Worry Is Like A Boa Constrictor Squeezing Your Ability To Think Clearly

Worry can feel like responsibility, but it slowly turns into a vise that squeezes the life out of you. We slow down and listen closely to Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:25–34, where he doesn’t offer a vague pep talk. He gives a direct command, “Do not worry,” and then points to the birds of the air and the lilies of the field as a picture of a Father who sees, knows, and provides. If you’ve been living with anxiety about money, security, or the basics of life, this conversation is meant to reset your inner compass toward trust and peace.  

We focus on the line that grips us most: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” For many of us raised in the United States, “kingdom” can sound distant because we’re trained to think in elections, control, and constant self-management. A kingdom works differently because it has a king. We talk through what it means to seek the King, not just benefits, and how that shift changes your decisions about time, relationships, and what you chase all day.  

Then we get practical with three clear steps for Christian living: let go of anxious worry, obey God’s voice, and make God your foundation rather than an afterthought. We also share how you can recognize when you’ve truly found the kingdom of God: there’s a new master, unshakable peace even under pressure, and a changed heart that wants to love and give like Jesus. If you’re ready for a calmer, steadier life rooted in faith, listen now, subscribe, share with a friend who needs peace, and leave a review. And if you want to talk with us, drop us a line at lifearoundthefire@gmail.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:30

The thing I find amazing about Jesus is that his works, the things that Jesus did, miracles, signs, wonders, acts of just incredible kindness, healings, deliverance from demonic oppression, real kingdom of God demonstrations of

Why Jesus’ Words Still Matter

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the Lord's glory and his power came through Jesus. The works of the kingdom. But and this really, really, really underscore, really caught my attention over the course of the past few years. And it's this the words, the works and the words, the words that Jesus said, the things that came out of his mouth, the truths that he revealed, are so potent and powerful that two thousand years later, we're still using them all throughout our lives, sometimes without us even realizing that they are statements that Jesus made. And in Matthew, chapter six, Matthew's Gospel, chapter six, Jesus is in the middle of this powerful message, and there were people that were literally thronging from the surrounding area in Israel. Judea, Samaria, all the surrounding areas came to hear him. Thousands upon thousands of people came to hear, many just to catch a word that Jesus was saying because his words were so full of life. But here's the thing: not only were they full of life, they still are filled with life because they're eternal. They bear weight. And one of the things that Jesus emphasized over and over again was for us not to worry or to allow fear to motivate us. Anxiety and fear are not good motivators. They're reactions that we have to certain things, but they're not good motivators. We don't really need to motivate ourselves over and over and over by fear or by anxiety. In order to get the job done, we've got to reach a certain level of anxiety. Some have lives like that, but I believe that God wants to set us free from having that type of lifestyle, and to have one that's filled with righteousness, where things are in right order. Peace, shalom, where there are no needs present whatsoever. There's that settled peace everything to take care of. And joy, that undercurrent of joy that comes, knowing that not only was everything taken care of, but things are going to be good and take care of because God is in ultimate control. And in his discourse, in Matthew, the sixth chapter, where we pick up his sermon, it's so powerful that people literally are thronging from all over the region, walking sometimes for days, to hear Jesus, to hear him. When was the last time you really, really just could hardly wait to hear somebody share something? Well, hopefully it's not been that long for you, but for some of us it has been perhaps we've never had that experience with someone shared something, and it really just it was it was impacting. It changed our lives. Well, that has happened and is happening to me continually from the things that Jesus said, and I want to read from Matthew chapter six, verses twenty five through verse thirty four. And the statement above this portion just simply says, Do not worry. So we pick up Jesus saying, Therefore I tell you, do not

