There was a guy named Bob Redrow who was on his first business trip to Japan. He and his colleagues were picked up by a van to be taken to their meeting, and during the ride Bob became anxious and upset by the driver. The van was zipping through the narrow streets… and all the while the driver was constantly turning around to talk to his passengers. Finally, Bob had enough and… as politely as he could - he asked their host to please turn around and focus on the road. The man gave Bob a strange look, but turned around and faced forward. One of Bob’s colleagues leaned over to Bob and asked, “What was that all about?” Bob answered, “He is gonna get us killed. He’s not paying attention to the road!” His friend replied, “Bob, the steering wheel is on the right. That guy’s not driving.”
Bob had become (PAUSE) anxious and worried because he assumed he knew everything about his situation. But he didn’t know everything. He’d didn’t know that - in Japan - people drive on the other side of the road (than we do) and that their steering wheels are on the RIGHT (not the left) side of their cars. In fact, most of the world drives on the “wrong” side of the road.
For the past few weeks we’ve been focusing on “Favorite Verses” that people have and our favorite verse for today is I Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxieties on Him (on God), because He cares for you.”
Now why would God bother to tell us to cast all our anxieties on HIM? Well, because we have a problem that way. We tend to get anxious… a lot.
ILLUS: One church site put it this way: Our lives are filled with anxieties. “A frightening diagnosis. A financial setback. A deadline you can’t meet. A relationship you can’t repair. A global pandemic disrupting every aspect of life. The possibilities are endless, but the result is the same. Stress, worry, and anxiety can overtake you. and it can paralyze your life.” (https://real-life.northviewchurch.us/felt-needs/stress-worry-anxiety/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw9ZGYBhCEARIsAEUXITWxDbiUSMDQB8ARuPOA5RB-eoV3MHnXaz9sP-fBcr1g5ILTJrL5l10aAi-WEALw_wcB)
The English word for "WORRY" comes from an old Anglo-Saxon word meaning - “to strangle.” And that’s precisely what happens when stress, worry and anxiety take control of us. They can strangle us… and paralyze us with fear.
And yet God says we have the ability to overcome worry in our lives. We have the ABILITY to control our fears. Philippians 4:6 says “Be anxious for nothing”
We’re not supposed to be anxious, but – too often – we are. We ARE anxious. It seems almost normal to be worried about stuff. But God says – don’t do that! Don’t be anxious. Why not?
Well, anxiety is not good for us. It robs us of sleep and peace and health. According to Dr. Charles Mayo (one of the founders of the Mayo Clinic) “Worry affects the circulation, the heart, the glands, the whole nervous system. I have never known a man who died from overwork, but many who died from doubt.”
ILLUS: American Institute of Stress notes that “75 to 90 percent of all visits to a primary care physician’s office are related to stress disorders.”
Don’t they have pills to handle stress & anxiety? Yes. There is an abundance of pills like Ambien and others. In fact Americans consume five billion tranquilizers, 5 billion barbiturates, 3 billion amphetamines, and 16 tons of aspirin every year. Much of that “medicine” (according to the American Institute of Stress) is taken to help alleviate stress or the resulting headaches and pain associated with stress.
So pills can help. But according to one insomnia expert (Gregg Jacobs, an insomnia expert with The Sleep Disorders Center at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) “it isn’t that Ambien doesn’t work. It’s just that while drugs like Ambien get you to sleep, they don’t get at the stress and anxiety, which are often the underlying cause of insomnia.” Once you’re off the drug, insomnia usually returns with a vengeance.
So, pills can help but they don’t solve the problem. In fact, worry doesn’t solve our problems either. We can worry and fret all day long and our problems will still be there. Our anxiety won’t fix our fears!
What’s the core problem in our being anxious? Well, it’s the same as it was for Bob, the businessman who visited Japan. He was anxious because he thought he KNEW everything about his situation. But there was something he DIDN’T know. And because there was something he didn’t know, he became anxious and irritable and unreasonable.
And the same is true of us: If there’s something we don’t understand; if there’s something we failed to take into consideration, fear and anxiety can come into our lives like a flood and overwhelm us.
But, what is it we might have failed to understand? Well, if we’re anxious, it’s because we’ve failed to understand that we can cast our anxieties on God. Did you realize that “NOT ONCE does the Bible say “Worry about it.” Or “Stress over it.” Or even “Get over it.” But over and over again, Scripture clearly says: “Trust God.” Just cast all your anxieties upon Him… because He cares for you.
Someone put it this way: “When we worry, we believe more in our problems than in God's promises.” (Croft M. Pentz, The Complete Book of Zingers; Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1990).
Promises… what promises? Well, promises like “I’ll never leave you, nor forsake you (that’s a promise). And WHY would God never leave or forsake you? Because He cares for us. One of the most powerful Scriptures about this is found in Romans 8:31-39 - “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died — more than that, who was raised — who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We don’t have to worry. Jesus is always interceding for us. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Now, we need to be clear here: God doesn’t promise that the causes of our anxiety will disappear. He just promises that (when we look to Him) our anxiety will disappear.
