You probably remember the “What Would Jesus Do?” trend from the late ’90s. It seemed everywhere you looked, plastered across T-shirts, hats, jewelry, and all kinds of other merchandise, the WWJD slogan was a blithe, shallow reminder to live up to Christ’s moral code.

But Christianity is not about mere morality. It’s about the atoning work of Christ on our behalf. With that in mind, we can ask much better and more sanctifying questions, like “What did Jesus do?” and “What did He say?” Our ability to avoid and defeat sin comes not from imagining Christ in our circumstances but from obeying His clear commands and following the example of His life in Scripture. Knowing what Jesus said about sin is key to overcoming it.

We’ve been discussing our natural bent toward anxiety, and what God’s Word says about how we must control and conquer our worry. In Matthew 6:25 Jesus commanded His followers, “Do not be worried about your life, as towhat you will eat or 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?”

The tense of the Greek text is properly translated, “Stop worrying.” The tense in Matthew 6:31 is different, however, and means, “Don’t start worrying.” Thus Jesus brackets our passage with this meaning: If you are worrying, quit; if you haven’t started, don’t.

The Greek word for “life” is psuchē. It has to do with the fullness of earthly, physical, external life. Don’t be anxious about this temporal world—and the food, clothing, and shelter associated with it. Jesus said previously, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Focusing on earthly treasures produces earthly affections. It blinds our spiritual vision and draws us away from serving God. That’s why God promises to provide what we need.

As children of God, we have a single goal—treasure in heaven; a single vision—God’s purposes; and a single Master—God, not money (Matthew 6:19-24). Therefore, we must not let ourselves become preoccupied with the mundane things of this world—“what [we] shall eat, or what [we] shall drink” (Matthew 6:25).

Perhaps in our modern society, such a warning seems a bit obscure. After all, there’s a market of some sort on practically every corner. And we’ve got so much water in our homes, we don’t often think about running out.

It usually takes some kind of disaster—like the massive storm that hit the eastern United States recently—to shake loose the cobwebs of sustained comfort and remind us that our basic necessities are often abundant, but never guaranteed. And even then, such disasters usually amount to only a temporary interruption of our normal routine.

Life in the world of the New Testament was not so simple. There were times when the snows didn’t come to the mountains and, as a result, the streams didn’t run. Sometimes a plague of locusts would devour the crops, bringing about famine in the land. When there was famine, there was also no income. And when there was no income, no one could purchase food, clothing, or other necessities.

Jesus’ saying not to worry about such things is especially powerful in the context of His day. Certainly that is an indictment of our own worry about life’s basics. Jesus then asks rhetorically, “Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25). Of course it is, but you wouldn’t know it judging by what’s advertised today and what people seem to feel they need to be pursuing.

So many people in our society are totally consumed with the body—they decorate it, build it up, extravagantly clothe it, put it in a nice car, send it off to a nice house, stuff it full of food, sit it in a comfortable chair, hang a bunch of jewelry all over it, take it out on a boat, let it swim, teach it to ski, take it on a cruise, and so on. But life is not contained in those things; it transcends all the externals. Life comes from God—and the fullness of life from Jesus Christ.

(Adapted from Anxious for Nothing.)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary detective, Sherlock Holmes, is one of the most intriguing creations of literary fiction. He is, quite simply, extraordinary. His famous cohort, Dr. John Watson, is ordinary, at least by comparison. Watson has often been erroneously portrayed as a bumbling fool, but that flies in the face of Doyle’s attempt to make the average reader relate to Watson.

In this well-known interchange between Holmes and Watson, see which character you more closely resemble:

HOLMES: You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room.

WATSON: Frequently.

HOLMES: How often?

WATSON: Well, some hundreds of times.

HOLMES: Then how many are there?

WATSON: How many? I don’t know.

HOLMES: Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, because I have both seen and observed. (“A Scandal in Bohemia” in The Complete Sherlock Holmes [New York: Doubleday, 1927])

You probably don’t know how many steps you regularly ascend each day, and therefore you relate to Watson. But here Holmes is making a point similar to the one Jesus makes in Matthew 6:25-34. There Jesus directly addresses the topic of worry, telling us what to do about it and why. Like Holmes, He says we need to take a good look around us and observe, or think deeply about the meaning behind what we see. This is what Jesus tells us to ponder if we want to be free from worry:

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 not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air, that 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? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing?

Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 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!

Do not worry then, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear for clothing?” For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Emphasis added)

The often-repeated phrase “Do not be anxious” is the theme. The Lord is issuing a cease-and-desist order against anxiety, based on the sovereign care of a loving and omnipotent God. While many worldly professionals offer therapeutic and chemical suggestions for managing your worry, Jesus commands us to stop it altogether.

(Adapted from Anxious for Nothing.)

This series originally appeared on the GTY website Copyright 2012, Grace to You. All rights reserved. Used by permission.”

Worry is a common temptation for all of us. The source of the anxiety might vary from person to person, but no one is completely immune. For some, it’s even a favorite pastime, occupying large portions of their days by troubling over their doubts and fears about the future.

Obsessing over those doubts and fears shows blatant distrust for God’s power and His love. It essentially says, “God, I know You mean well by what You say, but I’m not sure You can pull it off.” It’s one thing to doubt a future decision or outcome—it’s another thing entirely to doubt the Lord. But in spite of its lack of subtlety, worry is a sin we fall into easily and often.

What’s more, it’s a sin that cruelly inflicts a severe toll on the sinner. The word worrycomes from the Old English term wyrgan, which means “to choke” or “strangle.” Anyone who has dealt with serious anxiety knows that’s the exact impact it has in your life. It strangles your mind.

