Dealing With Anxiety – Dr. Charles Stanley

Everywhere we turn, people are worried about something. But anxiety and frustration are not part of God’s plan for our lives. Dr. Stanley uses Scripture to explain how anxiety may be natural but, left in our hands, can grow into a much bigger problem. Anxiety should be a passing thing—placed in the hands of the Father who knows all things. For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to https://intouch.org/watch

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male announcer: In Touch,
the teaching ministry

of Dr. Charles Stanley.

Next on “In Touch,”
“Dealing With Anxiety.”

Dr. Charles Stanley: This
is an age of anxiety.

Everywhere you turn, people
are anxious about something.

They’re anxious about their job.

Either they’ve lost it, they’re
trying to fine one and can’t.

They’re anxious about their
children–where they go to

school; that they’ll be able to
go to school where they’d prefer

them to attend.

They’re anxious
about their family;

about husbands and wives–both
of them having to work.

Or maybe at this point,
neither one of them have a job.

They’re anxious
about their future.

They can’t save any money.

They’ve anxious about the
things that are happening in our

government, and they
can’t change them.

They’re anxious about what’s
happening in other countries of

the world; and they
seem so far away.

But somehow when we
think about them,

that anxiety boils
up on the inside.

And that anxiety and worry and
fretting begin to take its toll

on people’s lives.

Everybody has moments of
anxiety and worry

and fretting and caring.

And the truth is, in
the New Testament,

the word worry and anxiety are
the same word

in the original Greek.

So when we say I’m
worried about something,

you’re anxious about it.

You’re distraught about it.

That is, your mind is
pulled in two different ways.

You’d like to change it,
but you don’t think you can.

And so, I want you to turn to
the sixth chapter of Matthew.

Let’s start in the
twenty-fifth verse.

Now, people know all about
blessed are the poor in spirit;

blessed, blessed, blessed.

Then Jesus gets over here to
something that all of us have to

deal with and that’s worry
and fretting and caring.

And so, beginning in
this twenty-fifth verse,

listen to what He says:
“For this reason I say to you,

do not be worried
about your life.

You say, “Well, that
sounds pretty simple.”

Well, is it true or not?

“Do not be worried
about your life,

as to what you will
eat, what you will drink;

nor for your body, as
to what you will put on.

Is not life more
than food,

and the body more
than clothing?”

There are things more
important than food,

clothing and so forth.

He says, “Look at
the birds of the air.

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?”

Then He says in
verse twenty-seven,

“And who of you by being worried
can add a single hour

to his life?”

Well, nobody can.

“And why are you
worried about clothing?

Observe how the
lilies of the field grow;

they don’t toil,
nor do they spin,

yet I say to you that even
Solomon in all his glory,”

who was so very, very wealthy,

“clothed himself
like one of these.

But if God clothes
the grass of the field,

which is alive today and
tomorrow is thrown into the

furnace, will He not
much more clothe you?

O you of little faith!”

‘Cause that’s what we’re dealing
with here–little faith: “Do not

worry then, saying, ‘What
will we eat?’ or ‘What will we

drink?’ or ‘What will we
wear for clothing?’

For the Gentiles”–that is the
unbelievers–“eagerly seek all

these things; for your heavenly
Father knows that you have need

of all these things.”

But then He says,
“Seek first His kingdom.”

That is the rule of
Christ in your life.

“Seek first His kingdom
and His righteousness,

a godly life and all
these things–” which things?

All the things He just mentioned
“will be added to you.”

So, on the basis of
that, “Do not worry,

don’t be anxious,
about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will
care for itself.

Each day has enough
trouble of its own.”

Now, let me ask you a question.
Doesn’t that sound real simple?

Birds, flowers, God
taking care of us.

What are you worried about?

So, let’s think about
what we mean by anxiety,

because anxiety, really,
same word–worry and anxiety,

same word in the
original, as we said.

And it simply means that my mind
is distraught about something.

I have a divided mind.

I’m going more than
one way–two ways.

I’m drawn in two
different directions.

And it’s an emotional state.

There are people
who live in anxiety.

So, what do they do every
night before they go to bed?

They go to the medicine cabinet
and they find something that

will help them sleep
because they can’t sleep.

And the reason they
can’t sleep is they–

their mind is boiling with
something that they’re very

anxious about.

Now, it may be something that’s
legitimately concerning them

about the position, for example,
of their children and what

they’re into and up
to and with whom,

and all those things.

But God knows how to enable
us to face these issues in

life–lay them down.

