![]() How easy it is to copy, paste and send that to a friend. Here’s another example of a famous “Do not be anxious” verse. “Do not worry” is not a command to beat ourselves up with, but a privilege that is ours already, because we are children of our heavenly Father, who knows all that we need. Your heavenly Father knows: he knows what we need, and trusting that frees us to pursue his kingdom rather than be paralysed with anxiety. Your heavenly Father knows: you are his valuable child, and children are supposed to feel powerless! Times of worry can even benefit us if they make us feel our powerlessness and so depend on our Father as we were created to. Your heavenly Father knows: the one seated in the place of all power is able and willing to help. If you have come to him for forgiveness, he is your Father. He came for those who are poor in spirit, who know their need. Your heavenly Father knows: you are not excluded because you worry. Like a parent holding their child after he wakes from a nightmare, the Lord is with us." "The reason we do not need to be anxious is right there at the start – the Lord is near. But we need to pick wisely! Let’s consider how we could fight anxiety by meditating on those four simple words: “Your heavenly Father knows”. Picking just a few words is ideal when our concentration is hampered by anxiety. Meditating on God’s word is a powerful and biblical way to fill our minds with truth to chase away anxious thoughts. Rather she had lost sight of her status as a valuable child of her heavenly Father. My friend wasn’t being a “rubbish Christian” when she was worrying. Are you not much more valuable than they?” We miss the argument of the section which drives to the conclusion – verse 32 - do not worry because “ your heavenly Father knows that you need. Taking this verse out of context we miss the repeated relational emphasis of the following verse where Jesus argues that “your heavenly Father feeds. I still remember the relief that flooded my friend’s heart and mind as we looked at those words “Do not worry” in their original context, Matthew 6v25-34, because then we see the all-important why. So, on top of the fear, she had additional layers of guilt that she was a “rubbish” Christian. As a Christian she knew all the right Bible verses about anxiety, but as she read “Do not worry” (Matthew 6v25) all she could hear was “real Christians don’t worry”. ![]() ![]() She had a fear of dogs, to the point that she could barely leave the house. I say “picture of health” because, just like a picture, there was something hidden underneath that you couldn’t see. ![]() With tumbling locks of blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and a wide smile, my friend was the picture of health. BIBLE VERSE ABOUT ANXIETY SERIESThe Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross Series. ![]()
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