Worry Is a Warning|08.03.25|Worried About Everything pt.1

I like to think of myself as a pretty capable, mature, strong guy. But if I’m honest with you, it can be pretty easy for me to feel overwhelmed.

Surprise me with a leak in our house from the storms? Overwhelmed.

Have a medical bill pop up? Overwhelmed.

Sit down to finally eat after a long day, but then the kids start whining and crying in the other room?

SOMEONE HAD BETTER BE DYING OR SO HELP ME…!

Why is it that certain things will tip me over the edge? Why is it that we all have experienced that?

I think it’s because all of us are carrying invisible weights and burdens. We smile at church, post an inspirational quote online, but our hands are full with heavy things.

Maybe you’re feeling the weight of the start of school being less than two weeks away. Maybe you’re wishing you could fit in some final summer experiences. Maybe you’re gearing up for harvest and are worried about prices holding.

And when you’re carrying something heavy in each hand and life tries to hand you something new, it doesn’t have to be that big for it to be difficult.

So you handle that for a while, but your hands start to sweat and everything gets slippery and now you don’t have any energy or focus left for things like empathy or joy.

All of your concentration is on trying to handle the slippery weight of the things you’re carrying. Nothing left for curiosity, or dreaming, or connection, or romance, or fun.

Because if you drop something you’re carrying, you’ll break a toe, and then that’s a new medical bill to add stress to your life!

But for most of us, we keep these burdens invisible. We try not to let others see the burdens we’re carrying. Maybe because we don’t want to burden others, or maybe because we’re ashamed of seeming like we don’t have it together.

So we come to church. We smile. We post inspirational quotes online.

Or we cope to numb the feelings. We drink a little too much. We gamble a little too much. We throw ourselves into work a little too much. We fill our calendar with activities a little too much.

And in the words of Dr. Phil, “How’s that working for you?” Is it leading you to a life of fulfillment, joy, contented peace, and love?

Or is it leaving you anxious, stressed, broke, and tired?

It seems like no matter who you talk to, most agree that life feels more anxious and stressful than in previous years. Reputable research firms have confirmed the rise in stress, depression, and anxiety in the past few years.

[do not be anxious]

But when you do a Google search about “what does the Bible say about being anxious”, you’ll probably have some verses pop up that tell you NOT to be anxious.

And the church hasn’t always been ahead of the curve to be able to talk about mental health or how God designed our bodies and minds and offers peace. In fact, one of the critiques of many churches is that it’s not a safe place to bring your burdens or brokenness, and so we keep the burdens invisible.

But I think our church has been called by God to be a city on a hill, a light in the darkness. I think our church is called by God to be a safe place for every person to bring their brokenness to Jesus, because Jesus is the only true healer who can transform us.

Jesus loves us enough to meet us where we are, but he loves us too much to leave us as we are. Because he’s constantly inviting us to step into his light, to let him transform us to become more and more like him. That’s what it means to be an apprentice of Jesus, a follower of Jesus.

And whether this is your first Sunday at New Life or your 500th Sunday, you’re here because Jesus has called you here. You’re here because you need Jesus to continue his work of transformation and healing in your life. You’re here because God wants to work through you to reach others who need his love and grace and transformation in their lives.

[series]

So that’s why we’re spending this month talking about the things that we carry that keep us burdened, and we’re also going to talk about how prayer is the spiritual habit that God wants to use in your life to bring healing and wholeness to your life.

Because I think that one of the lies too many of us believe about stress and anxiety is that we think it’s bad to have as a Christian. A Christian shouldn’t be anxious, right? The Bible tells us not to be!

Is stress…a sin?

And that’s why we keep our burdens invisible to others. But that’s a lie from the enemy to keep us carrying all of that alone. Because the truth is that stress isn’t a sin, it’s a signal.

[Check Engine]

Just like when the check engine light comes on in your car, that doesn’t mean that the LIGHT is the issue that is wrong with your car. It’s just a signal, trying to tell you that something ELSE needs to be looked at.

The light isn’t the problem, it’s a signal telling you that you need to take the car to its manufacturer so they can diagnose and fix the issue.

Stress, anxiety, and worry are the same thing. They aren’t the issue…they aren’t the sin, they are just a signal telling you that you need to turn to YOUR manufacturer — you need to turn to your maker — to diagnose and fix the issue.

[Stress isn’t a sin]

Because stress isn’t a sin. It’s a signal that it’s time to pray. And prayer is one of the primary spiritual habits that God uses to bring us closer to him so that we can experience healing, growth, purpose, and peace.

[Scripture Ref]

And our main core Scripture for this series is one that I’ve mentioned a few times already, and that’s Philippians 4:6-7. So please open your Bibles with me to that passage. If you’re using the black, seat-back Bibles, it can be found on p??? Of the NT.

Philippians is a letter that was written by Paul while he was in prison, writing back to the first church he helped start, in the city of Philippi. In it, he encourages them that experiencing trouble in life isn’t a sign that God is absent.

