Worry is like a rocking chair. It'll get you started. It just won't take you anywhere. Dr. Tony Evans says the Lord will take care of whatever you're fretting about, even if it doesn't happen as quickly as you'd like.
God gives you grace one day at a time. He will not give you tomorrow's grace today. He will give you tomorrow's grace tomorrow. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans.
Even though we know worry doesn't accomplish anything, sometimes we just can't seem to let it go. Today, Dr. Evans explains how anxiety can become a spiritual stronghold and how God can help us break its power. Let's listen. A man one day said to a friend of his, Mister, You sure look worried.
The man responded to the man. I got so many troubles. If something else goes wrong with me today, I have to wait two weeks to get around to worry about it. One of the great strongholds that holds people hostage today is the one called Werry. Anxiety.
And it comes in so many different shades and colors.
So many different ages of people. Who live lives of worry. I'm not talking about a momentary worry. That's not a stronghold. A stronghold is where you're held hostage by worry.
Where you worry And when you don't worry, you worry about what's getting ready to happen that's going to make you worry. Let's start off with Matthew 6. The concept of worry or anxiety or an anxiety stronghold. Jesus says in verse 25, for this reason I say to you, do not be anxious. He says in verse 31, do not be anxious then.
He says in verse 34, therefore do not be anxious. three times in this passage. The Lord Jesus Christ says, Stop. Worrying. That's anxiety.
Anxiety is to worry. The word for anxiety or worry comes from the concept of being strangled. Or choke. That's what anxiety does. It chokes you.
It keeps you from being free, from functioning. It keeps you up at night when you ought to be asleep. It makes you sick when you ought to be well. It leaves you frustrated when you ought to be free. It has a choking effect.
Yeah. Jesus says Don't worry. To which you might say, Well, it's easy for him to say he's God. Jesus says to his disciples, And if you are his disciple, he says to you and me, Stop it! Let me put it a little bit more bluntly.
Worrying is a sin. It is because it is a sin, he says, stop it. Worry is interest paid on trouble before it's due. Worry is like Fog. Did you know that fog that covers seven blocks only has one glass of actual water in it?
It's not nearly as substantive as it appears. The facts. Psychologists tell us that 80% of the things people worry about never happen. They worry about the possibilities. It is when people lose their ability to control life circumstances.
That anxiety sets in. Anxiety is so troubling that God says that it can keep you from hearing God's voice. In Luke 18, verse 14. And the Bible is full of worriers. God told Martha, you are worried about too many things.
Luke 10, 41, he says, you just have too much on your mind.
So then. Worry is wrong. Jesus says stop it three times in this passage. That's easier said than done, isn't it? Just tell me, what am I supposed to do?
Just shut my mind off and tell my mind, okay, mine. Pastor said, don't worry.
So let's quit it. No, it's not quite that easy. But it is possible. And we're all prone to it. I'm prone to it.
You're prone to it. Jesus says, stop it. One of the things that will help us to stop it is to understand why we do it. To understand what's involved. that frees us up to worry.
That's what makes this such a great passage. He says in verse 25, For this reason I say to you, Do not be anxious for your life as to what you shall eat or drink, or for your body as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow and Neither do they reap or gather into bonds. Yet your heavenly father feeds them, are not you more...
Worth much more than they? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single cubit to his lifespan? Why are you anxious over clothes? Observe the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don't toil, neither do they spend.
Yet I say that even Solomon in all of his glory, did not clothe himself. Like one of these. The first thing He wants you to know is that if you're anxious, you've forgotten who your father is. You've forgotten your Father! We say that again.
If you are worried, you don't know about Daddy. He says your heavenly Father Hold you more valuable than the birds? And the flowers. He says it's a parent kind of thing. Father.
He introduces this section of not being anxious. By saying, for this reason, referring back to verse 24, which says you cannot have two masters. Either God will be your master, who's your father, Or in this case, money will be your master, one of the main things people worry about. He says, but you can't have two masters. If money is your master, God won't be.