Reading Matthew 6 Do Not Worry

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worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap, or store away in the barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow? They do not labor or spin, yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all of his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you? O you of little faith. 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 today or tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Powerful reality and the reality that Jesus presented to this group of people had an impact on each person, I'm sure, a little differently. An overall understanding, but there were certain things that when God speaks to you, it's as though He's only speaking to you. And that's what's happened to me over and over again concerning the teachings of Jesus. He's speaking right to me. I know he's speaking to all of us on some respects, and I know that he's speaking to a group of people that were active then. The settings are real clear, and so I understand that that was then, but there's something about the word of God that continues to bear fruit. And his statements are continually bearing fruit in my life. And one portion from this passage really stands out to me and has for quite some time, and it's this seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Okay. That really has a grip on me. Seeking first the kingdom

Seek First The Kingdom

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of God and his righteousness, and by doing that, everything else falls into place. Now I was born and raised in the Western hemisphere of the world, in America, United States of America. And so we have what's type of democracy, where every four years or six years we have elected officials that run for office, and they can either have their terms renewed,

Kingdom Thinking Versus Democracy

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or there's a new person that comes in, voted in. A democratic society, which is different than a kingdom. A kingdom doesn't operate that way. A kingdom operates on the basis of a monarchy or a theocracy. If it's the kingdom of God, it's God, it's Theos. God. It is God being king. And that's a foreign concept to many of us in the Western Hemisphere, and for some of us who are living in countries that are not dictatorships or kingdoms, the discussion of the kingdom is rather, I don't know, it's uh something sometimes elusive. But Jesus emphasized the kingdom of God so much that it's one of the main things that he talked about. And so I literally had to ask God a very basic question. God, uh Father, how how do I seek? How do I seek the kingdom? How do I go about seeking the king? I don't know how to look for a kingdom. And here's some of the things that have come to the surface for me. Number one, let go of anxious worry, right? Do not worry. Stop making survival, money or material things the main goal of your waking life. David, stop making survival, money or material things the main goal of my life, of my waking life.

Three Ways To Seek God

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Let go of anxious worry. You know, worry, anxiety, they have a tendency to constrict us on the inside. Like a bow constrictor. They get a hold of us, they squeeze. It's a way of squeezing the life out of us. Sheer, worry, anxiety of that nature, it's like a bowl constrictor. Squeeze is squeeze life out of us. Let go of anxious worry. That means we can let go of it. Some of us have been doing it so long that our fingers are like welded to it. Worry and anxiety. But you can, we can let go, and we can stop. Sometimes with the help of God. And I'm sure most often, maybe always with the help of God. But nonetheless, we can let go of and stop living in worry and anxiety.

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Hallelujah. Thank you, God. Next, in how to seek the kingdom, obey God's voice.

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Let his commands and love guide your daily choices, time and relationships instead of our own selfish desires. Okay. Obey God's voice. David, let God's commands and his love guide you daily in your choices, in your time, and in your relationships, instead of those things being your own selfish desires, obey God's voice. Jesus said, if you love me, you will obey my commands. Love responds with action. And when we are impacted by the love of God, the response that comes from us to Him is love and a desire to obey. Whereas before we did not have a desire to obey, we were rebellious by nature.

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Sin, rebellion, we go hand in hand.

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But the blood of Jesus, the shed blood of Jesus applied to our lives, breaks the power of that rebellious nature and releases to us the very attributes of God. And being obedient, Jesus was obedient all the way through. To the point where he is still obedient, seated at the right hand of the Father, right now, teaching us how to be obedient. To obey God's voice is one of the ways that we seek the kingdom. How do you seek it? You obey God's voice. How do you increase your faith? You obey God's voice. Obedience. How to seek the kingdom? The last one I'm going to mention today is make God your foundation. Treat spending time with Him and pursuing His goodness as your starting point, not an afterthought when you're desperate.

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Making God your foundation.