In fact, Christ himself experienced suffering, and part of following Jesus is clinging to him in the midst of trials and hardship.

Paul says that our true citizenship, our true loyalty, our TRUE family identity is in heaven, and Jesus has proven his power and authority, so we can stand firm in our connection to him. And then he tells the church to rejoice in the Lord always, I’ll say it again, rejoice! And then comes our main passage:

[Philippians 4:6-7]

[Philippians 4:6]a

“Do not be anxious.” That’s a command. It’s not a suggestion. It’s not just a “good idea” to try sometimes. It’s not a “best practice”.

It’s a command: do not be anxious about anything.

And we’re like: wait, ANYTHING? Like, are you sure?! Anything? What about _? And we fill in the blank with whatever we think is the exception to that.

What about ___? What about college debt? What about the fear of the cancer coming back? What about the fear of aging?

And you can put whatever you want in that blank, but it doesn’t change the fact that he says, “Do not be anxious about anything.” And if there’s any doubt, he continues with, “...but in everything.”

[Philippians 4:6]b

And we pause again with incredulity: wait…everything?! Like everything-everything?! What about _____, and we fill in the blank again with all the things that we think are exceptions.

Shouldn’t I be stressed about that? Shouldn’t I be anxious about that? Shouldn’t I worry even a LITTLE because it’s so important?! And he’s saying, “No no no, I’m serious. I don’t want you to WORRY yourself to DEATH.”

“Do not be anxious about anything (and that means ANYTHING), but in everything (and I mean EVERYTHING), by prayer and supplication…”

It’s not by EFFORT. It’s not by earning. It’s not by some performance we do. But it’s by PRAYER and SUPPLICATION. It’s by asking God because it’s GOD’S action. It’s God’s power. That’s what is needed.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in EVERYTHING, by prayer and supplication, WITH THANKSGIVING… because this isn’t a have-to. This isn’t some trudgery. This isn’t a chore. This is a GET-TO.

With thanksgiving, we get to have joyful gratitude that the all-powerful creator God of the universe actually wants us to come to him in prayer! To draw near to him!

How cool is that?! It gives you joy and gratitude!

[Philippians 4:6]c

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving…let your requests be made known to God.

Now, we know that God ALREADY knows what our requests are, because he knows our heart better than we know ourselves.

But he still INVITES us into a process. He still invites us to TURN to him so we can experience what it feels like to let our requests be made known to God and to be RECEIVED by him with love and grace and joy and gladness.

Sometimes I can tell what my kid is going to ask for before they say it. But I still want them to ask so that they can see my big smile and be reminded that I love to fulfill their requests. I want them to EXPERIENCE me receiving them and their asking.

[Philippians 4:7]

And then verse 7 continues from there and says, “...and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.”

God’s peace doesn’t make sense. It’s not something that we can figure out. It surpasses understanding.

It’s not something we can reverse-engineer. We can’t understand it!

It’s not something that we can hack our way into. Because it’s beyond our capability to understand.

God’s peace doesn’t make sense, but his peace can settle all our fears.

“...and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Let’s look at that word “guard.” It’s not a passive word.

This isn’t “passive” peace that Paul is referring to here. This isn’t “keeping the peace” by keeping quiet. This is sit-on-the-couch-and-just-let-things-happen…it’s not like a “whatever man” kind of peace.

This is the peace of God guarding — in an active way — your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Let’s talk about “hearts and minds.” That’s our feelings and thoughts.

Emotions sometimes feel like they can sway our entire day and thoughts sometimes won’t stop and feel overwhelming.

But Paul wants to drive it home that it’s “...the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Don’t guard your hearts and minds in ANYTHING LESS than Christ Jesus.

Christ Jesus, who is the unstoppable, undefeatable,

all-powerful creator of the universe,

Savior of our souls,

And FRIEND who wants us to draw near to him in prayer because he calls us friend.

He calls you his friend. And THAT’S why we don’t have to worry. We don’t have to be stressed.

“Do not be anxious about anything (and I mean ANYTHING), but in everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) by prayer and asking, with gratitude, let your requests be made known to God. And you know what happens then? THEN…the PEACE of God — which surpasses all understanding — will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, the Prince of Peace.”

Do you see the movement? Stress is the signal → Prayer is the response → Peace is the result.

[Stress isn’t a sin]

Anxiety, worry, stress — those aren’t sin. God tells us not to live in that way because he knows how it robs from us, but they aren’t the actual issue. They are a signal of a deeper issue, and it’s a good idea to take that signal as a reminder that it’s time to pray.

Because anxiety, worry, stress… they aren’t a fruit of the Spirit. They aren’t the types of things that we WANT to grow in our lives. They aren’t gifts from God for our full life.

Anxiety and worry and stress are the fruit of Fear. And when we’re afraid, when we’re experiencing fear, we seek out security and protection. We seek out SOMETHING to help us feel better, something to help take away the anxiety, something to lessen the stress.