You'll be worried. He says the reason why you're worried is that you're focusing on the wrong authority. And he illustrates it so beautifully in verse. Twenty-five. He says, you're worried about your life, you're worried about what you're going to eat, you're worried about what you're going to wear, and he raises the question at the end of verse 25.
He says, is not life more than food and body more than clothing? He says you ought to be worried about whether you're going to get up. I mean if you go worry, let's worry about something big. Cause dead folk don't eat. Is not life more than food?
If you had a choice of not being alive today or not eating today, which would you choose? No matter how much you love to eat, if you don't get life, you don't have to worry about food. Because life is more important than food because you need life to enjoy food.
Now if your heavenly father is gonna wake you up He can find a little food for your stomach. Cause life is more than food. He says body is more than raiment. You're worried about clothes or the money for the clothes. He says, but Is it not more important?
To have arms to slip into the jacket? Than to have the jacket. Isn't it more important to have legs to slip into the slacks or to the skirt or dress? Isn't it more important to have a head for it to slip over? If God gave you a body...
Is it tough for him to cover it? He says You really do need to look at nature a little closer. It says what's Talk about the birds. In verse 26. He says they don't sow and they don't reap.
In other words, Mm-hmm. You don't see them plowing. You don't see them with deer machines cutting trenches. You do not see them. And yet they eat every day.
When is the last time you've seen a bird with an ulcer? Over the stress of worrying, how am I going to eat? Do you know how birds eat? He said in verse 26, your heavenly father feeds them. Yeah.
He didn't say birds eat because their creator feeds them. He says, birds eat because your daddy feeds them.
Now, what would you think about a daddy that had a bird cage in his backyard? Went out every day and put seeds in the birdcage in the backyard every single day. and wouldn't feed his kids. Kind of daddy is that? Don't say what he's saying?
Mm. If your daddy Feeds birds. That have no eternal value associated with them at all. Ever. And the birds.
Who have no eternal value tied to them ever at all, are always taken care of by your daddy. Are you? implying That you are so worthless to your daddy That he's not gonna feed you. Where he comes because you don't know daddy. I got up this morning.
to hear birds singing. outside of my window. The birds with no bank accounts. No mutual funds. They don't have any stashes anywhere.
And yet the bird caught up singing. Birds just chirping all over the place, just full of song and joy. Do you know why? Do you know why birds get up without a stash singing? 'Cause they're not worried.
Because they know something God's children don't. They know daddy. Uh And they understand that if God woke them up to be able to sing, he is going to locate a worm somewhere today. Because they understand that the Heavenly Father has built into His creation the supply. It's built in.
You see, the reason why we worry is because we have a problem focus. That's why we worry. We are so absorbed by the problem, we're worried about its effect on our lives. He says, you must make a mental switch because worry controls the mind.
So what God wants you to do is instead of focusing on the problem, which is only going to make you worry more, focus on the Lord. How do you do that? By prayer. Unfortunately, prayer isn't always our first inclination. But doctor Evans will explain how it can be when he continues our message in just a moment.
In the meantime, as we're learning today, God has a lot to say about how we deal with all kinds of tough emotional situations, not just worry and anxiety. And you'll find biblical guidance for those struggles in Tony's five-part teaching series, Overcoming Emotional Strongholds. available as our thank you gift when you make a donation to help us keep Tony's teaching on this station. And as an added bonus offer for making a contribution today, We'll also send you his companion booklets, 30 Days to Overcoming Emotional Strongholds and 30 Days to Overcoming Addictive Behaviors. Together, they provide practical biblical help for overcoming destructive patterns and walking in the freedom Christ offers.
Be sure to visit TonyEvans.org to get the details before time runs out later today. Again, that's tonyevans.org. or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222. where our helpful team members are waiting to assist you. I'll repeat that information later in today's broadcast, but first this.
When everything feels louder, faster, and more divided by the day, where do you find real peace? We live in a very frayed world. On the Unbound Podcast, Dr. Tony Evans explores timeless truth for today's toughest realities. Faith that doesn't escape the world, but speaks directly into it.
