Finding Peace and Faith in Following Jesus
Explore the teachings from Matthew 6:25-34 on overcoming worry and finding contentment in God's provision. Understand that struggles are a part of being human, but our identity in Christ remains constant. Shift your focus from worry to worship, and be reassured of God's goodness in all things.
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FEAR, FAITH, & FOLLOWING JESUS, PT. 2 Ashlenn Von Wiegand, PhD and Hamilton Von Wiegand
MATTHEW 6:25-34 25 For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they? 27 And which of you by worrying can add a single day to his life s span?
MATTHEW 6:25-34 28 And why are you worried about clothing? Notice how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin thread for cloth, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
MATTHEW 6:25-34 31 Do not worry then, saying, What are we to eat? or What are we to drink? or What are we to wear for clothing? 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you. 34 So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
ITS OKAY TO STRUGGLE To be human is to experience pain and struggle perhaps this is why God named his people Israel Mental health problems are very common God/Jesus is not disappointed. Worry is an active attempt at control, not just a feeling Heb 4:15-16 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
YOU ARENT YOUR EMOTIONS OR EXPERIENCES Your identity is in Christ, not your struggle Scripture tells us that we are citizens of heaven Our feelings are not the same as our identity. Feelings change constantly, our being a son or daughter of the King of Kings does not change What you focus on and feed gets bigger Our focus often determines our direction What are we allowing to take up realestate in our minds? (is it worship or worry?) Worship and worry cannot exist at the same time
BEING CONVINCED THAT GOD IS GOOD Be convinced that the Ultimate Truth behind all things is a Loving Father and you are His beloved child This allows us to let go of our attempts to control through worry Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
FROM SURRENDER TO SEEKING Once we ve SURRENDERED CONTROL, then we need to SEEK THE KINGDOM So how do we do this? Eyes FIXED on the ONE who designed us to have emotions, who made us human Our emotions help us to connect with others and God look at David. He had all sorts of emotions! Focusing more on God s rule rather than our white knuckling attempts to control Shifting from why me to How is God using this experience for HIS glory and renown?
LIVE IN THE PRESENT Mt 6:34 So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. We find a new relationship with life when we treat every moment as sacred. It is not what we get from each moment, but what we bring to it. We make each moment count. Living in the moment vs. Living for the moment Life is only lived now, God is only experienced now Being present in the here and now and soaking in moments God has created for us to grow and flourish in and through Worry takes us out of the present and causes us to Time Travel (worrying about the past or the future)
EMBRACING UNCERTAINTY AND DIALECTICS God is good AND I may or may not ___________. Remove Yes, but from your vocabulary. It s only Yes, AND from now on Embrace uncertainty to build resilience Notice when you pick up the paddle The ball only stays in motion as you hit it back and forth on the table. Emotions and thoughts are like the ball the paddle is our engagement with our emotions and thoughts. Just letting them be means we are able to drop the paddle and just allow the human experience to unfold without trying to control it or change it You may not be able to control your circumstance or situation, but you can control your response There is a difference between reaction and response. Reaction is impulsive and often swayed by emotions response is much more calculated and calibrated to our values and identity
PRESENCE WITH GOD Unplug & be present Jesus an many people of faith were keen observers. They had few distractions, we have many Note that many men and women of faith have unique experiences of God in solitude and the wilderness Companies make millions if not billions by deliberately creating products to suck you in and distract you A-muse to divert attention, distract, beguile Pray the Psalms especially Psalms of discouragement, lament, and fear Emotions are given to us for a purpose, they aren t symptoms, but they aren t perfect. They aren t to be ignored, nor are they to be embraced as ultimate truth. Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
PRESENCE WITH GOD Learn to meditate What is meditation anyways? Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things Brain training your brain does well what it does often What can we meditate on? Scripture Hourly mini-meditations A single Bible chapter for a week or even a month See Psalm 1 Nature and Creation See Psalm 19 God and His Attributes Blessings
THANKFUL SERVICE Serving others Proverbs 11:24-25 One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Acts 20:35a Remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: It is more blessed to give than to receive. Gratitude - Look out for God s goodness in all shapes and sizes 1 Thess 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God s will for you in Christ Jesus. James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
