In Dr. Evans’ new liberating series “Free at Last,” we learn how to live a life of “Freedom from Anxiety.” It is important to note that anxiety or worry was not limited to the audience of Jesus’ day. Today, many of us are still plagued by worry and its negative effects on our minds and emotions. We worry about such things as financial responsibilities, health issues, and terrorism; some of us even agonize over what other people think of us. The list of anxieties that we experience is endless; however, we can rest assured that there is freedom from all of them. Let us reflect upon Jesus’ explanations regarding worry and how to experience liberation from its bondage.

Freedom from worry begins when we identify it as sin. Jesus repeats Himself three times in Matthew 6, verses 25, 31, and 34 by saying, “Do not worry,” If Jesus tells us to stop doing a particular thing and we continue to do it, then we are sinning. Worrying occurs in our lives when circumstances control and dictate our well-being. On the other hand, we can be legitimately concerned about it if our circumstances are not negatively controlling our minds and attitudes. The issue of worry is an issue of control. What circumstances in life have entrapped us in a circle of threatening thoughts, as we twirl about in endless fear? How can we release our lives from anxiety and experience freedom from worry?

Freedom from worry occurs when we realize the significance of our lives. In verse 25, Jesus asked, “Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” Our Heavenly Father sees us as so valuable to Him that our lives and bodies consist of much more than worry over feeding and clothing ourselves. The provision of food and clothes is a minor activity of God, not a major one. Yet, when this minor activity appears to threaten us by negative circumstances, we go into a panic mode. Our concern should be over what we do with our lives and bodies rather than what we are going to eat or wear. God’s plan for us is larger than eating and clothing ourselves. Jesus begins to discuss birds and flowers in verses 26 and 28. The birds never worry about food, and the flowers never spring forth without being beautifully clothed in nature’s radiant colors. These are divine provisions of God that His creations experience because they are a part of a built in process of nature. Jesus says that we are more valuable than birds, and grass has a short life span (verse 30). Jesus’ point is amazing! If birds and flowers, which are lower creations of His order, enjoy God’s natural provisions without worrying, how much more should we, the highest order of creation on God’s planet, experience His natural provisions, free from worry? We must realize that God has created us to be far more valuable than those lower creations as we expand our view of God.

Freedom from worry occurs when we expand our view of God. Jesus says to the disciples what no Christian wants to hear, “O you of little faith,” verse 30. We worry because we have a diminutive view of God. We express little faith because we view God as small. Unfortunately, the level of our worry describes the level of our faith. We fail to study what God does in nature. Jesus says, “Do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’”(verse 31). We further compound our lack of faith by speaking in agreement with our worry. When this happens, we act like the “Gentiles” (unbelievers) because now we have begun to talk like unbelievers; these are the very things that they seek after with no thought of God. Unbelievers confuse the necessities of life (food, clothes, and shelter) with the desires of life (expensive food, clothes, and shelter). This confusing attitude increases the level of worry and causes us to mistrust God because of misplaced priorities and an incorrect perspective of God. We must first seek Him.

Freedom from worry occurs when we seek God first. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you,” verse 33. When we seek the kingdom, we are seeking God’s rule in our lives. When we seek His righteousness, we seek His standards and His will for our lives. We must seek Him first, not second or last, if we are to be liberated from worry. Often, God is not our priority; therefore, we worry because we lack confidence. We turn Jesus into a “genie in a bottle” and expect Him to fulfill our own selfish desires. We fail to realize that He truly desires to add to our legitimate needs when we allow Him to be “King Jesus,” as He is to the birds and flowers. King Jesus continues to inform us not to worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. When we worry about tomorrow, we increase the burden of today. We can plan for tomorrow but not worry about it. Appropriately, God supplies our needs one day at a time, and when tomorrow arrives, He will be there waiting!

Let us decide to be free from worry by realizing that it is a sin to worry. We have a choice to make. Our lives are extremely significant to God and involve more than daily needs. Our faith will increase when we make God larger than our circumstances and when King Jesus rules our lives as we first seek Him and His will for us. “God will keep you in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Him, because He trusts in you,” Isaiah 26:3-4. Be liberated from worry and remember that Christ loves you!