Episode #15: Transforming Anxiety into Faith through Scripture

Ever felt overwhelmed by worry and wondered if there's a way to truly let go of your anxieties? Explore the transformative teachings of Jesus in Matthew 6:25-34 and Philippians 4:6-7, guiding us to shift our focus from worry to faith and trust in God's provision. Join Stephanie on the All Is Well podcast as she illustrates how to cast your cares upon the Lord and embrace the peace He offers, even amidst life's uncertainties.

In this insightful episode, you’ll learn actionable steps to prioritize God's kingdom and righteousness, discovering the profound impact this shift can have on alleviating your anxieties. Through real-life examples and biblical passages, Stephanie empowers you to replace your anxious thoughts with a steadfast trust in God's promises. Grab your Bible, take notes, and prepare to embark on a journey toward a worry-free life through the wisdom of God's Word.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:02

Hello, my name is Stephanie. Welcome to the All Is Well podcast. My mission is to teach people the Word of God and emphasize its importance in their daily lives. I'm glad you decided to join me today. Let's get started. Welcome to episode 15.

Speaker 1 0:22

So on today's episode, I'm going to teach on casting all your cares on the Lord and show you what happens when you let God's peace overtake you rather than your anxious thoughts. So before we begin, and if you're sitting in your home, make sure that you have a Bible and your notes so that way you can go ahead and follow along. So let's start off with the book of Matthew, matthew, chapter 6, verse 25. So in Matthew, chapter 6, verse 25, about your body, what you will put on Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you, by worrying, can add one cubic to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin. And yet I say to you that even Solomon, in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these Verse 30. Now, if God so clothes the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is, thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, o you of little faith? Therefore, do not worry saying what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles seek, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. So, from verse 25 all the way up into verse 31, he is telling us that we do not need to worry. Jesus is telling us not to worry about what we're going to eat, what we're going to wear, about those things in life. So if he's telling us not to worry, so if he's telling us not to worry, then what do we do? So this is what he says to do instead. So in verse 33, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. So this is what we need to do. Instead of worrying about things, about situations in our life, he says but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. What does that mean? Well, to seek God and his righteousness, that's to put God's kingdom first. Fix your eyes on Jesus. It means to seek the things of God above the things of the world. And when we do this, what does he say here in verse 33 again but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. So then, in this case, and what he's talking about when you're focusing on Jesus, when you're focusing on his kingdom, then you're not worrying about everything else. Then the things that you do need, he will provide them to you. That is how his kingdom works. Remember, there is no lack with Jesus. Verse 34,. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. So remember, right here, he's already given us instruction of what to do not to worry, but to focus and to fix our eyes on Jesus, and then he'll take care of everything else, because our worrying is not going to do anything.

Speaker 1 3:54

Before we get into our next scripture, let's define what anxious really means. Being anxious means experiencing worry, unease or nervousness, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome, and that's usually what it is. If there's a situation you're in maybe your boss is calling you into the office and you don't know what's happening you start to feel anxious, all these worry thoughts start to come in, because that's an uncertain outcome. You don't know what's going to happen. So also some other similar words for this would be worried, fearful, uneasy, and so that's opposite of God's peace, so that's opposite of focusing our attention on God.

Speaker 1 4:41

Let's go to the next chapter. So the next chapter is in Philippians, chapter 4. So in Philippians, chapter 4, verse 6 and 7, be anxious for nothing. What does it tell us? To be anxious for Nothing, absolutely nothing. It doesn't matter if you lost your job, you lost your house, you lost your dog, you don't have enough money, your friends all left you. It says be anxious for nothing, don't be anxious. So again, just like I told you before, if he's telling us not to do something, then he's going to give us some instruction of what we need to do. So it says be anxious for nothing. But what? In everything, by prayer. So it says in everything, pray.

Speaker 1 5:28

If you start to feel some anxiousness start to come on, don't live in that, don't dwell in that, but pray, get rid of of that, get rid of those anxious thoughts right away, but instead, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. So you pray, whatever that situation is, and then you thank god for bringing you out of there. Thank you, god for handling the, for taking care of it. You're thanking him. When you thank him, you're not worrying. And then it says let your request be made known to God. You're letting your request be made known to God, what you would like to happen in that situation, and when you do this, what will happen? And you allow God to come into your heart and you allow God and you give him your request and you pray and you're thanking him and telling him what you need. When you are doing that, you're casting all your cares on him and when you do that, the peace of God will cover your heart and mind.

