The Gospel and Your Anxiety

It is our general habit as a church to preach through books of the Bible, verse by verse, working our way from the very beginning to the very end of each of them.

But from time to time, we take breaks from the primary text to bring up other matters, other issues.

This morning, we will once again be taking a break from our exposition of the book of Hebrews to continue what we purpose to make a periodically presented series on the gospel and counseling.

Some of you may remember some months ago, we talked about the gospel and your sorrow.

Beloved, it is altogether possible to understand the gospel for the salvation of your soul, which is its primary purpose.

Praise God if we understand it in this way, that you would be saved from the judgment to come.

But to miss that the gospel has implications for the way that you think and feel and act today.

We flee to Christ to be saved from hell and we flee to Christ to be saved from sin, or at least we should.

We have much opportunity as a church of the living God to make him known in the world through the careful application of the gospel to the daily struggles of this life.

This certainly does not preclude gospel proclamation, but it should accompany it.

So today's sermon is entitled The Gospel and Your Anxiety.

I shared with you last week, having, through a number of circumstances, I think kind of a pile up in my own heart,

having what I only know to describe as an anxiety attack.

I kind of loaded us into the end of Hebrews chapter 7,

Hebrews 7 · chapter mention

trying to give careful application to the necessity of a foundation, a life built on a foundation that is Christ.

And I told you as I spoke about that off the cuff, that I ran for refuge to Philippians chapter 4, verses 4 through 8,

Philippians 4:4–8

each of us have and will likely experience some measure of anxiety.

In this life.

Certainly some of us have a greater propensity toward it than others.

But it is inevitable that fallen people living in a fallen world will, from time to time, feel the weightiness of our reality.

Some people are abundantly aware that they are anxious.

Many are not.

The truth is that none of us escape this.

Some people experience crippling anxiety.

Some of us just worry in a way that we should not.

It is faithless worrying.

If you aren't presently finding yourself an anxious person, you will at some point in your life, most likely.

So I hope two things for our time together this morning.

Number one, that you will have a clear understanding of your anxiety, your personal anxiety, and be better equipped to fight for your joy.

And number two, that you will have a clear understanding of another's anxiety, and be better equipped to fight for their joy.

This is why the title, the gospel, and your anxiety is applicable in either case.

And we're going to continue to do that as we walk through this series periodically.

Beloved, we are instructed to love one another.

And Paul tells us in Galatians chapter 6 and verse 2 that if we love one another, we will bear another's burdens.

Galatians 6 · chapter mention

We are to take on the trouble of others.

If you are in relationship with other people, you are going to be asked to give some measure of counsel.

If you have any meaningful relationship, relationships that step off the computer screen and sit down together,

you're going to have need to pick up somebody else's burden.

And we should definitely aim to give biblical answers to spiritual problems.

So I hope that you'll understand your anxiety, and I hope that you'll understand the anxiety of another.

So Philippians chapter 4, verses 4 through 8.

Philippians 4:4–8

Before I read it, beloved, let me remind you that this is God's word to us, written for his glory and our good.

As such, we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.

Rejoice in the Lord always.

Again, I will say, rejoice.

Let your reasonableness 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 surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable,

if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

I was once at a biblical counseling conference some years ago, and in an afternoon session, the speaker began his lesson by saying,

tell me what you worry about or what makes you angry, and I will show you your idols.

And I love this kind of teaching.

Many of you are patient with me under it.

I like to state the premise up front, big and strong, to make you go, huh?

I have discovered that often that makes you guys shut down and not listen to the explanation of the statement,

which is what happened to me in this case, but I think in a most helpful way,

because I found this emphatic statement just too strong not to wrestle out its implications.

He probably did that.

He was probably going on to say more about it, but the statement was so strong, I just had to say, wait, is that true?

So I spent the next hour writing down things that worried me or angered me and tracing each thing to its source,

really thinking about why is it that this worries me?

Why is it that this thing angers me?

And I was shocked to discover that most, if not all, of my worry was sinful anxiety.

It had at its base some form of idolatry, a faith in something other than God.

It was a good and instructive hour for me.

Paul tells us in verse 6 of our text this morning, do not be anxious about anything.

He gives the command to not be anxious.

