
Give God Your Worry for His Peace
Message Notes
Worry, Anxiety, Stress
We asked people – what are the main sources of your worry?
- My main sources of worry are financial and relationships.
- I sometimes feel like I’m falling short. I worry I’ll never fully find my place as a child of God.
- The physical and mental health and of my family and friends.
- We are concerned about the safety of our grandchildren in today’s society.
- Parenting. In general… what if we’re screwing it all up?!
- That my loved ones come to know Jesus. That I live my days for His glory not my selfishness
- Questions like - Am I setting a good example for my children in living a Christ-filled life? Am I praying enough with them? Am I showing my husband I love him enough?
Anxiety has sky rocketed
- In the US, anxiety and depression in young adults increased by 63% from 2005 to 2017
- In 2020, covid raised anxiety worldwide by 25%
- In 2024, 43% of adults say they feel more anxious than they did the previous year, up from 37% in 2023 and 32% in 2022.
Worry isn’t a new problem.
Jesus says: Don’t worry. It adds nothing to your life.
““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 do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
Matthew 6:25-27
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…”
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Matthew 6:19-21,24
Worry tricks you.
Focus on today’s troubles and let tomorrow’s troubles wait.
Jesus says: Seek FIRST the Kingdom and everything else will be taken care of.
“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.”
Matthew 6:31-34
Re-Orient Heavenward
John Boyd and the OODA Loop
- Observe
- Orient
- Decide
- Act
Jesus says: Draw near and I’ll give you peace
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.””
Luke 10:38-42
Worry multiplies
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
John 14:27
Giving your worries to Jesus is like taking the trash out of your mind
Prayer and worry are the same thing.
They just have different recipients.
Jesus says: Have faith.
“A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?””
Mark 4:37-40
The antidote to worry is faith.
It’s being reconnected to God because the root of all worry is disconnection from God.
“The root of our anxiety is our disconnection from God; this means we cannot be a non-anxious presence without God’s presence. To do so is simply a project of human striving, which attempts to solve anxiety in the world but only adds to it.”
Mark Sayers, A Non-Anxious Presence
You overcome worry by
exercising your faith in prayer and gratitude
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
If you’re struggling with worry, ask yourself:
- Have I prayed about it?
- Have I done what I can do today?