There’s been a lot of anxiety over the recent stock market moves. Lots of handwringing concerning the proposed tariffs our government is applying to products from other countries. It has been a wild ride in this current season of our lives, no doubt. There are questions about pension solvency, social security solvency, and the economy as a whole.
So much going on that it is giving us heartburn and angst beyond measure.
Here’s a question…why do we feel the way we feel right now?
Are we fearful and anxious because our security and sense of safety are tied to our finances? This is reasonable because we all have to have monetary resources to support ourselves, our dreams, our families.
The psalmist in Psalms 55:2 tells us…”Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken”. And in Proverbs 12:25 we read…
”Anxiety weighs down the heart…”. These are scriptures meant to help us avoid worry and those feelings which can bedevil us.
Too often, I think we let the cares of the world take center stage in our minds and hearts. This can tie us up in knots and give us a fearful nature. We weren’t made for this kind of stress. Any medical professional will tell us that stress and anxiety leads to all sorts of health problems…high blood pressure, stroke risk, ulcers, there is even some evidence these things can aid cancer in getting a foothold in us.
In 1 Peter 5:7 we are told…”cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you,” suggesting that God is capable of handling our worries. Do we believe God is able to care for us? Do we believe God not only cares for us, but will also provide for us? These are cornerstones of our faith. Paul wrote to the Philippian community from his prison cell. He was going through some real hardships, even to the point of thinking he would die soon. He also knew the Philippian church was facing its own hardships. So as co-laborers of the Gospel, Paul sought to encourage and provide hope for his friends in Philippi. Take a look at what he wrote to them in the midst of his situation…”Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. Prayer and supplication with thanksgiving! This is what Paul advises for his friends. In other words, look at where God has brought you from, be thankful for all God has done, and know God is with you even now.
Jesus himself, with all that faced him, had a concern that those who followed him would not let fear and anxiety control them. In Matthew 6:25-34 we read some of the most comforting words we will ever come across. “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.”
Can we hear the comfort Jesus is trying to give us? Do we believe the words he’s saying to us? In the midst of anxious and fretful situations, I know its not easy to take a step back and see a bigger picture. Let’s take a few deep breaths, let our minds move beyond what is currently confronting us, and see how God has been with us, is with us, and will be with us in the future. At no time has God ever left us alone. True enough, there have been and will be times where we can’t fathom anything other than what is staring us in the face. Remembering how God has brought us to this moment in time and never left us, should give us hope for enduring what we currently face. And beyond this momentary disruption in our lives, we know God can and will lead us into the future unafraid.
Your companion on the Way,
Pastor Tom