However, in 2 Corinthians 11, verse 28, he writes, as he's concluding all of the sufferings that he experiences,

2 Corinthians 11:28

he says, and apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

I take this to mean that it's possible to be faithfully concerned about a matter.

Paul has the pressure of his anxiety, and I don't think he's suggesting to us that this is sinful in that case,

but it is faith-filled anxiety.

But the command here, Philippians chapter 4, to not be anxious about anything,

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

is in reference to a faithless concern.

And this is an anxiety that must be remedied for our good and for the glory of God.

Now, before I give you the outline for the text and we begin our study of it,

I want you to see something significant.

Everything Paul is teaching us is an expansion of what he has previously declared that we are.

What he's teaching us to do, he's teaching because it comes from who we are.

Let me show you this by looking up at verse 1 of chapter 4.

He says,

Now, this is all kinds of packed with identity, right?

He calls them brothers.

And ladies, even you want to be brothers in this sense, joined to the family of God,

co-heirs with Christ.

He says that he loves them and he longs for them, that they are his joy and his crown,

and they are beloved.

All kinds of identifiers.

But the encouragement here is for them to stand firm thus in the Lord.

What does standing firm look like?

Well, he goes on in chapter 4 to explain this.

Verse 2 and 3, Paul tells us, it is working toward and maintaining the unity of the church.

And then the other things that follow in our text, which we'll go on to consider.

But chapter 4, verse 1 begins with a therefore.

Paul is saying, stand firm because of something.

Because of a reality that he's already stated, he's saying, so stand firm.

What is that something?

It is the reality of who you and I are in Jesus Christ if we have placed saving faith in him.

Look at the end of chapter 3, verse 20 and 21.

But our citizenship is in heaven.

And from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body

by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

This is the reality that he goes on then to say,

therefore, brothers, the ones I love and long for, my joy, my crown, my beloved.

It's coming out of this reality of who Christ is toward his people.

Beloved, we are part of a theocracy being ruled by King Jesus,

who is bringing all things under his reign.

This is the reality of who we are that's meant to inform how we live.

So there's a therefore.

And now we've arrived at the outline for the text, which is as follows.

And I never expect that you get all this down in your note taking.

But for the sake of time, I like to give it to you, give you a structure and move on.

So number one, fight for your joy.

Number one, fight for your joy.

Number two, be gracious toward others.

Be gracious toward others.

Number three, turn to God with all of your concerns.

And number four, and you won't get this in the notes if you don't write really fast.

Dehabituate by rehabituating.

Dehabituate.

That makes me smile more than Sunday with Sunday, doesn't it?

Dehabituate by rehabituating.

All right, number one, fight for your joy.

Verse four, rejoice in the Lord.

Always, again, I will say, rejoice.

And I love that Paul adds emphasis, right, to the exhortation by saying it once again.

And that's exactly what he's doing here, right?

He's saying, rejoice.

I'm just going to say it again because you need to get it.

Rejoice.

Beloved, lasting joy is not circumstantial.

We may find temporary happiness in our circumstances.

There are things in this world that are lesser joys, I would suggest to you, that are meant to point us to greater joys.

But they're temporal.

They don't last.

And if we find all of our happiness, all of our joy in these things, we will just as readily find great misery in our circumstances.

You have all lived long enough to have high highs and low lows.

The children in the room know this.

Life is tough.

Paul here exhorts us, though, to rejoice always.

To rejoice despite circumstances.

He's saying it doesn't matter what the circumstance around you is.

You should rejoice.

How is this possible?

It is possible if we find joy in an unchanging, eternal source of joy.

And he says it in the text.

Rejoice in the Lord.

This is not some far-off concept.

What he's saying to us is recognize who Christ is and who Christ is to you.

Find in that an eternal source of joy.

And if we rightly understand the weightiness of our sin before a most holy God,

if we get our rebellion against him and the death that it deserves,

if we have experienced in any measure a separation from God,

how horrid that can be,

then we have much to rejoice in as we draw near to God through Christ.

And beloved, this is ultimately a battle of the mind.

If you are to have joy, you're going to have to fight for joy.

And this is a battle that will happen in your mind.

If it's an uncircumstantial joy,

it's not based on what's happening around you.

It's based on what's happening within you.

This will be a battle of the mind.

I fear as a church, as I talk about the mindfulness of Christianity,

that I sway us too far towards stoicism,

that we separate out our thinking from our feeling.