But when we try and manufacture that security ourselves, when we seek out coping mechanisms, the security and protection we receive are never complete. They don’t lead to Peace.

[Matthew 11:28-29]

That’s why Jesus beckons us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you REST.” … “learn from me, for I am gentle…and you will find rest for your souls.”

Jesus isn’t far off when we’re feeling the heavy burdens of life. Those are signals that he’s calling you, that he wants to invite you into his REST.

[John 14:27]

And we know that the world doesn’t give us peace. The world gives us comparison, and striving, and stress, and anxiety, and control, and fear. Because the world wants to transform us into a weaker, worried version of ourselves.

But Jesus gives peace. Jesus wants to transform us with his peace. Jesus wants to transform us through prayer to become more and more like him: more trusting, confident, more obedient to whatever he calls us to that day, because we know that he is in control.

[Don’t worry]

Jesus doesn’t want you to worry yourself to death. He invites you to pray yourself into his peace.

Do you have peace? Do you feel like your life is marked by a constant saturation of peace? Because Jesus wants to give you peace!

We are two weeks away from school starting up again, and so we feel all the frenetic pace of fall kickoff.

Families are trying to fit in those last few summer activities while also trying to catch up on getting their kids back on a regular sleep schedule so that they can wake up early enough to go to school.

They're trying to go shopping for all the school supplies. Teachers and educators are getting ready to kick off their school year and preparing themselves emotionally for another year with difficult students and possible conflicts with families and stuff.

Farmers in our community are gearing up for a busy harvest season and hoping that the rains continue but that the storms don't ruin their crops, that the yield of their harvest is enough but isn't so much that prices drop everywhere.

Everyone is kind of feeling the strain of wanting to look forward to fall and fall activities, but we're worried about the fact that we're already halfway through the year and we haven't nearly done all the things we hoped to do.

We are more than halfway through the year and we've forgotten about our New Year's resolutions. Our goals for our finances or for our family have fallen by the wayside and we're feeling guilty about not saving up as much as we thought and not going on that vacation we said that we wanted to do.

Here we are feeling a little guilty, feeling a little ashamed, feeling a little sad that the year has gotten away from us.

But Jesus is telling you, “Do not be anxious, because you can turn to me in prayer.” Jesus doesn’t want you to worry yourself to death, so he is inviting you to pray yourself into his peace.

And we need to be reminded that Jesus cares about these details of our lives. He’s not JUST concerned with how regularly you attend church on Sunday. He’s not only concerned with the last time you prayed or read the Bible.

[big enough]

He’s also concerned about the things we worry about. As pastor Craig Groeschel says, “If it’s big enough to worry about, it’s big enough to pray about.”

Jesus cares about the things in your life because he cares about YOUR LIFE and he wants to invite you into a better plan for life, his better plan for life, so that you can experience the full and abundant life that he created you for.

[blank]

So I don’t want you to wait any longer to turn to God in prayer. I don't want you to ignore the check engine light for days and days and weeks and months like so many people often do. I don't want you to ignore the signs while you are carrying the heavy burdens.

Jesus is inviting you to draw near to Him in prayer right now. Jesus is offering a way to pray yourself into His peace right now. Jesus is beckoning you to stop trying to carry and manage and control and worry yourself over all your different parts of life.

Instead, he wants you to recognize that He is walking with you right now and every day, inviting you into His way of life with every opportunity so that you are not living life alone but are joining Jesus in the life that He prepared you for.

[Note it]

Don’t ignore the signal. Don’t wait another day. But what I want you to do right now (and anytime you notice the signal of stress or worry) is to “Note it. Then pray it.”

Note it. Write something down. Write down what the biggest source of stress or worry is for you. And I literally want you to do that right now, or make a note to remind yourself to do it later this afternoon.

What is stressing you out? What is causing you worry? And then take that to God in prayer. You can write your prayer, speak your prayer, whisper your prayer, however you need to do it to turn to God in prayer.

Because Jesus isn’t waiting for you to get yourself together before you turn to him. He’s inviting you to come to him right now! And we’re commanded not to be anxious, but to present our requests to God in prayer, so that he can replace our worry with his peace.

And as we continue to develop prayer as a regular habit, as a daily practice, as an every-moment-type of thing, we will find that the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding WILL guard our hearts and minds, even as we face new stressful situations.

[21 Days]

So if you haven’t signed up for our 21 Days of Prayer yet, do it! Because if you haven’t created a daily habit of prayer, this will help you get it started. And if you already DO have a habit of prayer, this will allow our whole church to be uniting together in prayer at the same time for the same things, so that God can do his transformation work in all of us together!

And with these tools, the next time you feel stressed…the next time you experience anxiety…turn to God in prayer. Note it then pray it.

And experience God’s loving presence receive you with joy and gladness, because his beloved child has turned to him. Isn’t that good news?