There are also physical repercussions. We’ve already talked about panic attacks, but even less-severe anxiety can have a negative impact on your health. Excessive worry causes some people to eat too much—others don’t eat well or enough when they’re locked in the grip of anxiety. In general, worry tends to interrupt most healthy patterns. Worriers get less exercise, less sunlight, and less interaction with other people as they withdraw into cocoons of anxiety.

Worst of all, worry does significant damage to your spiritual usefulness. As you read through the Scriptures, you see over and over that God wants His children preoccupied with Him, not with the mundane, passing things of this world. His command is clear: “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2).

That includes even basic necessities. In our society, most people don’t need to worry about their ability to find water or food on a daily basis. But those were present realities and concerns in the world of the New Testament, and Jesus’ teaching was clear that even those essential needs were not an excuse for anxiety (Matthew 6:25).

Today, people’s concerns and fears regarding those basic necessities are manifest in different ways—mostly in stockpiling. Some people stockpile food and water; others, money. But regardless of the object, the act of stockpiling is basically an attempt to determine one’s own destiny apart from faith and trust in God.

Even Christians can make that mistake. It wasn’t much more than a decade ago that many believers and even entire congregations were selling off their property and possessions and moving to bunkers in rural parts of the country in preparation for the impending Y2K disaster. That kind of myopic, obsessive anxiety about the future cripples your spiritual growth and stifles your usefulness to the Lord.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t make any preparation for the future. Believers are commanded to be financially responsible and care for their families (1 Timothy 5:8). Scripture does not imply that having a savings account, investing extra money, or owning insurance shows a lack of trust in God. Such provisions from the Lord are reasonable safeguards for the average person in any complex, modern society.

However, preparing for the future ought to be balanced with Jesus’ command to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33) and to “lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven” (Matthew 6:20). We are not to lavish on ourselves what God has given us for the accomplishment of His holy purposes.

I believe in wise planning, but if after doing all you are able to, you still are fearful of the future, the Lord says, “Don’t worry.” He promised to provide all your needs, and He will: “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). That is His concern, not yours.

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Adapted from Anxious for Nothing by John MacArthur

This series originally appeared on the GTY website Copyright 2012, Grace to You. All rights reserved. Used by permission.”

Anxiety, fear, worry, and stress are familiar words in our day, and familiar experiences to many. More and more we’re hearing of an extreme form of anxiety referred to as a “panic attack.”

What was once a rare and extreme example of anxiety has become frighteningly common in our society. Panic attacks are usually related to an unfounded fear—one so overwhelming and so overpowering that it clutches a person’s heart, makes it beat faster, produces chills or perspiration, and the person feels completely unable to cope with the moment.

Anxiety is, at its core, an inappropriate response in light of the circumstances. It’s very different from the cares and concerns in life that cause people to attend to business in a responsible way. Stress and pressure are not the enemies. In fact, often they’re good things, strengthening us to accomplish the challenges God sets before us in life.

The apostle Paul wrote that apart from the unrelenting external pressure he had to face, such as persecution, hardship, and imprisonment, he also had the daily internal pressure “of concern for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:28). In spite of that, he had room in his heart to feel the anxiety of others, for he went on to write, “Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?” (2 Corinthians 11:29). He wouldn’t have had it any other way, though.

In fact, that kind of response to pressure is what Paul looked for in those who would serve with him. Note how he commended Timothy to the Philippian church: “I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare” (Philippians 2:20; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:17). Anyone who knows and loves Jesus Christ is capable of handling pressure like that.

The wrong way to handle the stresses of life is to worry about them. Jesus Himself said three times, “Do not be anxious” (Matthew 6:25, 31, 34). Paul later reiterated, “Be anxious for nothing” (Philippians 4:6). Worry at any time is a sin because it violates the clear commands of Scripture.

We allow our daily concerns to turn into worry—and therefore sin—when our thoughts become focused on changing the future instead of doing our best to handle our present circumstances.

Such thoughts are unproductive. They end up controlling us—though it should be the other way around—and cause us to neglect other responsibilities and relationships. That brings on legitimate feelings of guilt. If we don’t deal with those feelings in a productive manner by getting back on track with our duties in life, we’ll lose hope instead of finding answers. Anxiety, left unresolved, can debilitate one’s mind and body—and even lead to panic attacks.

I am particularly concerned about the solutions some Christians offer to the problem of anxiety. A survey of the books put out on the topic by evangelical publishing houses is telling. Most are formulaic, anecdotal, or psychological in orientation. They contain a lot of nice stories, but not many references to Scripture. And when Scripture isemployed, it is often incidental and without regard for its context. That kind of lip service to God’s Word turns rich, biblical truth into shallow incantations. “If you do this and this, then God must do that.”

To tackle anxiety in a biblical fashion, first we need to know the primary Scripture passages on the topic. Then we need to consider those passages in their context—not merely cite and recite them unthinkingly or use them as props for a nice story or a suggested behavior-modifying technique. As a person “thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7).

We need to shatter modern misconceptions and realign our thinking on anxiety with what God says about it in His Word, and why. Only then will we be able to apply His precious Word to our hearts. We won’t just know we’re not to worry; we’ll have confidence and success in doing something about it.

And we can be aggressive in our approach. I’m calling this series Attacking Anxiety because I want you to know you can attack this crippling foe and win. Even if you’ve struggled with anxiety for years, I want to give you the encouragement you need to get back into battle.

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Adapted from Anxious for Nothing by John MacArthur

This series originally appeared on the GTY website Copyright 2012, Grace to You. All rights reserved. Used by permission.”