And in fact, when Peter talks
about this, it’s

interesting what he says.

He says in this fifth chapter
and the seventh verse–listen.

“Casting all your
anxieties on Him,

because He cares for you.”

Which means there is a method
by which I can lay them down.

In other words, I don’t have to
live with anxiety and caring and

fretting and worrying.

I can lay it down.

God has given us the capacity as
His children to be able to shed

those things that you
don’t want to go to bed with.

Because you go to bed with it,
you’re going to wake up with it.

You wake up with it, you’re
going to carry it

with you all day.

Fretting and caring and
worrying are dangerous

attitudes–dangerous
emotions to have,

because they divide our mind
and we become distraught in the

process of doing so.

And if you’ll think about it,
fear and anxiety are real close.

If I’m really
anxious about something,

it’s because I fear
something may happen.

I fear this’ll take
place or that’ll take place.

And so, we are anxious.

And He says, “Don’t be
anxious about these things.”

And anybody who lived in Jesus’s
day or Paul’s day knew what

anxiety, trouble and fear
and heartache were all about,

because they had no
safety, no assurance,

no confidence of anything if
they didn’t have the Lord.

And the truth is, we
really don’t either.

So, when you
think about anxiety,

it’s a distraction in the
mind, the heart

and soul and the spirit.

Now, you say, “Where
does that come from?”

Well, God is not the
source of anxiety.

He is the source of peace.

He’s the source of
confidence and assurance,

but He’s not the
source of anxiety.

The truth is, it’s a
reaction to our circumstances.

So, there are passing
moments of anxiety.

And then there are
those that don’t pass.

And there are people in
situations and circumstances,

for example, they’re
facing a divorce maybe.

Or maybe their children are.

And maybe they have a note
due on the house and, right now,

they don’t have any money.

And they would say
to us, “Well, listen.

I have a reason to be
anxious and worried.”

You have a reason to be anxious
and worried when you hear about

it, but then what
do you do about it?

God does not intend for
us to live with that,

because one thing this passage
promises us that our Heavenly

Father is able to
take care of, deal with,

supply every
single thing we need.

And it’s interesting that He put
this in the–in terminology of

nature: birds and flowers.

Those are the
thing we understand.

So, anxiety is a
choice.

You say, “Well,
now wait a minute.

If you knew what I was facing
you wouldn’t say it’s a choice.”

Watch, I may acknowledge that
it’s true and it’s terrible and

horrible and I’d
love to change it.

But God, You do not
expect me to live like this.

You expect me to live
with a sense of peace.

You say, “Well, how can you have
that kind of peace when things

are going on that
are really difficult?”

Only God can give it.

And that’s what He’s
saying in this passage.

So, let’s look at this for a
moment and I want you to see

what these causes are.

And this is what He
says in this passage.

For example, one of the causes
of our anxiety is

our feeling of inadequacy.

That is, what do we feel about
our own sense of self-worth?

This is why He
starts off with birds.

He says, for example, “Look
at the birds of the air,

they do not sow, they don’t reap
they don’t gather into barns,

yet your heavenly f–” listen
to this: “Your heavenly Father

feeds them.”

Now, here’s the key: Are you
not worth much more than

a sparrow, amen?

You are.

And so, He says, “Here’s
what I want you to see.

I don’t want you to be
worried and fretting because,

if you’ll notice, look how
well I take care of the birds.”

You’ve never seen a bird in a
farm with a hoe or a shovel or

anything else.

Birds are just birds, and you
see them flitting around and

flying around and,
listen, beautiful thing.

They can sing all kind of
beautiful songs that are

absolutely awesome–and they
don’t have to fret

and worry about it.

I don’t imagine they
get a sore throat.

And they’re smart enough to know
what to do when it rains and

when it gets cold.

God has given them a sense
of knowing what’s happening.

And He says, “My Heavenly
Father’s taking care of them.

“I don’t have to
worry about that.

So, if you’ll
notice what He says,

“If I’m willing to
take care of birds,

I can handle you and
I’ll meet your needs,

whatever they are.”

The second thing is this:

He says one of the causes
of anxiety is our attempt to

change things, which we
have no control over.

Now, that really
gets us frustrated.

We–in other words, if I want
to change something I have no

control over, listen to what He
said in twenty-seventh verse,

“And who of you by being worried
can add a single

hour to your life?”

You can’t add any hours to your
life by worrying about them,

but you can cut it short.

