The Cure for Anxiety

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; not for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.” -Matthew 6:25-29,
“Do not worry then, saying, “what will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear for clothing?” For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” -Matthew 6:31-34

I don’t know about you, but I am prone to thinking about the future. Part of my personality is strategy so I am always running scenarios in my head. If I cannot find a best scenario, I start to feel like Jesus is telling me the above. “Don’t worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.” In attempting to plan sometimes we go overboard, and our nerves go with it. Our society has anxiety issues; Prozac and Zoloft sell more than gumdrops, and lollipops. How much of this could be healed if we had faith that God is watching our backs. The birds don’t plant anything to eat, they don’t really work at all, but God feeds them.
We sometimes lose sight of what we need, and Satan convinces us that everything we want is what we need. When our need becomes our want, we are more prone to worrying. Because it is difficult to acquire all we want, even assuming that those wants are healthy and realistic.

What this means for our worship.
To Worship God involves trusting him, knowing he will provide for us. The Jews would call him Jehovah-Jireh, the provider. If we know he will provide us with our needs, our anxiety dissipates. When Moses was on mount Sinai receiving the law, God sustained him for forty days and nights. Moses didn’t need to spend any time or thought on food or even sleep. God sustained him completely. Read the book of Exodus if that sounds interesting to you, it is a colorful majestic book.
All this to say we should not bring worry to worship, if anything we should let go of our anxiety and hold onto God’s presence.
We don’t want to let go of everything and be empty when we worship, we need that passion that desire and heart for God. Let go of distractions yes, hold on to the Good.

What makes you anxious? Are there any wants that have become needs in your mind? Do you bring worry to your worship of God?