I never want to do this.

But what we see happening so much in the church in America

is that it's primarily emotionally driven.

People are looking for spiritual highs.

If the guitar riff is just right,

it'll take us there.

We should have feelings.

That's what this verse is about.

This is about rejoicing,

but it's not because I've repeated the chorus for the 20th time,

and everyone around me seems to be happy,

and so I'm going to join in.

It's about a mindful meditation on the truth of who Christ is

and who He is to us that brings about this kind of joy.

Non-circumstantial joy.

Paul writes in Romans chapter 12,

Romans 12 · chapter mention

Do not be conformed to this world,

but be transformed, what?

By feeling, no.

By the renewal of your mind.

We are dichotomous people.

We are body, and we are soul.

There's an outer, and there's an inner.

And the way that our inner is shaped

is through our mental faculty.

We're transformed by the renewal of it.

And I wish,

I desperately wish as a pastor,

that all we needed to do

when anybody was experiencing any trouble in this world

is declare to them the truth,

and it would snap into place in their minds.

And they would go,

Oh, well then I have a great reason for joy.

And off they'd go, joyous.

It's a battle.

We are left with our sinful flesh,

being new creations,

but we carry the baggage of who we once were.

The old Nathan shows up all the time,

tempts me away,

causes me not to believe

the great truth of who Christ is to me,

to forget it.

And so it has to be rehearsed,

and rehearsed,

and rehearsed.

In our study of Hebrews,

we will soon come to the end of chapter 10,

where we see a suffering church

acting absolutely bizarrely, right?

Not at all like the world,

but like transformed people.

Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 34.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

The author writes,

You had compassion on those in prison,

and you joyfully accepted

the plundering of your property.

I don't know.

I don't think I,

I don't know that anybody here

would have somebody ransack their house

because they're a Christian,

spray paint on the wall,

go away Christian,

would show up happy about that.

Well, these weird Christians did.

They rejoiced,

and they joyfully accepted

the plundering of their property.

Why?

Since you knew

that you yourselves

had a better possession

and an abiding one.

You knew you had a better possession

and an abiding one.

But if you've been with us

in our study of Hebrews,

you know the reason

the letter's being written

is because many of them

were being tempted

to abandon the faith.

Things had gotten

more uncomfortable.

These Christians

who once joyfully accepted

the plundering of their property

were now being tempted

to forsake Christ altogether.

And so they were having

to rehearse once again.

And the author of Hebrews

is so carefully rehearsing

for them who Christ is

and who Christ is

to them.

Beloved,

if you are in Christ,

you have a better possession

and an abiding one.

Heavenly treasure.

A future to look forward to

that is going to be

beyond our wildest imagination.

And yet we get so fixated

on the here and the now

and the circumstance.

And what Paul's here telling us

is that we have to lift

our minds beyond

what's going on

right around us.

We have to look

to the future reward

because of what Christ

has accomplished.

John Newton,

18th century Anglican minister,

famous for Amazing Grace,

the hymn Amazing Grace,

once wrote this,

suppose a man was going

to New York

to take possession

of a large estate

and his carriage

should break down

one mile before he got

to the city,

which obligated him

to walk the rest of the way

to the inheritance.

So his circumstance changed.

He's riding in comfort

and now he has to walk.

What a fool

we should think him

if we saw him

wringing his hands

and blubbering out

all the remaining mile.

My carriage is broken.

My carriage is broken.

And many of us

act this way.

We are headed

to a great inheritance.

And something bumps

in the road

and we fall apart.

I fall apart.

C.S. Lewis

wrote in

The Weight of Glory,

We are half-hearted creatures,

fooling about

with drink

and sex

and ambition

when infinite joy

is offered to us.

like an ignorant child

who wants to go on

making mud pies

in a slum

because he cannot

imagine what is meant

by the offer

of a holiday

at the sea.

We are far

too easily

pleased.

I love that.

Beloved,

we have to fight

for our joy

in the way we fight

for our joy

is with the truth

of who we are

in Christ

and all that that means

for our lives.

So that's the first point.

Fight for your joy.

Secondly,

be gracious

towards others.

We see this in

verse 5.

Let your

reasonableness

be known

to everyone.

Now,

I think,

I hope,

you're listening enough

to go,

why is the point

be gracious

toward others

if we're to let

our reasonableness

be known

to everyone?