ILLUS: My grandson Benjamin loves to have me tell him Bible Bedtime stories, but he usually wants the same one over and over again. And the one I’ve been telling him for the past few weeks is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. King Nebuchadnezzar has built a huge statue of himself and demanded that everyone bow down and worship his statue. But Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse to bow down. They loved God more than they feared the king. The King is furious hauls them into his throne room and demands that they worship heat up the furnace 7 times hotter than normal: “Then what God will be able to save you!?” Bravely, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego reply: “Our God is able to save us!”
So, the King was impressed with their faith and he shut off the furnace and then sent them home! Well no, that’s not how the story goes is it? They played the music and everyone bowed down except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and the King had his soldiers bind them in ropes and threw them in the fire. Wait a minute! That’s not the way this is supposed to go. These were men of faith. They’re NOT supposed to be thrown in the fire. But they were. I thought God would never leave or forsake His people! Well, God didn’t leave them… and He didn’t forsake them.
I recently read a meme that said this: “Remember Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? God didn’t put out the fire. He just put Jesus in there with them and they came out unsinged and without smoke. It’s not about God putting out your fires; it’s about Who’s in there with you.”
So sometimes God doesn’t put out the fire. Sometimes He doesn’t remove the cause of our anxiety… but then, sometimes He does.
ILLUS: There was once an older woman whose son lived with her in a small apartment. Her son was basically a free loader who did nothing all day but sit in front of the TV and sleep while she worked. When she would get home, he’d ask her what was for supper. She had just been to the doctor and had been informed that she MUST take time off and get bed rest and not do any significant labor if she was to regain her health. It was then that she went to a Christian counselor frantically hoping he could help her figure her solve her situation. The counselor then asked if she was a Christian. “Yes,” she replied. “What will happen if you take the time off?” he asked. “Well, we’ll run out of money, our food will eventually run out and the rent will not get paid.” “Then what will happen?” he asked. “I’ll probably get sicker each day.” she responded. “Then what will happen?” “I’ll probably die!” “Ok, then what will happen?” She paused for a few moments… and then said, “I guess I’ll go to be with Jesus.” He looked in her eyes and asked, “If you’re a Christian, isn’t that an acceptable alternative?” Somehow this gave her a new insight and courage to face her difficulties. She went home to her apartment and went to bed. Then her lazy son came home… and finding her in bed, he asked what was wrong. “I’m sick,” she responded. “Well, aren’t you going to work?” “I can’t. I won’t be able to go back to work for some time?” He nervously began to look around and then asked “but how will we buy food?” “I don’t know, I guess we won’t be able to get any.” “But we’ll starve! What are we going to do?” She smiled faintly and said “Well, I guess, we might die.” The next day… he went out and got a job.
So… sometimes, when we trust God, God can work serious miracles.
That leaves us with one last question: how can we learn to cast our anxiety on him? Well, the answer is found in Philippians 4:4-7. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. THE LORD IS AT HAND; 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 passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
The Lord is at hand. He’s never going to leave or forsake you. So come into His presence with prayer and thanksgiving and pray as someone who believes God will hear and answer you.
THE RESULT: “The peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” His peace doesn’t even make sense. It passes all understanding! And yet, His peace will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
And how do we get that peace? Well, it all comes down to remembering who is has control. Remembering who has the wheel.
ILLUS: There’s an old saying “Let God be your co-pilot!” which others have corrected to say “If God is your co-pilot, switch seats.” The idea of you being the pilot implies that YOU are in charge, and co-pilot assists you. It’s all a matter of putting God in charge of your life.
CLOSE: In my files I have the story of a man named Dave who was a pilot. The preacher who baptized him was always impressed by the man’s attention to detail. Dave always went through his check list before flying. He made sure everything was working properly. He didn’t take any chances. He did everything by the book. His daughters told the preacher about the times Dave would take them flying he would allow them to take the wheel and fly the plane. When his daughters became comfortable with the handling of the plane, Dave even taught them to do loops. Knowing how meticulous Dave was, the preacher was surprised. He asked them “You mean, your father really took his hands off the wheel?” And they said no. A daughter would be in the front seat flying the plane, but dad was in the back with his hand on the wheel. His daughters felt as if they were flying the plane, but ultimately their father was in control.
So the question this morning is: Is the Father in control of your life, or are you still trying be in charge… you just let Him assist you? That’s not a good idea. The only way to deal with anxiety is to put God completely in control of your life.
If you’re not a Christian, that may be because you don’t want God to control some aspect of your life. Either you don’t want to believe that Jesus was who He said He is; or you don’t want to give up the sins of your life (Repent); or you don’t want to surrender your life to Him and confess that He will now own you and all that you have; or you don’t want to surrender to Him and be buried in the waters of baptism.
Here’s the deal: if you surrender to Him, you really lose nothing… except the anxiety, and worries and fears of this world.
INVITATION
