Stephen continued looking at how we can become more like Christ tonight, focussing on dealing with anxiety. Anxiety – that nagging feeling of uncertainty which is not the same as a specific fear – is like a crippling burden on many people, robbing them of peace and rest. Phil 4:4-7 offers us a pathway away from anxiety, reminding us that we need to rejoice in God and bring our requests to Him. Matt 11:28-30 also shows us how to deal with anxiety, telling us that God offers us rest if we lay down our burdens and accept Christ’s yoke.
The command God gives us is not to be anxious about anything, which may seem a tall order to most of us. We may feel that anxiety is simply part of our personalities or that it is an inevitable part of life. However, though Jesus clearly experienced great sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt 26:38-39), He showed us how to deal with anxiety by talking to God about His feelings and praying ‘yet not my will, but Yours be done.’
Prayer and rejoicing are the best ways we deal with anxiety. Jesus gave examples from the world of farming, telling us that His yoke is light and easy. A normal yoke weighed about 70 pounds and was placed on the shoulders of oxen to help them with ploughing. Many of us carry that kind of anxiety around on a daily basis. Imagine having 35 bags of sugar weighing on your shoulders and you can picture the pressure that anxiety brings into people’s lives. We are asked to sow seeds and reap harvests, which we can do only in Christ’s power. As we rejoice, take our troubles to God in prayer and exchange our burdens for Christ’s yoke, He promises us peace which transcends all understanding and rest for our weary souls.
We also had a birthday to celebrate:
