May 2, 2023
Ira Glass, host and producer of the radio and
television series This American Life once interviewed an Orthodox
Jew by the name of Meyer Silber. A portion of the interview
uncovered an uncomfortable reality about our anxiety regarding God.
Here's a part of the conversation.
Ira: Do you obey the commandments [of the
Jewish Law] out of fear that something bad will happen to you if
you don't?
Meyer: I would say that I do, to be
honest.
Ira: What's the bad thing that would
happen?
Meyer: I guess maybe it's a fear of not
knowing. The fear of not belonging, sort of like abandonment. That
maybe with my abandonment of God, God would abandon me, and I would
be alone, and I would be responsible for myself. [Whereas] if I can
go and do the things that God wants, God is with me.
Meyer's words perfectly articulate a feeling of anxiety
that many people, including a large number of Christians, have
regarding their relationship with God. There is this constant
underlying fear that God doesn't really have our back and that we
have to manipulate Him to bless us. This feeling is called
spiritual anxiety.
Here's the good news: Jesus wants to help move us from spiritual
anxiety to spiritual freedom. Listen to a few words he shares with
people who are dealing with spiritual anxiety:
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am
gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls." ~ Matthew 11:28-29
Those last few words are full of so much hope, "you will find
rest for your souls". Where does so much of our anxiety
reside? It resides deep in our souls, especially when we wrestle
with our relationship with God.
In this sermon we are going to learn from Jesus how we can move
from a spiritual system of anxiety and live free in a place of
grace and love. Take a few minutes and give it a listen, I know you
will find it to be helpful!