Anxiety, worry, fretting,
care affects the human body;

affects your mind;
affects your emotions;

affects your
thinking; affects everything.

And He’s simply saying, “Who of
you by being worried can add a

single hour to your life?”

So, there’s a third
cause of our anxiety.

And that is our failure to
trust God to provide our needs.

In other words,
listen to what He says,

“Why are you
worried about clothes?

Observe how the
lilies of the field grow;

they do not toil,
nor do they spin,

And I say to you
that not even Solomon,

who was so rich and so powerful,
in all of his glory and wealth

clothed himself–” he says he
couldn’t clothe himself

like a beautiful flower.

And so, what He’s
saying here–look.

He says, “But if God so
clothes the grass of the field,

which is alive today and thrown
into the furnace”–because

that’s the way they cooked and
so forth–“will He not much more

clothe you?

O you of little faith!”

Now, listen, He’s not just
talking about stuff like this.

Whatever the need is–that is,
if He can meet the need of birds

and flowers and all the
rest, He can meet our needs.

So, notice what He says.

He says, “O you
of little faith!”

Which says if I’m
not trusting Him,

I’m not believing Him,
then I’m doubting Him.

And if I’m doubting Him, well,
then I have a major problem.

If I’m doubting God,
here’s what I’m saying.

I know You’re powerful and I
know all these other things

about You, but I can’t trust You
for this particular situation.

Let me ask you a question.

What is it that exists that
you cannot trust God for?

You see, our
problem is our faith.

And we can’t, listen, you can’t
judge God by what you’re hurting

in right now.

But He says, for
example, that He can–

that He’s going to meet our
needs and we can

trust Him to do it.

Whatever is, whatever
brings anxiety in my life,

my heavenly
Father knows about it,

has promised to give me the
strength and

ability to survive it.

And this is why Peter
said–he didn’t say,

“Lay it down gently.”

He said, “Cast your anxieties
upon the Lord who cares for you.

You can’t think of anything
that He won’t take care of.”

So, and notice this for
example here in this passage.

He said, “Do not
worry then, saying,

‘What will we eat?’
‘What will we drink?'”

Then He says in
verse thirty-two,

“For the Gentiles”–the
lost people, unbelievers–

“Gentiles eagerly seek
all these things;

for your heavenly Father knows
that you need all these things.”

He knows how you
got where you are.

He knows your real need.

And lot of times people
think they know

what their need is.

Only God knows our need.

And what He’s promising in this
passage is to meet those needs

no matter what the
situation may be.

And when He says those who
are eagerly seeking all these

things–what things?

Money and popularity and
prestige and prominence and this

and success and all the rest.

That’s not the answer to it.

Because they’ll
seek those things and,

but He says your heavenly
Father knows that you need what?

What you really need–the
things that He’s mentioned.

Then He says in
verse thirty-three,

if you’ll look at
it for a moment.

He says, “But seek first His
kingdom and His righteousness,

and all these
things will be added.”

So, what is He saying?

If my priorities are misplaced,
I’m going to have a problem.

If my priorities are on money or
popularity or whatever it might

be–getting my way
in some situation.

If these are my priorities, I’m
going to have a problem because

listen to what He says.

He says all these
promises He’s made,

He said now, you
“seek first, not second,

first, His kingdom
and His righteousness.

And what’s His kingdom?

That is the rule
of God in our life.

The kingdom of God.

In other words, if I’m
seeking His kingdom–

that really applied here–

I want God in my life above
everything else.

Seek ye first–not second,
third, fourth, and fifth; first.

Seek first His kingdom and
His righteousness, what?

I want to live a life
that’s characteristic of Jesus.

I want to live a
sanctified life.

I want to live a life in
which Jesus is very evident.

So, He says, “Seek you first His
kingdom and His righteousness,

and”–look at that next
promise–“all these things will

be added to you.”

He says, “Remember all these
things I just talked about?”

Birds and flowers and
needs and so forth.

He says, watch this, when you
put the priority of your life on

allowing the Lord Jesus to
rule and reign in your life,

He will see to it–look–He will
see to it that all these things

will be added to you.

Now, notice He
said added to you.

That is, He assumes full
responsibility for meeting our

needs when our priority
is to be obedient to Him,

follow Him, walk in His ways,

acknowledge His
lordship in our life.

So, does God meet our needs?

Yes.

If our needs are not being
met, it’s not God’s fault.

He says, “Seek ye
first His kingdom,

His righteousness, and all these
things” that we just talked

about, “all these things
will be added to you.”

