bible makes it abundantly clear that anxiety, worry, and stress must be “corrected” by dedicated faith in God along with a healthy dose of prayer and a committed trust in God.
The main reasons that anxiety and worry and stress are so dominant in the world today are plain to see. Many people don’t place their trust fully in God. Those that have even made promises and commitments to God do not have a good enough relationship with God. They lack a deep prayer life. They look for protection and security not in God but in wealth, alliances, military power, strength, health and more. Contrary to the words of Jesus, many people of this world (Christians included!), are full of anxiety and worry and fear because they stress about “tomorrow”. They focus not on God but on a laundry list of “what-ifs”. What if I lose my job? What if I get sick? What if the cancer comes back? What if COVID comes back? What if my spouse is cheating on me? What if my son fails the seventh grade? Obsessing over “what-ifs” is based on a lack of faith and a spiritual life corrupted with anxiety and worry.
Rev. Darlow Sargeant wrote the following words:
“NOT a few Christians live in a state of unbroken anxiety, and others fret and fume terribly. To be perfectly at peace amid the hurly-burly of daily life is a secret worth knowing. What is the use of worrying? It never made anybody strong; never helped anybody to do God’s will; never made a way of escape for anyone out of perplexity. Worry spoils lives which would otherwise be useful and beautiful. Restlessness, anxiety, and care are absolutely forbidden by our Lord, who said: “Take no thought,” that is, no anxious thought, “saying what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed?” He does not mean that we are not to take forethought and that our life is to be without plan or method; but that we are not to worry about these things. People know you live in the realm of anxious care by the lines on your face, the tones of your voice, the minor key in your life, and the lack of joy in your spirit. Scale the heights of a life abandoned to God, then you will look down on the clouds beneath your feet.”
After finding Rev. Sargeant’s words, Lettie Cowman added that “It is always weakness to be fretting and worrying, questioning, and mistrusting. Can we gain anything by it? We are sinking by our struggles when we might float by faith.” (Streams in the Desert, p. 292).
If you find yourself weighed down by anxiety and worry, God has the answer. You need faith. You need to trust HIM. You need to throw yourself wholeheartedly into prayer.
“While touring Italy, a man visited a cathedral that had been completed on the outside only. Once inside, the traveler found an artist kneeling before an enormous wall upon which he had just begun to create a mosaic. On some tables nearby were thousands of pieces of colored ceramic. Curious, the visitor asked the artist how he would ever finish such a large project. The artist answered that he knew how much he could accomplish in one day. Each morning, he marked off an area to be completed that day and didn’t worry about what remained outside that space. That was the best he could do; and if he faithfully did his best, one day the mosaic would be finished.” (Today in the Word, September 5, 1995, p. 32).
So often, what-ifs will cause you to worry about tomorrow. Though Jesus said not to be anxious about tomorrow, if you let all the what-ifs blast you with doubt, you will not be able to complete what God has for you to do today. If your focus is shifted from God to “what if something goes wrong….”, your faith will weaken, your body will start to react to the anxiety, and your spiritual life will take a hit. Disease, psychological stress, and many other detrimental effects will overtake you. Focus on God; focus on today; be faithful to God; be faithful one day at a time.