Speaker 1 6:47

And then it reads here it surpasses all understanding. What does that even mean? It means that when you may be going through a situation but you decide not to be anxious about it and you pray and you give it to God, then you have peace in your mind and your heart. And some people may look at you and think why are you not anxious? Why are you not worried? It surpasses it. May look like that you would be nervous and anxious, but you're not, because God instructs us not to go that route. And it says his peace will guard your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus, but only if you let him and only if you allow him to do this in your life. So I want to read that verse again Be anxious for nothing, absolutely nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Because when you have his peace guarding your heart and your mind, it's easier for you to think You're able to get through that situation because you're calm and you know what. It looks easy. Because it is easy? Because Jesus says for my yoke is easy and my burden is light, but for everyone else who is not attached to him, it's going to look confusing, it's going to look difficult, it's going to look hard, but if you fix your eyes on Jesus and you let his peace surround you, it is going to be easy, and I've experienced that myself. It looks like things were difficult, and it should be, but then I have his peace in my heart and that situation looks easy. This is not hard. It's easy because he says my burden is light and my yoke is easy.

Speaker 1 8:46

Now, another verse I want to go over is in Proverbs, chapter 12, verse 25. It reads anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. So it's telling you what anxiety does. It weighs you down, it doesn't give you peace, but remember God's peace does, but it says a good word, makes him glad. Now let's turn on over to Matthew, chapter 14. So in Matthew, chapter 14, verse 22,.

Speaker 1 9:16

This is when Peter walks on the water, verse 22,. The mountain by himself, to pray. Now, when evening came, he was alone there, but the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Verse 25,. Now, in the fourth watch of the night, jesus went to them walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying it is a ghost, and they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying Be of good cheer, it is, I Do not be afraid. Verse 28,. And Peter answered him and said Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. So he said Come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. So right here, peter had his eyes and he was focused on Jesus. That's why he could walk on the water and he had peace.

Speaker 1 10:34

And then it says here in verse 30, but when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid. So he took his eyes off of Jesus and he began to look at the outside situation. He began to look everywhere else besides Jesus. So he began to see that the wind was boisterous and he was afraid. So then doubt started to creep in and, beginning to sink, he cried out saying Lord, save me Verse 31,. And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him and said to him O, you of little faith, why did you doubt, do you see here?

Speaker 1 11:17

Jesus didn't respond by saying I'm sorry that I told you to come out here. I should have known that the wind and the storm was very dangerous. I know that you're not able to. He didn't even say that at all. He said he didn't feel sorry for him. He said why did you doubt he didn't feel sorry for him? He said why did you doubt? He was telling him because you let the outside situations affect you.

Speaker 1 11:42

Then, concentrating on me, you started to sink. You started to have fear and you started to have worry. And so this is what happens when we start to get anxious, or we start to get worried or fearful, we're removing our eyes from Jesus. Worried or fearful, we're removing our eyes from Jesus, and then we're making our situation much bigger than Jesus, and when we do that, we're not letting him fix the situation. But when we keep our eyes focused on him, then the peace of God will surround our heart and mind in Christ Jesus and we're able to get through that situation so easy because, just like I said before, his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

Speaker 1 12:25

So what I would recommend for you to do today is to meditate on these scriptures, and every time that you start to feel an anxious thought or you know already, every time I do this, I get anxious or I start to get worried Well, pray the opposite. Pray these scriptures over yourselves. Be anxious for nothing. Thank you, god, that I'm not anxious. Thank you, god, that you have taken care of that situation already. Speak to the storm. Don't let the storm define how you will feel. So keep meditating on these scriptures, keep speaking God's peace over your life, and thank you for tuning in. If you have not accepted Jesus into your life, say the salvation prayer with me. Heavenly Father, I admit that I have sinned. I repent. I believe in my heart. You raised Jesus from the dead. I confess with my mouth Jesus is Lord and my Savior. Right now I receive forgiveness. I'm glad you prayed that salvation prayer. Make sure that you plug yourself into a spirit-filled church and read the Word of God. Well, I hope you enjoy the message and thank you for tuning in.