And that's because

the Greek word

translated reasonableness

in the ESV,

which is what

most of us here

are using,

is a very,

very rich word.

It's one of those

difficult words

where there's not

a fantastic

English equivalent

to it.

It needs phrasing

and so it gets

brought down

to a single word

which just falls

a little short

of what it means.

Commentators

and translators

have varied widely

on its rendering.

Here's some examples

for you.

Reasonableness,

generosity,

goodwill,

friendliness,

magnanimity,

charity,

mercy,

leniency,

big-heartedness,

moderation,

forbearance,

and gentleness

are some of the

attempts to capture

the meaning

of this word.

Possibly

the best word,

and I am no

Bible translator

nor should I be.

So I'm not

standing in judgment

over our ESV translators,

but possibly

the best word

is

graciousness.

So it has

more latitude

than I thought

of it,

even narrowly

thinking of it

as reasonableness

as it concerns

anxiety.

That we want

other people

to see

our reasonableness

because

the end of verse 5

says the Lord

is at hand.

So we want

others to see

that we understand

that the Lord

is at hand.

And it does

include this idea,

right?

Reasonableness

is a fair word

to put

in that place.

But the aim

of it

is that we're

doing that

for the sake

of others.

That we're doing it

in order to

serve

others.

Some of

those words

that I rattled

off to you.

Generosity,

goodwill,

charity,

mercy,

leniency,

aiming at

helping

others,

and some

of those

renderings

like

forbearance,

magnanimity,

goodwill,

because we

may find

that it's

people

that are

the circumstance

that's causing

our anxiety.

very often

this can be

the case.

So it is a

complex word

and it's a

many-layered

word and

probably we

could have

just talked

about verse

five this

morning.

For the sake

of time,

we won't

labor on

with it.

But how

we respond

to the

challenges

of life

have bearing

on other

people.

And at the

end of verse

five,

we can see

that we are

meant to

express

the reality

in the

way that

we act

that the

Lord

is at

hand.

And it's

a very

interesting

phrase to

be at

the end

of verse

five.

Some would

suggest it

belongs at

the beginning

of verse

six.

And these

separations are

not inspired.

Neither is

the punctuation

because there

is no

punctuation

in Greek.

So translators

do this

very difficult

and careful

work of

putting a

period at

the end

of everyone.

starting a

new sentence

with the

Lord

is at

hand

and then

a

semicolon.

I am not

nearly

intelligent

enough to

tell you

exactly

which it

belongs

to,

but I

think

that it

links

the two

things

together

to be

sure.

Paul is

not rapid

fire

shooting off

exhortations.

He's bringing

together an

idea about

what the

Christian life

should look

like as it

stands firm

in the

reality of

who we

are in

Christ.

And so

we're meant

to display

to other

people

that God

is near.

Beloved,

this is an

astounding

reality.

I think that

I too often

take it for

granted that

I have full

unfettered

access to

the throne

of God.

It's like

this assumed

thing for me

sometimes.

It's not

extremely

precious

that the

God of

the

universe,

infinite,

eternal,

all-powerful,

like why

should I

have any

access at

all to

such a

God?

But as

we learn

in Hebrews

Hebrews 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7,

because of

Jesus'

priesthood,

through

him we

can draw

near

to God.

It's an

incredible

reality that

he has

great care

for us,

that he

is in

the

midst

of

the

circumstances

in which

we walk.

So we

should fight

for our

joy,

we should

be gracious

toward others.

Third,

turn to

God

with all

of your

concerns.

Turn to

God with

all of

your

concerns.

Verses

6 and

7,

Paul says,

do not be

anxious about

anything,

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 your

minds in

Christ Jesus.

There is

an alternative

to your

anxiety

and mine.

Faith.

This is the

alternative.

Believing

in the

promises

of God.

Paul says,

do not be

anxious about

anything,

but in

everything,

we can

turn

to God.

Having been

granted

full,

unfettered

access to

God.

The Lord

is at

hand.

Beloved,

we can

give everything

over to

Him.

And if we

have a small

view of

God,

we will

not think

that He

can do

anything

about

anything.

But if we

have a

good and

proper high

view of

God,

that's an

astounding

reality.

Why would

I not,

rightly

considering

who God

is,

give

everything

to Him,

creator and

sustainer of

the universe?

