I recently listened to a message on anxiety by Don Greene, one of the pastors at my church. He brought to light several things about anxiety that I found interesting. You can listen to his sermons on anxiety here.

He stated, “Your earthly anxieties expose your earthly priorities. What you’re anxious about shows what you think is important”.

Wow, something to think about! The more I thought about that statement the more I realized it was true. Even small things that we feel anxiety over, such as being stuck in traffic have underlining feelings such as worrying that we won’t make an appointment on time, or that being late for work will jeopardize our job, or “fill in the blank”.  Some of the things we worry about are good things and they are truly important, such as family and friends, while other things are less important such as physical appearance, fear of failure, insecurities, etc.

When you stop to think about the things you worry about, you may be surprised to think that those very things reveal a lot about your heart and mindset.

Luke 10:38-42 talks about anxiety and learning to focus on what’s truly important….Jesus Christ. As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Martha was anxious about preparations, possibly the meal they were going to eat. Maybe she was worried about what everyone would think of her if the meal didn’t turn out the way she wanted. Mary on the other hand was focused on Jesus and what He had to say. Jesus pointed out, “only a few things are necessary, really only one”. Martha wasn’t bad for placing a high value on her preparations. But she allowed something less important to steal her away from something that was of greater importance. When we stop to think about what we’re worried about, we are reminded that only one thing is truly necessary, and that’s a relationship with Jesus. At some point we will lose everything on this earth that we hold dear. We can’t take anything with us when we die. The only thing that will not be lost is God’s love for us and our faith in Him.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Looking inward, I had to stop and think about the things that bring anxiety to my life, and ultimately reveal what’s important to me. Some things were good, such as wanting to hold on to family because I love them, while other things were insignificant in light of eternity. I’m forced to look at each fear and anxiety and remember that God can be trusted with each thing I bring to Him. He cares about even the smallest things that I take to Him.

What else do people worry about? Common fears and anxieties are often around relationships, finances, health, other’s expectations of us, our own expectations, fear of failure, fear of rejection, and fear of the unknown.

But when we put God first and make Him our first priority, we can rest in the knowledge that He will take care of all those things. That doesn’t mean that He will give us everything that we want. But it does mean that He will give us everything that we need. We can lay our fears and anxieties at His feet and know that He cares for us. Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, 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 comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

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