Why Am I So Anxious - John 14

Have you ever made the mistake of telling your children about vacation? It’s Mother’s day and so this felt appropriate - mom’s, you ever have littles and you make the mistake of saying the nice thing out loud? Because kids don’t hear a plan. They don’t hear a commitment, right? This is why we parents spell the word ice cream, right? Because you can’t say that word out loud without them losing their minds. I’m talking to my wife, hey - maybe tonight after soccer practice, we can go get some ice cream. And the two year old pops their head up. I’ll have some ice cream. I’ll have some ice cream right now! No, buddy - daddy was just talking about ice cream. And the two year old looks at you with those big ol’ eyes. It is God’s great practical joke that my babies have my wife’s beautiful brown eyes - that’s not playing fair. They look up at you with those beautiful eyes and say, “Chocolate.” [hold out your hand]. But kids want it instantly, right? They don’t understand plans, they don’t understand delayed gratification, they don’t understand that sometimes to get to the good thing, there might be some steps that have to come first. The one that drives me absolutely up the wall is “are we there yet?” Some of you know this, my folks have a place up north, takes us 3 hours or so to get there. We love going up there for vacation - Oma and Papa have a boat, beautiful lake, just so peaceful. But we will get in the car, and I’m not even on the expressway yet and the question starts, “how much longer?” Still three hours buddy. Okay, how about now? And my wife is much more patient than I am - she might be annoyed, but she still answers the question. Me, I get so grumpy I start giving out fake answers. How much longer? Oh, buddy - it’s going to be like 15 hours. You can go ahead and take a nap. 5 minutes later, how much time is left? Oh, you’ll be graduating high school before we get there - so stop asking. We don’t tell kids about vacation - we don’t tell them the plan because we know they’re going to bug us about it constantly. I made the mistake one time of telling my kids that we were going on vacation like 2 months before we went. We finalized plans with my folks and I told the kids, ‘hey - we’re going to the lake house this summer!” - every. Single. Day. for two months, my son Asher pops his head off that pillow, “we going to Oma and Papa’s today?” What? No! We’ve got to wait for the snow to melt. 

We know this about our children. We can laugh about it because so many of us have seen something similar. We know this about the human condition. We’re not great at waiting for things. We’re not great at trusting that the good thing really will come. But how often do we ever connect the silliness of our children (when it comes to ice cream and vacation) with the silliness of our anxiety when it comes to trusting God with the good things in our life. Matthew, chapter 7 tells us, Jesus says this [read v.9-11]. How much more…will your heavenly Father… look out for you? As many of you know, we’ve been in this series called “Can I Ask That?” and every week we’ve gone after one of the really tricky conversations in our world. We actually ran a survey a couple months ago to find out what people in our church had questions about - and one of the top topics was anxiety. And so today we’re going after the question, “If Jesus promises peace, why am I so anxious?” 

And so if you want to grab your bibles - we are going to be in John chapter 14 today. Easiest way to find it is on your phone - but if you’re working with a physical bible, that’s amazing too. But while you’re looking up John chapter 14, let me set the table a little bit. This is a story from Jesus - with his disciples. But if you jump right in you’re going to miss some huge stuff. Jesus is hanging out with his disciples - it is the last night that Jesus is alive. In chapter 12, Jesus predicted his death. In chapter 13, right before where we are going to dive in, Jesus washes the disciples’ feet, predicts his betrayal, maybe you remember that whole bit with Judas at the last supper, right?, AND he predicts Peter’s denial. Jesus is laying down ALL these clues. I’m about to get arrested, mocked, tortured, whipped, spat on, and crucified. And the disciples are absolutely losing their minds. Jesus, what are you talking about? Betrayal? Denial? Death? What do you mean you’re leaving? You’re Jesus! You’re the one who multiplies food, that calms the sea, that heals people just by touching them - how can you leave? The disciples have been following this guy around for three years at this point - and now he’s leaving?? Can you imagine with me the level of panic they must be feeling? Now I know a lot of you are Christian, and you know up in your head that Jesus is God and God is always with us - sure, whatever. But man alive - it doesn’t always feel like that, does it? For them AND for us, right? Jesus - how am I supposed to make it through this job hunt if you’re not with me? Jesus - how are we supposed to deal with the Romans if you’re not here to guide us? Jesus - how am I supposed to deal with this parenting struggle, or this medical condition, or this marriage problem - if you’re not here with me? Jesus - how can we feed the 5,000 if you’re not here with us? Jesus is LEAVING, and the anxiety, the stress, the denial that they must be feeling - unreal. 