When we misplace our priorities,
we get ourselves in trouble.

Put your priority
on obeying God,

following His
will for your life;

and you know what?

Everything you need,
God will provide it.

It’s just that simple.
That’s who He is.

Now, when I think about that, I
think of one other thing here,

and that is the
problem some people have.

They try to live tomorrow today.
You can’t do that.

You can plan, plan, plan,
plan, plan, plan, plan–

you can’t live tomorrow today.

So, listen to what He says,
“So do not worry about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will
take care of itself.

Each day has enough
trouble of its own.”

Don’t try to live tomorrow.

Live today–because
think about this.

You and I can
plan all week long;

and sometime I look at
the calendar and I think,

ohhh, help me Jesus,
help me, Jesus.

Because it gets
loaded up, no matter what.

And they’re good things, and
if–I don’t think they’re good,

I don’t do it, but
sometimes it gets loaded up.

He says, “Mm-mm-mm-mm.

Don’t worry about tomorrow”;
so, I have to look at that verse

every once in a while, and say,
“Lord, here’s the calendar.

Here’s what You promised and
I’m going to leave that to You;

because only You
can handle that.”

You’re going to decide
beginning tomorrow morning,

when I first wake up, the first
thing I want to think about is

the Lord and I
want to talk to Him.

I’m going to tell
Him that the Lord day–

today, if You’ll guide me, I’m
going to be obedient to You.

I’m going to do
whatever You say

when You say and how You say.

I may not do it the
best in the world,

Lord, but here’s my life today
and I’m going to trust

You to meet my needs.

Lord, when I look out
there, it looks pretty skimpy,

but I’m going to trust You
and I’m going to watch You work.

Your life will change,
because you know what?

He wants to bless you.

He wants to–He
wants you to be blessed.

And He wants you to have a sense
of peace and joy in your life.

So, we make a choice.

I will fret and fume
and worry and be anxious.

Or, I’m going to
begin my day with Him,

knowing in my heart that
He’s going to watch over me,

guard me with His
peace and love and joy.

And He promised to meet
every single need I have,

so I don’t have to
worry about that.

I may not always like
the way He provides,

but He’s providing
what He knows I need.

Let me ask you a question.

When you go to bed tonight and
you wake up tomorrow morning and

you put that in
your own words–

Lord, I thank You for today.

I thank You that You said You’re
going to provide my needs today.

You said You’re going to
watch over me and care for me.

I’m going to be like the flowers
in the field and like the birds

in the sky, flitting around,
and no matter what I face,

You’re there to
walk me through it.

You’re going to keep me.

If you’ve never trusted
Jesus Christ as your Savior,

this won’t work.

You say, “What do you mean
‘it won’t work’?”

For the simple reason you have
to start out with faith.

And, it is by accepting His
death on the cross and believing

that His death on the cross
paid your sin debt in full.

It’s believing that
He’s willing to save you.

It’s believing when He said
whosoever shall call upon the

name of the Lord shall be saved.

It’s believing that if
you’re not willing to start

with that, no promise.

But if you are, every promise.
You have to decide.

Will you let Him live
your life through you?

Or will you keep struggling
and fuming and coming

to the end of life and end up
with these words: “if id’-a”?

If I’d-a believed.

If I’d-a trusted.
If I’d-a listened.

If I’d-a, if I’d-a, if I’d-a, if
I’d-a…and the heart rate

over here’s just beating,
beating, beating, beating

and finally,
whooh, it’s all over.

So, I would say a person is a
fool not to live for Christ.

Person is foolish to turn away
from the gospel of Jesus Christ,

because everybody in the world
wants what Jesus and Paul were

talking about: peace,
assurance, confidence;

their needs met.

But many people go about it in
a separate way–different way.

“If I have enough money,
if I have enough prestige,

have enough popularity.

If I get elected to this–you
name it–then I’ll be happy.”

No, you won’t.

The peace of
Almighty God guards you,

protects you and
supplies your need, amen?

Father, I pray the Holy Spirit
will sink these simple truths

into every heart.

And I pray, Father, for those
who came loaded with heartache,

burdens, anxieties,
fears, doubts,

worry–that right now, in these
moments, they would be willing

to pray this simple prayer.

Heavenly Father, I lay
down all my worries,

all my doubts, all my
fears, all my hurts,

all my disappointments,

and I’m trusting You to
fill my life with Your peace,

Your joy to meet all of my
needs in Your way, in Your time.

In Jesus’s name, amen.

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