I should.

I should

necessarily.

How often

do we find

ourselves so

very

prayerless?

Given the

great gift

of being

able to

enter the

presence

of God

Almighty

and we

stay in

our own

minds,

our own

inner

dialogues,

our dialogue

with one

another,

how often

do we talk

about our

problems and

we don't

go to the

Lord together

with our

problems?

It's an

astounding

thing,

as if

He's a

man and

can't be

bothered.

He's God

Almighty.

He can

handle

anything

that you

throw at

Him.

prayer,

supplication,

and requests

are all

synonyms.

You don't

have to

think too

far out

beyond this.

And they

all refer

to direct

petitions

made of

God.

I believe

that Paul

uses this

repetition

to note

that our

going to

God with

all of our

concerns

will be

often and

it will

be varied.

It's going

to have to

happen all

the time.

and it's

going to

have to

happen about

a variety

of issues.

To not

be anxious,

we will

need to

pray.

And we

will need

to pray.

And we

will need

to pray.

If we're

going to

go with

thanksgiving

in everything,

we're going

to be

praying

continually.

And Paul

instructs us

to do this

as we're

doing it

with

thanksgiving.

it is

not

unlike us

to go

to God

demanding

things of

him,

not

humble,

acting as

if we

deserve

anything.

Paul

is helping

us to

see that

we should

go to

God

recognizing

what he's

already

done.

The fact

that God

has done

much,

already

worked in

so many

ways,

gives to

the Christian

a confidence

that he

will

continue

to do

so.

We're

in the

midst

of a

tough

circumstance.

It can

be so

difficult

to

remember

or to

notice

anything

positive.

We get

consumed

with that.

In our

sinful nature,

we are

this way.

Somebody

has a

bad

experience

at a

business,

they're

likely

to

share

it

with

ten

people.

They

have

a

good

experience,

they're

likely

to

share

it

with

two.

Oh,

the

world

of

online

reviews.

Just,

boy,

are they

brutal.

Boy,

are they

brutal.

A really

simple

example

in our

life,

I was

just

noting

this

to my

wife,

Sam,

the

other

day.

We

use

a

stuff

that

gets

diluted

really

heavily

called

thieves.

Like

thieves

cleaner,

it's a

good

cleaner.

And

we

have

a

bottle

that

we

wipe

down

just

about

everything

with.

And

it

seems

like

that

bottle

is

always

running

out

of

liquid.

It

seems

like

I'm

constantly

going,

gosh,

the

thieves

is

out

again.

But

that

bottle

gets

filled

up.

It

clearly

gets

filled

up.

Sam's

not

carefully

metering

off

just a

little

tiny

bit

at

the

bottle

to

frustrate

me

all

the

time.

That

bottle

gets

filled

to

the

top

and

it

gets

used.

And

I'm

never

thankful

when

it's

full.

It's

inclined

that

way.

The

thieves

is

out

again.

Rather

than

praising

the

Lord

that

the

thieves

is

full

and

half

full

and

a

third

full

and

a

quarter

full.

That's

a lot

of

times.

There's

plenty

of

liquid

in

that

bottle.

But

my

mind

attunes

to

the

negative

thing.

This

is

what

I'm

trying

to

say.

And

especially

when

in

the

midst

of

difficult

times.

We

have

to

stop

this

battle

in

our

minds

and

reflect

upon

the

good

things

that

God

has

done

and

he

is

doing

and

it

will

give

us

the

confidence

that

he

will

continue

to

do.

His

promises

are

sure

beloved.

By

the

mere

fact

that

he's

God

and

he

said

he

would

do

it

we

should

believe

this.

But

he's

also

shown

us

so

much

loving

kindness.

In

our

frailty

we

can

grab

on

to

this

that

he'll

continue

to

do.

We

far

too

often

find

ourselves

prayerless

in

trials.

No

wonder

we

become

anxious.

No

wonder.

1

1 Peter 5 · chapter mention

Peter

chapter

5

6

through

8

Peter

writes

humble

yourselves

under

the mighty

hand

of God

so

at the

proper

time

he

may

exalt

you.

Casting

all

your

anxieties

on

him

because

he

cares

for

you.

He

is

concerned

for

you.

We

can

cast

all

of

our

anxiety

on

him.