Prayer changes the chemistry of the brain. The Unbound Podcast with Dr. Tony Evans. Biblical truths. in real life.
Listen to the Unbound Podcast any time of the day or night on your favorite podcast streaming platform. And now Dr. Evans is back with more of today's message.
Some folk worry, other folk get what we'll call the ostrich syndrome. You know what ostriches do? They stick their head in the sand. As though somehow sticking your head in the sand means the problem doesn't exist. You don't deny the problem.
And come up with a, well, it's not really happening. Maybe I'm not really here right now. I mean, you know. That's ridiculous. That's a lie.
If there's a problem, there's a problem. If there's an issue, there's an issue. If there's something that's causing you to concern, that's something that's causing you concern. You don't deny it, pretend it's not so. That's not truth.
It is so. I am concerned that I haven't heard from my son and it's 1230 at night. He says no. Shift your focus intentionally and that is your signal to pray.
So some of us be praying all day. He says, let your request be made known unto God. Request is simply the specifics of the prayer. Lord, I'm concerned about this x-ray, and I'm beginning to worry about it. And I need you to give me peace about this thing.
I don't know. Lord, I need for my son to call me because I need to know he's okay. Make your request. Get specific with God and let him know specifically what you want when you begin to worry. Worry about nothing.
Pray about everything. But notice what he throws in there. He says, when you pray, pray with thanksgiving. With thanksgiving.
Now, what are you giving thanks for? That's the question. What am I thanking God for? Oh, that's so much. You see, what Thanksgiving does is it puts hope in the mind.
That's what Thanksgiving does. Let me give you a few things God says you should give thanks for when you're beginning to worry. Lord. Right now, I want to thank you for Romans 8.28. Because in Romans 8.28, you told me.
That all things will work together for good to them that love God and all are called according to his purposes. And so I want to thank you now that even though I'm a little nervous about what I'm getting ready to go through right now, you're going to take this situation and however it works out and you're going to make good come out of this. I thank you that this concern is not the last word. I want to thank you for that right now. Lord, I want to thank you for 1 Peter 5:18, which says that you promised to strengthen us in the midst of our suffering.
And I'm going through some suffering right now, but I want to thank you that the suffering will not have the right to zap all my strength because you promised to give me new strength. I want to thank you right now. Lord, I want to thank you for Psalm 62.11 because Psalm 62.11 says, all power is in your hand. And even though I can't see any solution to this mess that's going to keep me up all night tonight, I want to thank you that you have the final say so. I just want to give you thanks right now.
Lord, I want to thank you for 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 7, because in 1 Peter 5, 7, you said to cast all my cares upon you, because you care for me. I want to thank you that you're more concerned about this mess than I am. I thank you, Lord, that you didn't let things be as bad as they could have been. You come with Thanksgiving. And then, guess what the promise of grace is?
This is a grace promise because God's going to give it to you, He's going to give it to you. Because you went to the throne of grace. He's going to give you something. That is awesome, verse 7 says. And the piece of peace.
of God. Yeah. of God. Let me read that again. And the peace of God.
Now, how do you know whether it's God's peace or you just feel better right there? How do you know whether it's God's peace or you just had a few hours' sleep, so you got a little bit more get up and go? How do you know it's God's peace? He says, the way you know it's God's peace is that it surpasses all comprehension. If peace that doesn't make sense.
That's why you know it's God's. It's peace that you can't conjure up on your own. It's peace you can't manipulate. He says it is incomprehensible peace. It is a supernatural gifting.
A peace. That raised the question, what's the definition of peace? Peace is not happy feelings. You can go out and go to movies or something and go to a comedy and they'll make you laugh and maybe you'll forget your problems for a while. That's the superficial stuff.
