So Paul gives us a step-by-step instruction on how to handle anxiety.
And so when we look at these biblical examples of these young people doing extraordinary things,
don't think that they were immune to the common feelings and emotions and desires that young people have today.
They're still people.
What a blessing it is to have biblical examples of young people doing extraordinary things from the Bible.
We can learn so much from David, Mary, and Joseph and countless others in the Bible.
Those of us who have teenagers in our lives can use these examples to encourage and mentor them.
And those of you that are teenagers can look to these examples for inspiration and guidance.
Now perhaps you've been watching these videos and thinking,
young people in the Bible lived so long ago, can we actually relate and learn from them today?
We face a lot of different issues and things and society lives on different parts of the world.
What can we actually learn from these biblical examples?
And that's a good question.
Yes, David, Mary, and Joseph lived thousands of years ago in a different part of the world,
but they were people who served the same God as we do.
They were people who had the same emotions, thoughts, and feelings that we have today.
For example, I believe that David, Mary, and Joseph all dealt with anxiety.
And as I've spent the past 10 years working with youth in a variety of different situations,
as a teacher, as a coach, and as a youth pastor,
anxiety is one of the main things that I talk about with youth
because it's one of the main things that they bring up as a problem that they're facing in their lives.
And I'm sure that David had to deal with some anxious thoughts before he stood toe-to-toe with Goliath.
Even though he was confident in his identity in the Lord and he knew what he was supposed to do,
I guarantee you there were still thoughts that went through his head, anxious thoughts, before he did what he did.
Mary had to deal with some anxious thoughts as she considered being a mother,
as she considered the shame and judgment that people would cast her way
knowing that she was pregnant without being married.
She had to fight with those feelings of shame and anxiety.
And Joseph had plenty of situations in his life that could have caused anxiety.
Being in slavery, being in prison, leading all of Egypt, even when he's elevated, right?
In Egypt, through a famine, there could be some anxious thoughts that he would be attacked with.
Am I capable of this? Am I fit for this? Do I know what I'm doing?
So what did they do with these thoughts and what do we do with anxious thoughts today?
What can teenagers do when they feel burdened with anxiety?
Well, we can do it what David, Mary, and Joseph did.
We can turn to the Lord.
Philippians 4 is a great example of what we can do with anxiety.
Paul was another biblical figure who dealt with his fair share of difficult situations and anxiety.
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul gives a step-by-step plan on what to do with anxiety.
It's from Philippians 4, starting in verse 4, Paul writes,
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice.
Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. 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.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence,
if there is anything worthy of praise, think of these things.
What you have learned and received and heard of me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Step-by-step. Paul dealt with anxiety.
He was in prison as he wrote this letter to the Philippians, and he starts with rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again. Rejoice.
He's in prison, and he's encouraging people to always rejoice in the Lord.
Always rejoice in the Lord.
Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.
And we can rejoice in the Lord despite our circumstance because we serve a God who's bigger than our circumstances.
David knew that he served a God that was bigger than Goliath.
Mary knew that she served a God that was bigger than this uncomfortable, impossible situation she was in.
Joseph knew that he served a God who is bigger than his time in slavery, bigger than his time in prison,
and bigger than the problem of the famine that Egypt was facing.
And that's why they trusted in him, and that's why they could rejoice in the Lord.
Not because they were confident in their own abilities, but because they were confident in the God that they were serving.
So be rejoicing in the Lord always.
Then Paul writes, the Lord is near.
be anxious about anything, but he doesn't stop there.
I'm glad that's not the end of the chapter
because if that was the command,
don't be anxious about anything, that feels impossible.
And I'm sure if you said those exact words
to David, Mary or Joseph,
they would have had the same reaction.
That feels impossible.
David was about to face a giant.
It's natural to feel anxious.
Mary was about to walk through her small town,
pregnant and unmarried.
There's reason to feel anxious.
Joseph was in prison.
That would cause anxiety.
So Paul keeps writing, maybe you're in a situation
where you feel like it's impossible to not feel anxious
about what you're going through.
So what do we do with it?
Keep reading.
Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God
in the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
So there's a promise there in verse seven,
the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds.
And that sounds great.
And that sounds like an answer to anxiety,
but how do we get there?
Well, it says first, but in everything by prayer,
pray about everything.
Pray about what makes you anxious.
Send your anxious thoughts up to the throne room of God.
Pray about what is causing you anxiety.
And I would say, pray it out loud,
pray it out loud and give it to God.
And then he says, with thanksgiving,
it is difficult to be full of gratitude
and also be anxious in the same time.
Those thoughts can't really exist simultaneously
in your brain.
So we're truly being grateful and thankful
to the God of the universe who gives us what we need.
It's gonna be difficult to be anxious.
So pray about everything and thank God for what you do have.
And then after that, he says, make your requests
when you know to God, and then the promise comes in.
So if we're truly being grateful
and we're truly giving our requests
and our anxious thoughts and desires to the Lord,
then he will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
But Paul doesn't stop there.
He continues in verse eight and he says,
finally, brothers, whatever's true, whatever's honorable,
and he gives a list of things
that we should be thinking about.
And I love that first one, whatever is true.
Have you ever noticed that anxious thoughts are not true?
They might be based in a real situation,
but they usually spiral and kind of end up in a crazy place.
That's where our anxiety can take us to a crazy place.
Crazy thoughts of things that are not gonna happen.
Paul says, focus on what is true.
Think about what is true,
not where our anxious thoughts can take us.
So Paul gives us a step-by-step instruction
on how to handle anxiety.
And so when we look at these biblical examples
of these young people doing extraordinary things,
don't think that they were immune
to the common feelings and emotions and desires
that young people have today.
They're still people, still people.
But in the exciting part about that
is we serve the same God,
the God who helped David face Goliath,
the God who used Mary in an extraordinary way,
the God who used Joseph and brought Joseph through slavery,
through prison, to a place of leadership.
That's the same God that we serve.
And we can learn a lot from these biblical examples.
And so whoever you are watching these videos,
if you're someone who has influence
over a young person's life,
if you're a teacher or a coach or a mentor
or a youth leader or a parent,
use these examples, use these truths,
impart them on the young people in your life,
encourage them, encourage them.
If you're a young person watching this,
be encouraged by these examples.
You can do extraordinary things
just like the people in the Bible did.
You can be used in mighty ways.
The Lord can and wants to use you.
And remember this, the who is more important than the what.
Who you are is more important than what you do.
And so often we ask young people,
especially seniors in high school,
their whole year, if you're a senior in high school,
you relate to this.
You're constantly being asked,
what are you gonna do next year?
What college are you gonna go to?
What's your career?
What job are you pursuing?
What do you wanna be when you grow up?
Even at a young age, we ask kids that.
What do you wanna be when you grow up?
And those are good questions to consider.
It's good for young people to have goals and dreams
and be striving for something.
But what is more important than the what
is who you are.
So what if we ask young people that more often
or make sure they know who they are
and who their identity is rooted in
because their identity should not be rooted
in what they do, in a career path, in an athletic ability.
and anything like that, it should be grounded in who they are, and who you are is a child of God.
That is your identity. And if that is what we can impart on youth, if that is what young people in
Generation Z can be grounded in and know that, that they are a child of God, that that is who
they are, if that's what's most important to them, if they're grounded in that truth, then you will
do extraordinary things. Put your identity in that, who you are, not what you do. Put your identity
in Christ, and he will use you to do extraordinary things.