And he starts out… with.. This.. [read v.1]. And a little bit (JUST a little bit) that feels like telling your wife to calm down in the middle of a fight. Don’t let your heart be troubled - oh, okay! Perfect Jesus, thanks! I just won’t LET my heart freak out. I’ll just flip that switch - where is that button? Do not let your heart be troubled - I’m going to need a little more Jesus. So we keep reading, verse 2, [read v.2-4]. Now in case you’ve never heard this before - this is very famous language, Jesus is talking about heaven. I am GOING to prepare a place for you, and then I’ll come back and get you - and bring you back with me to heaven. But he ends it with, “and of course, you know the way to where I am going.” and one of his disciples, Thomas, pipes up. Verse 5, [v.5]. Of course you know where I’m going - nope! No we don’t! But look at what Jesus says, verse 6, [read v.6-7]. You don’t know the way - right here! I AM the way. Jesus IS the way. And then my boy Philip pipes up. It’s so funny - i feel like most of Jesus’ teachings are like long monologues of just Jesus talking and nobody interrupting. But NOW, the disciples have realized that the final exam starts tomorrow, so now they’re ALL paying attention, they’ve got questions, they want clarification. So this conversation is way more “group discussion” than usual. Jesus says, “I AM the way to the Father” and then Philip says, in verse 8 [read v.8-10]. Jesus says, “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.” And the teaching I want you to hang on to with all of that is that if you know Jesus, you know GOD, God the father almighty, who created the heavens and the earth, who made every single one of us and has a plan for our lives - THAT God and Jesus are of the same essence. And it gets a little goofy, and hard to understand - to be honest I don’t understand how it all works - but Jesus’ teaching here is really clear: if you know Jesus, then you know God.

And Jesus is making this connection obvious because he’s trying to comfort them in their anxiety. He’s pointing at God’s power and saying, “you don’t have to worry - God is with you.” But then in verse 11 he says, [read v.11] Now, wait a minute. How do those two dots connect? On the one hand, the disciples are stressed and freaking out - they are full of anxiety. And on the other hand, Jesus is saying, “remember my miracles!” But - why would his past power help me feel better about my future stress? How could that answer the question - why am I so anxious? [pause]. There must be a question underneath the question. The truth that Jesus is hinting at is that anxiety is directly linked to how much we trust the one in control of tomorrow. Jesus points at the past and says, “look at the power I have shown. Look at how God the Father and I are on the same page” and then he turns to the future and says, “You know I can take care of THAT too.” What God has done in the past can give us confidence that he can handle our future too. 

So let me ask - are you paying attention to what God has been doing in your life? God has been working in your life ALL along. It is possible that you just didn’t see it. And I’m not trying to be weird and mystical about this - Christians have to train their eyes to see God in this world. It takes practice. It’s a muscle you have to work out. When my wife and I first bought our mini-van. I don’t think I had seen a minivan on the road in YEARS. But as soon as we bought one - suddenly I saw them EVERYWHERE. And not just any old minivan - but my EXACT style of minivan! I think there’s like four other families in this church that have literally the exact same van we do. Once you start looking for something - something that has been there all along - but once you open your eyes, suddenly you start to see it everywhere! It’s the same with seeing what God is doing in your life. Once you start looking for God in your life - you’re going to see him all over your life. It might be little nudges that you dismissed as coincidences, it might be epic miracles - but you’re missing all of it, because you’re not looking for it. Jesus comforts the disciples in their anxiety by saying, “at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.” 

And let me get really practical with you - if you’ve never done anything like this. One of the easiest ways to start looking for God’s movement - I have two. First - thank God for what you are grateful for. We do this in my home - at breakfast, my prayer is always the same thing. And maybe it’s cheesy, but I can’t stop doing it - because it’s SO helpful for me to see what God is doing. This is my prayer, I hold Sara’s hand and I say “Dear God, thank you so much for another day. Thank you for the food on my table. Thank you for the roof over our heads. Thank you for our amazing children. Please watch over us today, Amen.” That’s it. I do that every single day. There’s no silver bullet in religion to make your stress go away - and I can’t prove it, but I have a strong suspicion that those 37 words are the reason your pastor is such a cheerful human being. Praying for what you are grateful for is one of the best ways to see God moving in your life. The second thing is a little more involved, but if you keep at it - it’s amazing. Write down your prayers. Put it in a note on your phone, put it in a notebook, a prayer journal - whatever. Write down your prayers. Whatever you’re requesting, whatever you’re going through - write it down. Keep that up, six months, a year later - go back and see what you wrote down. The further out you are, the more you can see God’s work in your life. And the reason I put this out there for you - the reason we repeat gratitude EVERY DAY and the reason we need to write things down is because we, all of us humans, including every single person in this room - we are crazy, stupid, forgetful. Our ability to forget or ignore what God is doing in the world is legendary. 

