Why are believers so anxious? We know the Prince of Peace. He actually lives inside us. So why are we so anxious all of the time? Scripture tells us not to worry after laying out that our heart will be where our treasure is (Matthew 6:19-21). This makes me wonder if we are treasuring things above Jesus. Surely if we were treasuring Jesus first, our heart would be there instead of focused so hard on things that it consumes us and steals our peace. But what does it even mean to treasure Jesus first? Sometimes I get sick of Christianese because it feels like empty words regarding head knowledge and lack of obedience. I wonder if our lives would look differently if we took seriously all of the truths we “know.” How do we fight against this? I don’t know the answers. I know that Matthew 6:25-34 says the birds of the sky are fed and provided for as well as the grass in the fields and we are of more value than these things, made in God’s own image. If this is what prefaces our Lord’s call to not worry about tomorrow, this leads me to believe we have a chronic weakness of doubt in how He will provide and what is to come - leading us to obsess over things instead of let them go and let them pass. Why is it that when we are nervous about something, we obsess over it? As if that will solve the problem faster or make waiting more patient or enjoyable. I am freaking guilty as heck of falling into all of this. I can’t help but think this is not how we are created to live and certainly for the Christian, the state of being we are called to and invited into. If Jesus offers to carry and give rest to the heavy burdened, isn’t that you and me? Aren’t we heavy burdened? Sooo where’s the rest? It would be a grave mistake to believe this anxiety is a faultiness in the promises of God rather than a lack of biblical following of Christ on our end. In His word, God calls us to seek the kingdom and His righteousness first. I wonder if we are seeking kingdom righteousness or achievement, approval, being productive and distracted? Are we seeking to have a “fulfilled day” or a “fulfilling life” above seeking the fullness we find in resting with Jesus. What would our lives look like if we encountered the worrisome and tedious things with “how can I pursue God’s righteousness through this situation?” Would this lead us to serve our families and roommates more? Would this lead us to be present? Would we speak of our professors, managers, bosses, coworkers with honor and dignity rather than bashing them because of the stress we feel they add to our lives? Would we be kinder to the person who got our order wrong instead of projecting our internal unhealthy unrest on them? Who and where are we projecting rather than resting? It would be easy to walk away from a thought like this with a determination to be better and do better at resting and not worrying. The most relieving thing in the world is that God is never asking us to muster up the will to perform. He knows we fall short and stray every day one way or another and still tells us that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. That “if we are faithless, He remains faithful” (2 Timothy 2:13). Our Lord is in the business of responding to mustard seeds of faith and repentance of our lack of trust. He says gently to His child “Thank you for coming to me. It is so good to hear your voice and be near to you. I love you. You are mine. You are taken care of and I want to grow your trust.”