And

as

I

read

commentaries

about

this

particular

verse

all

the

commentators

stopped

there.

Stopped

at the

end

of

verse

7

casting

all

your

anxieties

on

him

because

he

cares

for

you.

But

I

want

to

read

verse

8

because

I

think

it's

really

helpful

to

us

as

we

talk

about

it

being

a

battle

of

the

mind.

Peter

writes

be

sober

minded.

Cast

all your

anxieties

on

him

because

he

cares

for

you.

Be

sober

minded.

Be

watchful.

Why?

Your

adversary

the

devil

prowls

around

like a

roaring

lion

seeking

!

He

is

seeking

someone

to

devour.

Could

it be

that many

of us

are being

devoured

by

anxiety?

We are

minimizing

the glory

of God

the goodness

of the

gospel

in our

lives

because

we're

not

sober

minded

watchful

casting

all of

our

anxieties

on

him

because

he

cares

for

us.

My

mind

was

drawn

to

a

hymn

we

sing

from

time

to

time

called

What a

Friend

We

Have

in

Jesus

to

this

verse

Oh

what

peace

we

often

forfeit

Oh

what

needless

pain

we

bear

all

because

we

do

not

carry

everything

to

God

in

prayer.

So

go to

God

with

all

of

your

concerns.

And

then

there's

a

promise

in

verse

7

And

the

peace

of

God

which

surpasses

all

understanding

will

guard

your

hearts

and

your

minds

in

Christ

Jesus.

Now

I've

wrestled

with

this

a

little

this

week.

My

immediate

assumption

of

this

verse

has

always

been

that

there

would

be

a

feeling

of

peace

that

would

come

that

I

would

feel

peaceful

if

I

just

rightly

cast

anxiety

and

I'm

just

no

longer

so

sure

that

that's

what

Paul

is

trying

to

communicate

here.

I

have

often

said

it's

a

piece

that's

weird

and

strange.

It's

a

piece

that

surpasses

understanding

and

maybe

that's

still

tied

into

the

meaning.

I

just

didn't

have

time

to

work

it

all

out

this

week.

But

I

think

as we

go back

to the

end of

chapter

3

and

Paul

is

stating

who

we

are

in

Christ

and

the

beginning

of

chapter

4

and

verse

1

that

we're

to

stand

firm

in

that

reality

that

what

Paul

is

talking

about

is

the

peace

that

we

have

with

God.

The

peace

of

God

that

we

have

with

God

because

Christ

has

made

peace

on

our

behalf.

Because

we've

entered

in

now

as

these

citizens.

We're

not

those

if you

go up

further

in

the

end

of

chapter

3

who

are

going

to

be

cut

off

and

destroyed.

We're

citizens.

We have

peace

with

God.

Romans

Romans 5:1

chapter

5

verse

1

Therefore

since

we

have

been

justified

by

faith

we

have

peace

with

God

through

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ.

And

I

think

that

this

is

a

peace

that

surpasses

all

understanding.

Why

oh

Lord

such

grace

to

me?

Why

would

you

have

such

kindness

and

compassion?

Why

would

you

be

near

to

me?

Why

would

you

care

for

me?

And

Paul

says

that

this

reality

will

be

set

as

a

guard,

as

a

sentinel,

our

hearts

and

our

minds

in

Christ

Jesus.

He

lands

that

reality

that

we

are

found

in

Jesus.

And

so

as

we

contemplate

in

prayer

with

this

thanksgiving

who

Christ

is

and

who

Christ

is

to

us,

we

can

be

joy

filled

and

we

can

be

faith

filled

and

not

anxious.

Jesus

taught

his

disciples

in

Luke

Luke 12 · chapter mention

chapter

12

beginning

in

verse

22.

Do not

be

anxious

about

your

life,

what

you

will

eat

nor

about

your

body,

what

you

will

put

on.

For

life

is

more

than

food

and

the

body

more

than

clothing.

Consider

the

ravens,

they

neither

sow

nor

reap,

they

have

neither

storehouse

nor

barn,

and

yet

God

feeds

them.

Of

how

much

more

value

are

you

than

the

birds?

Much

more

is

what

Jesus

is

saying.

So

much

more.

And

which

of

you

by

being

anxious

can

add

a

single

hour

to

a

span

of

life?

If

then

you