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8 Arguments Against Anxiety Compiled by John Piper

#1 Life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Matthew 6:35

#2 God feeds the birds and you are more valuable than they are. Matthew 6:26

#3 It's pointless, it adds not one hour to your life. Matthew 6:27

#4 If God clothes the ephemereal grass, he will clothe eternal you. Matthew 6:28-30

#5 Unbelievers are anxious about stuff, and you are not an unbeliever. Matthew 6:32a

#6 Your father knows that you need all these things you are anxious about. Matthew 6:32b

#7 When you seek first God's kingdom and righteousness, what you need is added to you.

#8 Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Tomorrow's trouble stays there. Matthew 6:34

Royal Access

"Likewise the spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches our hearts knows what is the mind of the spirit, because the spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." (Romans 8:26-27)

Imagine that your prayer is a poorly dressed beggar reeking of alcohol and body odor, stumbling toward the palace of the great king. You have become your prayer. As you shuffle toward the barred gate, the guards stiffen. Your smell as preceded you. You stammer out a message for the great king: "I want to see the king." your words are barely intelligible, but you whisper one final word, "Jesus. I come in the name of Jesus." At the name of Jesus, as if by magic, the palace comes alive. The guards snap to attention, bowing low in front of you. Lights come on, and the door flies open. You are ushered into the palace and down a long hallway into the throne room of the great king, who comes running to you and wraps you in his arms.


The name of Jesus gives my prayers royal access. They get through. Jesus isn't just the savior of my soul. He's also the savior of my prayers. My prayers come before the throne of God as the prayers of Jesus. "Asking in Jesus' name" isn't another thing I have to get right so my prayers are perfect. It is one more gift of God because my prayers are so imperfect. Jesus' seal not only guarantees that my package gets through, but it also transforms the package. (Excerpt from A Praying Life by Paul Miller)

The Treasure Test

A couple of nights ago, at caregroup, my pastor talked about where our hope lies. He discussed counting all things as loss in order to gain Christ (Philippians 3:7-8). One thing that stood out to me, was his challenging question of what is my treasure. If (fill-in-the-blank) did not happen in my life or work out, how would I react? There are many things I hope will happen in my life, but there is a tendency in me, and I wager other Christians, to put my hope in those good things. I've seen how i react when God denies me things (it's never pretty) and it reveals how much of my heart is wrapped up in those things. It's so subtle, and sometimes I don't see how subtle. Which is why I need to ask myself this question: "Will I be ok, if (fill-in-the-blank) Does Not happen?". Can I truly say, "All I have is Christ?". It's a question that reveals my treasure, what am I hoping in and looking towards. It's ok to want good things, and we should pray about them, it is when you feel like you will be unhappy and unsatisfied if you don't get those things, that it becomes idolatrous.

I want to echo Paul, and sincerely be satisfied in Christ alone, I want to be able to say with Job when everything was stripped from him: "Though he slay me, I will hope in him (Job 13:15).

So ask yourself this question, test your heart. If the things you want in life will never happen, how will you react? Anger, frustration and resentment or peace and contentment? How you react to the loss of things (or potential loss of things) is indicative of where your treasure lies. Are you coveting that which won't last, or resting in the sufficiency of the savior?

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Forgiving from the Heart

... For he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your father is merciful. (Luke 6:35)

Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you? (Matthew 18:32-33)

Awhile back I received a strong rebuke from one of my roommates about my attitude toward another guy. I had been harboring deep bitterness for the pain and grief he had caused me. As a result, I was full of anger and resentment. He had put me through so much that I was unable to forgive him, or so I told myself. In response to my unforgiving attitude my roommate shot this question at me, "Do you have any idea the crap you and I did to Christ?!" It was one of the strongest rebukes I've ever had. And through it, I saw that I had really failed to grasp that the gospel affects how we live with--and show mercy--to one another. We can never stare too often or too long at the mercy of God. It is so easy to forget how much I have been forgiven, nothing anyone has ever done to me can ever match the amount of evil I have done to God in my rebellion. We were once his enemies, waging war against him with our sin but it was his kindness and mercy that paid for our sins and reconciled us to himself. It is vital that we dwell on the riches of his kindness to us. We fail to believe the gospel when we treat another sibling in Christ or an unbelieving neighbor with contempt, scorn, or resentment because we fail to remember the horror we inflicted on the son of God.

Furthermore, our refusal to show forgiveness and mercy demonstrates that we have not truly received the father's forgiveness and mercy. A good friend pointed it out to me, that the king in the Matthew 18 parable was angry with the unmerciful servant not simply because he was cruel (he was) but that the servant never truly received the King's mercy. Showing mercy to others is a fundamental part--an outpour--of our receiving, treasuring, and trusting in the mercy of God the father. So, are you harboring any bitterness in you heart? Has someone just really ticked you off big time? Do you feel that some people aren't worthy of your interest, time, or patience? Then run to the cross! Remember what you have been spared. It is only by dwelling on how patient and merciful God has been to you that you can be merciful to your brother, sister, or neighbor. And trust God to keep His promise to make obedience "healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones" (Proverbs 3:8).

God's Timing

"God’s sense of timing will confound ours, no matter what culture we’re from. His grace rarely operates according to our schedule. When Jesus looks at Jairus and says, “Trust me, be patient,” in effect he is looking over Jairus’s head at all of us and saying, “Remember how when I calmed the storm I showed you that my grace and love are compatible with going through storms, though you may not think so? Well, now I’m telling you that my grace and love are compatible with what seem to you unconscionable delays.” It’s not “I will not be hurried even though I love you”; it’s “I will not be hurried because I love you. I know what I’m doing. And if you try to impose your understanding of schedule and timing on me, you will struggle to feel loved by me.” (Kings Cross, by Tim Keller, pg. 63)

The Truth Behind Complaining

This is an excerpt from Stephen Alltroge's book "The Greener Grass Conspiracy." It was a section that stood out to me (among others) and really convicted me. Do we really take time to think through, what we are ACTUALLY saying when we as christians, complain about our life?

When we complain, we're saying that the blessings of the gospel aren't enough. We're saying that the death of Christ isn't enough. We're saying that eternal fellowship with God, purchased at great cost to God, isn't enough to satisfy our souls. We're saying that forgiveness of sins and peace with God is nice, but not that nice. We're saying that God "[has] not wisdom, or power, or mercy enough," to provide for us. We're saying that God himself, who is the very definition of goodness, isn't good enough. We would like a little something more, if you don't mind. God plus [insert desire of choice] should do the trick. When we complain, we accuse God of being stingy, of not giving us enough. Do you see the utter sinfulness of complaining? It tramples the gospel in the mud and paints God as a cosmic Scrooge. Even though God gave up what was most precious to him to bring us to himself, it's not enough. Even though God proved his generosity with blood, we don't believe him. God has emptied his pockets for us, and yet we complain.1

We desperately need to return, again and again to the gospel. Re-applying it daily. When tempted to complain, it is vital that we remember "the hell we deserve and the heaven we've received."






1 Altrogge, Stephen "The Greener Grass Conspiracy" p. 72, Crossway