Pastor Josh White started his March 21 sermon with a bit of audience participation — two red pieces of paper, a fake-out, and a room full of raised heart rates. “How many of you are worried your heartbeat just raised about 20 beats per minute?” he quipped. It was a perfect setup to talk about what Google ranks as the #1 thing people worry about: getting old.
But here’s the problem, Josh reminded us: the things we worry about change constantly. Last year it was COVID, the election, the economy. Next year it’ll be something else entirely. And yet God tells us plainly — do not worry about anything. How is that even possible?
As part of the Philippians series on building stability in the Christian life, Josh walked through two ways our focus determines whether we worry or walk in peace.
Why We Don’t Have to Worry: God Is Near
Philippians 4:5-6 gives us the command and the reason together: “The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”
The Greek word for at hand can mean near in time or near in space — and Josh argued the probable sense here is God’s presence. The Lord is near to us. He is with us. And because He is present, we don’t need to spiral into anxiety.
King David understood this. In Psalm 145:18, he writes: “The Lord is near to all who call on Him in truth.” And in Psalm 73, after describing how God guides and holds him, David asks the rhetorical question: “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You.” When your focus is on God’s presence — that He is near, that He holds your hand, that He receives you to glory — worry loses its grip.
Psalm 34 adds another layer: “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles… The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” David knew from experience that when you’re focused on the Lord, you realize you have nothing in life ultimately to worry about.
“For me, it is good to be near God.”
— Psalm 73:28
The Danger of Focusing on Our Worries: David’s Story
But here’s where it gets real. David — the man after God’s own heart — also had moments when he was consumed by worry and made catastrophic choices.
After Samuel anointed David as Israel’s future king, the current king, Saul, wanted David dead. David fled, relying on his best friend Jonathan (Saul’s son) for cover. But when the situation grew dire, David’s focus shifted from God’s protection to his own problems.
The results were ugly. First Samuel 21 tells the story: David showed up at the temple and lied to the priest — saying he was on urgent royal business — just to get bread. Then David fled to Gath, where his reputation preceded him. The servants of King Achish asked, “Is this not David, of whom they sing, ‘Saul has struck down thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”
David was terrified. So terrified that verse 13 says, “He changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane, and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard.”
Joshua called it: this is what happens when we panic and worry. We become unstable. We lie. We pretend. We fall into temptation and do things that are completely out of character.
“He was consumed with worry. He was paralyzed with his worry. And this is what we do when we panic and we worry — we are not stable and not secure in our faith.”
— Pastor Josh White
The Answer: God’s Plan Is on Schedule
So what’s the antidote? Joshua walked through a question chain: Is there a God? Is He a good God? Does He have a plan? The answer to all three is yes — and if that’s true, then nothing in this life can prevent God’s plan from taking place.
Romans 8 reinforces this with one of the most powerful passages in Scripture:
“And we know that for those who love God, God causes everything to work together for the good of those who are called according to His purpose.”
— Romans 8:28
And then verse 38-39:
“I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow — not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below — indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
— Romans 8:38-39
If these verses are true — and they are — there is nothing ultimately to worry about. God’s plan is right on schedule. There is nothing you can do to mess it up, speed it up, or slow it down. When your focus is on God and His promises, you can rejoice in the Lord always and stop being obsessed with worrying about things you cannot control.
So What?
Here’s the application: Josh closed by pointing out that the world around us doesn’t have this hope — and most people should probably worry because they don’t know God’s presence or His plan. That’s exactly why Easter matters. The most important days for Christians are Palm Sunday and Easter — when we celebrate that Jesus is the Lamb sacrificed for our sins and that He rose from the dead.
If you know someone who doesn’t have this hope, invite them. Invite them to church or to watch online. The gospel will be shared. And that’s a concern worth replacing our everyday worries with.
“Be strong and courageous… for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
— Joshua 1:9
Scripture References
- Philippians 4:5-6 — The command not to worry, grounded in God’s presence
- Psalm 145:18 — The Lord is near to all who call on Him
- Psalm 73:23-28 — God holds my hand and receives me to glory
- Psalm 34:5, 15, 18 — Those who look to Him are radiant; He is near to the brokenhearted
- 1 Samuel 21 — David lying to the priest and pretending to be insane
- Joshua 1:6-9 — Be strong and courageous; the Lord is with you
- Romans 8:28 — God works all things together for good
- Romans 8:38-39 — Nothing can separate us from God’s love