How do you stop worrying? That seems like the million dollar question. We know what we worry about. We usually worry about earthly things. We worry about food and drink and clothing. We worry about physical needs.
In Matthew 6:31 – 34 Jesus says…
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Think about your conversations for a minute. How often do your conversations revolve around the need for more money or more things that money can buy like food, drink, clothing or possessions? The things we worry about are the same things that every person worries about. Jesus says, “the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” Do you really believe that God knows what you need?
If you believe that the cross of Christ has set you free from your sin then you should not be imprisoned or bound to worry or anxiety. If you trust in Christ then you are free to live worry free. But we still worry sometimes. We still struggle with anxiety sometimes. So how do we stop worrying? How do we resist the stomach churning, mind-numbing spiral of anxiety when we feel it setting into our souls?
Here’s a thought. The gospel is like a fresh drink of water to a thirsty person or a cheeseburger and fries to a hungry man or a set of clothing to a naked person. If what I’ve just said is true then I think the way we stop the worrying is by taking Jesus’ words seriously here when he says “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” So what’s the first thing you should do when worry pops up? You should seek first. Seek first the Kingdom (presence) of God. Seek first the righteous presence of Christ. Seek first means to seek first not seek later.
It’s like little prayer alarms. Your worry meter starts to go off and it’s a reminder or an alarm telling you to wake up and seek first. What happens when you ignore your alarm clock in the morning? Things go badly right? It’s the same way with worry alarms. When you ignore those twinges of worry and you don’t seek first the presence of Christ things go badly. You overspend. You become selfish instead of generous. You become a consumer who doesn’t want to contribute. Every moment that you are tempted to worry is just another opportunity to find your satisfaction, fulfillment, provision and security in Christ. It’s another opportunity to seek first.
Are you seeking the presence of Jesus through regular study of the Bible and prayer? Are you surrendering your life to Christ’s control through regular confession? Are you trusting in the power of Jesus to provide for you as you behave wisely and generously with your time, talent and treasure? Have you found Jesus to be of such infinite worth to you that you spend your days seeking him first instead of talking about what you worry about? What we worry about reveals the reasons for our worry, which gives us the opportunity to seek Christ first.