Let me show you what I’m talking about - you can stay in John 14, I’m just going to hop through the Old Testament for a second. You remember when the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt, right? Then God sends this guy Moses, and God performs the 10 plagues. SURELY if you have witnessed GOD perform the 10 plagues of Egypt - SURELY you would be confident in God’s ability to get you out of a tricky situation. But then the Israelites flee Egypt, they bump up against the Red Sea - and they panic all over again. Exodus 14, verse 10 says [read v.10-11]. I don’t know the exact timeline - but I figure if I witnessed God turn the nile river into blood and send locust and frogs and turn off the sun like a lightbulb like yesterday - he could probably get us over this pond today. BUT in those moments when we are confronted with a problem - we are stressed and anxious and overwhelmed - we forget God. But of course Moses parts the red sea, and they walk across on dry land. Epic moment, super famous story - they made a bunch of movies about it. Surely then they were confident in God’s power. They get through the Red Sea, they go through a bit of desert - they get a little thirsty and again, Exodus 17:3 [read v.3]. And I’ll save you a bit of reading - this happens OVER and OVER and OVER. Numbers 14, verse 3 - they’re confronted with a possible battle against an enemy that looks really strong, and again they freak out. Sure - this guy will perform the ten plagues, and part the red sea and make water come out of a rock - but how can we even be sure that he even really likes us? How can we have any confidence that God will take care of us?  [read v.1–4]. When we are forgetful of who God is and what God is capable of - we get scared, we get anxious and that makes us want to run backwards. That’s the whole point of the passover celebration - to help the people remember what God did for them. 

In your life, you have seen glimpses of God. You just didn’t know that’s what you were seeing. Maybe only on a nature video - but you’ve seen a volcano erupt. A meteor cut through the sky, a flower open in the sun, an eclipse swallow the sun, a thunderstorm shake the ground - all of it running on borrowed glory. None of the earth’s magnificence is accidental or even original. Instead it is merely an echo of the one who spoke it into existence. Psalm 8 tells us, [read v.3-4]. There is a creator God present in every breath in your lungs. There is love. There is attention. There is care. There is nothing in this universe that demands you be noticed, and yet you are. Some of you have been Christians for decades and you’re still not convinced that God loves you. Because our forgetfulness is legendary. If you have not practiced noticing God, your eyes won’t see. Your “remembering” muscle is out of shape. We may forget our Father in heaven, but he has NOT forgotten you. 

Back in John, with Jesus and the disciples, verse 16 Jesus says, [read v.16-17]. So he doesn’t just point backwards - Jesus points forward. I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate. Now that word “advocate” - in my bible, I’ve got a little asterisk next to it. And if you look down at the bible, it gives some alternative translations in the footnote - mine says it could also be “comforter, encourager or counselor.” Now I know maybe this is sort of basic stuff - but it’s SO important. We’ve got God the Father, we’ve got Jesus the son - and then the third part of God is the HOLY SPIRIT. The one Jesus sent to inspire and walk with his disciples. But here’s what’s crazy - at one point Jesus says, “the holy Spirit is BETTER than I am.” in chapter 16, verse 7, one page over, Jesus says, “in fact, it is BEST for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.” Think about that for a second. Think about something that is stressing you out. Maybe you’ve got a medical situation coming up. Or you’ve got some hard conversations coming up - some conflict in the family. These gas prices are eating into your finances, and you’re watching the budget disappear. Or you’re doomscrolling through a news feed and your blood pressure is just spiking - whatever the situation is. If you had the literal, physical Jesus sitting next to you in your trial - would you feel better? Of course you would! Jesus - thank God you’re here. Er, thank you you’re here - or whatever, I’m glad you’re here. We would feel SO incredibly confident if we had Jesus Christ himself sitting next to us - but Jesus says, “it is BEST for you to have the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is better for you than having the actual physical Jesus sitting next to you in your struggle. 

Jump down to verse 25 to finish up, [read v.25-27]. The disciples are freaking out, Jesus says, “God is going to send you the Holy Spirit - better than me - the Holy Spirit is coming.” And then he finishes with, “I am leaving you with a gift.” The gift of peace of mind and heart. This is sort of the last big thing I want you to catch from the scriptures today - peace of mind is a GIFT. It’s not something you can earn. It’s not something you can work for. It’s not something you can find by yourself. That word in greek, irenen - it’s sort of the greek equivalent to the hebrew word Shalom. It’s a deep abiding peace, harmony. And it’s meant to indicate a supernatural gift from God, rather than a natural state we can achieve. Peace of mind is a gift. And most of us never open it.

