Cast Your Cares On Him
Greetings Foothills family!
For Father’s Day, my daughter took me to see the film Inside Out 2. Inside Out and Inside Out 2 are animated films that tell the story of a girl dealing with life transitions and biological changes. What makes the films unique is that they create characters inside of the girl that represent her emotions - Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, etc. Pixar’s ability to portray these characters and the emotions they represent is incredible!
In the second film, the girl is going through puberty, and the emotion of focus is Anxiety. There is a powerful scene (I won’t give away any details) that shows just how intense the grip worry and anxiety can have on us given the right circumstances.
One of the things I appreciated about the movie is that they didn’t represent Anxiety as the “villain” of the movie. Anxiety is not all bad. A healthy amount of anxiety will spur me on to study for an upcoming test or pack my luggage in preparation for an upcoming trip. We may find that we would lack in productivity without an acceptable amount of anxiety. Having anxiety is not the issue. The issue is when anxiety has us.
Now, I want to be clear. You may have heard that it is a sin to worry, or it is a sin to be anxious. I don’t believe these are accurate views of Scripture passages that address worry or anxiety. It is true that you can find Scripture that deal with holding on to worry or being anxious.
Matthew 6:25, 33 says, “Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?...But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”
Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
However, if you study these texts and others like these, you will find that a remedy is provided for worry and anxiety, not a punishment if you don’t stop being worried or anxious. God is not coming at worry and anxiety like an angry judge, but like a caring physician. Again, God knows that in this life we will have times of worry and anxiety. He just wants us to avoid allowing the worry and anxiety to have us. So, He points us to the beauty of his kingdom and the power of prayer as effective remedies.
I should add one more thing. For many, the battle against worry and anxiety requires additional remedies alongside prayer. For many, medication, an understanding and supportive community, and other coping strategies must be employed as well. This does NOT mean that their faith is weak or nonexistent.
All that said, no matter what healthy and appropriate solutions you use to combat anxiety, today I encourage you not to leave out meditating on the beauty of God’s kingdom, and meeting God in prayer. I’m so glad we have a heavenly Father who invites us to “cast all [our] anxieties on Him, because He cares for [us].” (1 Peter 5:7)
Remember church family, God is for you, God is with you, and God loves you!
Pastor Chris