Two painters one time. We're in a contest. And one painter painted this sunset with the sun going down over the calm water and everything was just nice and slow and just kind of a calming effect. Nice picture. But the other painter painted a picture of a storm, dark, the sky was dark, and there was lightning and there was thunder and there were clouds, dark clouds rolling over and the waves were crashing against the rocks and things were chaotic.
And in the corner of the painting at the bottom. Were two big stones with a bird in the middle. Singing. Oh, that's peace. Peace is when you still singing and that storm hadn't died down.
It's still thundering. It's still lightning, but you still singing. You know why? Because what God does when He gives you peace is gives you an umbrella in the middle of the storm. You pull out your umbrella, that doesn't stop the rain.
You pull out your umbrella, that doesn't stop the lightning. You pull out your umbrella, that doesn't stop the thunder. But what the umbrella does is keep you from getting wet. That's peace. Peace is where God's calm and God's tranquility overrule your concerns.
There was somebody to come here today and give a testimony. I call Hannah. Because in 1 Samuel chapter 1, she was worried that she couldn't give birth to a son. And the Bible says, and she threw herself before God. And she looked like a drunk woman.
She was so broken by her situation of infertility. And she threw herself before God. And before she ever got the blessing of getting a baby, it says, after she threw herself before God, it says, and she got up and her sadness went away. Oh, I call Daniel to testify. Because if Daniel was here this morning, he'd tell you that they passed an edict.
And the edict said, if you pray to any God except Darius for the next 30 days, you're going to be thrown in the lion's den. Daniel went home, the Bible says, with his shutters open. He got down, prayed like he always did, giving thanks. When he did, they threw him in the lion's den. But this is what I like about it.
While he was in the lion's den, the Bible says, he was at rest, but the king who threw him in there couldn't sleep all night long. That's what I like. That's a testimony. Yeah. Oh, I wish Paul was here this morning.
Because Paul wrote the book of Philippians. And guess where Paul is? He's under house arrest waiting to see whether he's going to be beheaded. He's waiting to see whether they're going to chop off his head. And he says in chapter 4, verse 4, even though I don't know whether I'm going to live or whether I'm going to die, rejoice in the Lord always.
Again, I say rejoice. He's testifying today. And you'll have a testimony too if you go to the Lord rather than worry. God is calling you to do that. He's calling you to peace.
Dr. Evans will return in a moment with one final suggestion about what to do with your worries. First though, what you've been hearing today is the final message in Tony's five-part teaching series, Overcoming Emotional Strongholds. As I mentioned earlier, today is the last day to request the complete audio collection. which includes material we didn't have time to share on the air.
Along with Tony's companion booklets, Thirty Days to Overcoming Emotional Strongholds and Thirty Days to Overcoming Addictive Behaviors. Together, these resources provide practical biblical encouragement to the people. to help you overcome unhealthy emotional and behavioral strongholds. and experience the freedom God desires for you. This special package is available as our thank you gift when you support Tony's ministry with your contribution.
Contact us today before time runs out at tonyevans.org. Or call us at 1-800-800-3222. and let one of our friendly team members help you. Our resource center is open 24 hours a day, so call right now. That's 1-800-800-3222.
If each one of us was custom-created to fit into God's design for our world, why don't more of us feel a sense of fulfilment?
Well, to morrow doctor Evans addresses that question. as he talks about how to discover your unique purpose on this planet. Right now, he's back with this simple exercise to help put worries in their place. If you're prone to worry, I want you to make yourself A worry box. Just get a little shoebox.
Clip a little hole in the top and call it But worry box. And when Satan makes you wary, It's moved from concern to worry. Take a slip of paper and simply write down your worry. Lord, I am beginning to worry about that, the da-da-da-da-da-da-da. And I'm going to fold it up.
And I'm going to put it in my worry box. By the way, God, this is the box you're responsible for. And every time I think about it, I'm going to remember that I put it in your box. It's not mine anymore.
Now am I telling you your problems gonna go away? Uh-uh. I'm telling you, you just opened an umbrella in the rain. And God's going to keep you from getting wet. He's going to give you peace that passes understand.