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In other words, David, treat spending

Make God Your Foundation

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time with God and pursuing his goodness as your starting point, not an afterthought when you're desperate. Making God our foundation. The wise and the foolish builder. Jesus shared a parable about there was a wise builder and foolish builder. The foolish builder built his house on sand. The foundation was not good. And so when the storm and the waves came and beat against that house, it crashed. And the wise man built his house on a rock. Strong foundation. And the wind and the waves came, hit it, and it stood the test. It stood the test. That's us when our foundation, when our life is built on God being our focal point. Hallelujah. Not an afterthought when we're desperate. How do I know when I have found the kingdom? Question I had to ask. God, how do I know is why I've even found the kingdom? And again, these things I got they highlight, I got highlighted. And so one of the ways that I know when I found the kingdom of God is there's a new master.

Signs You Found The Kingdom

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New master.

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God's guidance becomes your highest authority, replacing your need to control everything yourself. A new master. In other words, David, God's guidance becomes your highest authority, replacing your need to control everything yourself. A new master is one of the ways you know when you found the kingdom of God. Secondly, unshakable peace. Ah, I love that. Unshakable peace. You feel calm inside even when facing hard times, hunger or stress, because you trust you are in God's hands. In other words, David, you feel calm inside even when you're facing hard times,

Unshakable Peace Over Anxiety

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hunger or stress, because you trust in the fact that you are in God's hands. And that's true. I have that shalom, that inner core of peace, regardless of the situation around me. Oh, and sometimes sometimes that that core looks to move, and I get filled with anxious, you know, that anxious thing, I stop from doing it, and I say, nope, nope, nope, not going to go any further. I don't have to necessarily say that out loud, but I stop and I go no further, and I yield myself over to God again. And that peace will be realized because God is faithful to respond to things in our lives when we're seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness. There's unshakable peace that comes with that. There is an unshakable peace. If you're filled with anxiety and you're taking medication because of it, man, my heart goes out to you. I understand how that happens. And yet, pills are not the solution. They can provide a little bit of a breather, but if we're not careful, they can become a bigger problem than just living life without them.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

I'm talking about pills. Instead of a pill? Oh, come on.

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God is in the process of delivering many people that I know from things that have been long-standing issues that are being set free from them right now because God is doing something significant across the nations in revealing his presence.

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And so with his presence comes peace, because peace is a person who has a presence, and that's Jesus. Hallelujah. How do you know that you found the kingdom? A changed heart.

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Your selfish passions grow weaker, and you feel a natural desire to love and give to others the way Jesus did. In other words, when you see you have a changed heart, David, your selfish passions grow weaker, and you feel a natural desire to

Changed Heart And God’s Abundance

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love and give to others the way that Jesus did.

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And you know, again, folks, that is absolutely the truth.

SPEAKER_01 21:56

We are called to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and the things of life will be added to us. And not just the basics. The basics are that's like a given. There are other things we look to God for that are beyond that, and he is faithful to meet us and to provide for us. Because one thing God is not, God is not stingy. He is abundant in what he does, and his love is abundant, his joy is abundant, his peace is abundant, his righteousness is abundant.

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Abundance, abundant joy. Hallelujah.

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So we can we can seek the kingdom, we can also know when we found it. And by your spirit, I ask that you'd give us the ability to seek first your kingdom, your righteousness, that develops us into being one heart, one mind, to walk like Jesus individually and collectively, to find ourselves functioning as ambassadors of

Prayer And How To Reach Us

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the kingdom of God.

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Help us reach the nations, God, so that Jesus, your return, so that your return will meet you with great anticipation from those who love you and are called according to your purpose.

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So Lord, lead us and guide us according to your ways, establish us according to your purposes, strengthen us by the power of your spirit in the very name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen. Alright, folks, we love you. And if you have any thoughts, questions, concerns, please feel free to look us up on the actually, actually give us a call. No, better yet, drop us a line. Drop us a line at LifeAroundTheFire at gmail.com. That's our email address, lifearoundheir at gmail.com, or just type in life around the fire and look us up on the web. Either way, we would love to hear from you. In the meantime, God bless you. Adios, amigos.