It’s Mother’s day, right? Imagine you get your mother or your wife an amazing gift. Don’t worry if you forgot - we’ve got you covered, all the ladies today got chocolate AND flowers. But let’s assume you didn’t forget, and you get her this beautiful gift and you wrap it up in a box and hand it to her. And instead of opening it, she tucks it under her arm and says, “wow - this is so great. Just knowing this is here makes me feel so much better.” And she carries it with her to church, puts it right there on the seat next to her. She carries it with her to brunch. She carries it with her all over - but she never opens it! Can you imagine how annoyed you would be? God has sent you the gift of the Holy Spirit, the advocate, the encourager, the comforter, who will give you the supernatural gift of peace in your mind and in your heart - and we leave it unopened. Hear it one more time. [read v.26-27]. Our ability to forget that God is our Father. That he is good, and he loves us and has a plan for us, and will redeem even the worst things that happen to us - our ability to forget that is legendary. BUT the Holy Spirit’s ability to remind us is unbeatable. 

The good news this morning is that God is glorious. I don’t want to diminish the distress in your life. If you are struggling with anxiety here this morning - it matters. It’s real. It is huge. I don’t need to be dismissive. We can recognize that our problems are huge - that’s okay, because our God is even bigger. The anxiety of this world pales in comparison to the power of our God. God is GLORIOUS, and he cares about YOU. Stress and anxiety in your life are not a measure of how good or bad your life is - it’s a measure of how much you are remembering God’s glory. I heard someone say recently that if you’re playing poker and you’ve got a losing hand, there’s only one thing you can do - bluff. Lie. Deceive to try and win with a losing hand. What I’m trying to remind you of this morning is that the devil has a losing hand. Because our God is glorious. And all powerful. And he loves you. And Satan knows he has a losing hand! So he’s throwing everything he’s got at you. He will lie, cheat, steal, bluff and huff and puff to try and get you off track. To try and get you to forget that God has the winning hand. The devil wants you to forget that he cannot win, so that you will just give up.

So I have two challenges for you this week. Anxiety really comes for all of who you are - it attacks you physically AND spiritually - so I have a response to both. First - anxiety is a physical phenomenon and so my challenge for you is to go touch grass. Some people mean that as an insult - but I mean it literally. Go outside, take your shoes off and stick your toes in God’s creation. It’s amazing what it does. Go watch a sunset and remind yourself that the God who made THAT also made you. Ground yourself. Find a quiet place and just watch flowers blow in the breeze. First - touch grass. Second - unplug. Take a social media fast. Take a news fast. Just for a week - see what it does to your stress level. If you can swing it - get rid of cell phone usage entirely. If not, reduce it as much as possible. Get away from screens - phones, tablets, tv’s - even beyond the stressful content, even just the type of light that comes off of that stuff. They say it takes like 45 minutes for your eyes and your mind to decompress from screentime, they recommend putting the phone away an hour before you go to bed. Good thing we don’t bring it INTO our bed and doomscroll until we fall asleep. And if you take me up on this challenge - and you turn off the screens an hour before bed. Use that time to pray! Take a moment before bed and thank God for everything he’s given you. That practice will shift your whole mindset. Third - prioritize diet, exercise and healthy sleep patterns. We talked about this last week - God gave you a body and he CARES what you do with it. It is amazing to me how much God made human beings like flowers. You can turn your whole day around simply by taking a walk in the sunshine. So that’s the first challenge - attack anxiety from the physical angle, go touch grass. 

But anxiety is not just a physical thing - it is ALSO a spiritual thing. And on the spiritual level, my challenge for you this week is REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE. The world is going to do EVERYTHING it can to get you to forget, and so your challenge is to REMEMBER. In just a minute, we’re going to worship with our last song, which is called No longer slaves. And it’s based on a scripture in Galatians that says, [read 4:7] and I just want to leave those words on the screen for a second. And I want you to think about what a child is. If a child is worried about something, and we comfort them, ‘Don’t worry - you’re my child.” I’ve got a two year old daughter. If she’s scared, and she clings to me. And I wrap my big powerful arms around her, and I say, “don’t worry - you’re my baby girl, nothing is going to happen to you.” Am I saying - “don’t be afraid, because you are going to be able to handle it on your own”? Am I telling my daughter, “you’ve got everything you need to succeed - get out there and do it yourself”? Absolutely not. There will be a day for that - she’s going to grow up and get out there and conquer the world. But right now, when she is scared, or anxious or stressed and I reassure her - when I say, “you’re my baby” - I don’t mean, “you’ve got this” I mean “Dad’s got this” Mom’s got this. When we comfort a child it is not a statement of confidence in the child, it’s a statement of confidence in the parent. When God says, “you are my child” that’s not a cute claim to family connection. That is a statement of confidence in God’s glory. Let’s pray.