Worry has a way of filling the whole screen. The bill, the diagnosis, the child who will not call back: one problem grows until it is the only thing you can see. If that is where you are, you are not a bad Christian. You are a person with a crowded mind, and Scripture has something for you.
One word before we start. Anxiety is real and it lives in the body. If you see a doctor or counselor, or take medication for it, keep doing that. Nothing here asks you to stop. This is about where you turn your eyes while you do.
1. Faith pleases God, and faith moves
In his message Faith in Motion, Pastor Alan Baggett taught from Hebrews 11:1,6: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
Notice what the chapter is: a list of people who moved. Noah built an ark where there was no water. Abram left home not knowing where he was going. Moses’ mother hid her son from the king. None of them waited to feel calm first. They moved while the weather was still bad.
2. Ask what you are looking at
Pastor Alan asked how a person activates that kind of faith, and his answer is worth reading slowly. You must catch a glimpse, not of your problem, not of your pain, not of your past, “But of the MAJESTY OF GOD!”
That is not a way to pretend the problem is small. Your problem is real, and so is the tightness in your chest. It is a way of putting the problem next to something larger, so it is measured honestly. Anxiety measures everything against your own strength. Majesty measures it against His.
3. Isaiah saw it, and it changed everything
Isaiah 6:1 says, “I saw the Lord… high and lifted up… and the train of His robe filled the temple.” Pastor Alan pointed out what that means. Kings wore long robes to display their victories, and the longer the robe, the greater the triumph. Isaiah did not see a small robe. He saw one that filled the temple.
Then comes the line he gave the church: “because MY GOD HAS NEVER LOST A BATTLE!” You may have lost sleep over a battle. Your God has not lost one.
4. Bigger than your today, bigger than your tomorrow
Anxiety lives mostly in tomorrow. It runs the what-ifs on a loop. Pastor Alan answered that directly in the same message: God is bigger than your past, “Bigger than your today. Bigger than your tomorrow.” The thing you are dreading is already inside His reach, and He is already there.
The Lord says it Himself in Isaiah 41:10: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God.” Notice the reason given. It is not that the situation is easy. It is “I am with you.”
5. Faith in motion does not have to be loud
If you hear a message full of words like aggressive and unshakable and feel worse, hear this part. As Pastor Alan put it, “FAITH IN MOTION doesn’t have to be Loud.” It “is Convinced God can do what He says he can do.”
That is a faith an anxious person can have. It can be a whisper at the kitchen sink. It can be one sentence on a bad night: You are mighty, and I am scared, and I am bringing both to You. It can be a phone call to a friend or a doctor. Motion counts, however small.
6. One glimpse today
Try this. Before you open your phone tomorrow morning, step outside or stand at a window. Pastor Alan said every sunrise declares His faithfulness and every season testifies to His consistency. Read Psalm 93:1 or Isaiah 6:1 aloud. Then say to God, plainly, the one worry that is loudest. Leave it with Him for the next ten minutes, and then do the next ordinary thing.
A glimpse of Majesty will not delete your problem. It will put your problem back in its proper size.
If you are in the White House, Tennessee, area and would rather not walk through this alone, Today’s Victory Church meets Sundays at 3 p.m., and Thursday Bible Study is at 6:30 p.m. You do not have to have it together to walk in. If you are ever in immediate danger or thinking about hurting yourself, call or text 988 right now.
Scripture in this piece: Isaiah 6:1; Hebrews 11:1,6; Isaiah 41:10