Too Blessed to Be Stressed, Part 2: Trusting God With What Stresses You

Maybe stress is keeping you up at night, about money, your health, your kids, or a future you can't see. Here is the short answer from Jesus: you can't simply switch worry off, but you can replace it. Seek God's kingdom first. The places where you feel the most stress are often the very places where God has promised His presence and provision. This post is drawn from Pastor Marty Sloan's message on August 30, the second part of Too Blessed to Be Stressed in the Kingdom series. If you missed it, start with Part 1 on what Jesus says about worry in Matthew 6.

Why do bad things happen if God is good?

Bad things happen, even to good people, because we live in a broken and fallen world. That doesn't mean God did it, and it doesn't mean He has let go of you.

If everything seems to be falling on you at once, read the first chapter of Job. Job loved God and was blessed by God, and then he lost nearly everything in a single day. His response is one of the most striking in Scripture.

Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.

Job 1:21

Verse 22 adds that in all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. He was caught between a problem and a promise, and he held on to the promise. Whether you are coming in or going out, your life is in the hands of a good, loving, and faithful God.

What does God promise about the things that stress you?

The same areas where you feel stress are often the very areas where God promises His presence, provision, and blessing. For each one, Scripture gives a matching promise. Find the one you need today and read the full verse.

• Money and provision. "My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). Stress says, "What if I don't have enough?" Blessing says, "My Father knows what I need."
• Health and strength. "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). God never promised you wouldn't face sickness. He promised you would never face it alone. One of His names is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals.
• Family. God loves your kids and your marriage more than you do. "All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace" (Isaiah 54:13). Worry doesn't fix anyone. At some point you place the people you love into the hands of the God who loves them.
• The future. God is already in your tomorrow. "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you" (Isaiah 26:3). "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5).
• Work and purpose. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" (Colossians 3:23). Your value and purpose come from God.
• Decisions. "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God" (James 1:5).
• What you can't control. What is out of your control is never out of God's. "In all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Romans 8:28).
• The past. Regret and shame say, "Look what I've done." Grace says, "Look what Christ has done." "If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
• Death and eternity. For the believer, death is not the end. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25).

Is worry a lack of faith?

Worry is often a trust issue. Underneath the anxious thoughts is a question: can I trust God with this?

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith?

Matthew 6:30

When Jesus says "you of little faith," He isn't calling anyone terrible. He is naming what is underneath. For example, think of crossing a creek on a shaky log versus driving over a concrete bridge. The difference is how much you trust what is holding you up.

Faith isn't knowing what will happen. It's knowing who God is, whatever happens. As Pastor Marty put it, "I don't have to understand everything to trust the King."

How does selective obedience weaken your faith?

Every command you set aside makes your faith less able to hold you when pressure comes. Selective obedience is choosing which of God's commands you will follow. Picture a block wall where each block is something God asks of you: loving your neighbor, forgiving, serving, reading the Word, sharing the gospel. Each time you decide "I don't believe that one," you pull out a block. Eventually the wall can't stand under pressure. James 1:8 describes a double minded person as unstable in all their ways.

In the message, Pastor Marty made the same point with a basketball and a drill. Each hole drilled into the ball made it bounce less, until it stopped bouncing altogether. That's what happens to a faith full of exceptions. James 2:26 says faith without works is dead.

What does "seek first the kingdom" mean when you're stressed?

It means you turn your attention from the problem to God before you do anything else. Jesus doesn't only say "stop worrying." He says "start seeking."

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:33 to 34

You can't just remove worry. You have to replace its focus. Seek before you stress, not after you've searched online and called everyone you know.

When you seek the kingdom, the questions change. Stress asks, "What am I going to do?" The kingdom asks, "God, what are You doing?" Stress says, "My will be done." The kingdom says, "Your will be done."

How do you pray when stress takes over?

Pray the prayer Jesus taught, and aim it at the specific thing you're worried about. Earlier in Matthew 6, Jesus taught His followers to pray this way: "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). Somewhere between that prayer and "seek first His kingdom," stress starts to lose its grip.

Kingdom prayer moves your attention from yourself to God. Pray it by name. Your kingdom come in my marriage, my family, and my finances. Your kingdom come in my health, my workplace, my future, and the situation I can't control.

When his own mind races at night, Pastor Marty quotes Scripture to himself and prays God's will over his thoughts. Your Father knows what you need before you ask. So who will you let rule over your trouble? When Jesus is King, the bank account isn't, the diagnosis isn't, and the past isn't. That is why you can say, "I am too blessed to be stressed." For more, Pastor Marty recommended Deeper by Dane Ortlund and All In by Mark Batterson.

Common questions

What does "seek first the kingdom of God" mean?

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus gives the answer to worry. Instead of only trying to stop worrying, turn your attention from the problem to God's kingdom and His righteousness. Pray and look to Him first, and trust Him to provide what you need.

What does the Bible say about stress over money?

Philippians 4:19 promises that God will meet all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. In Matthew 6, Jesus says your heavenly Father knows what you need. Stress asks whether you will have enough; faith answers that your Father knows.

Why did Job not blame God?

After losing nearly everything, Job worshiped and said, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." Job 1:22 says he did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. Bad things happen in a fallen world, but God remains good and faithful.

Is worry a lack of faith?

Jesus says "you of little faith" in Matthew 6:30, and underneath worry is often a trust question: can I trust God with this? Faith doesn't mean knowing what will happen. It means knowing who God is, whatever happens.