I see the commercials all the time; a happy family, running in slow motion, enjoying a day in the park. Except for the mother. She struggles along with a dark cloud over their head. Speaking in soft, soothing tones, the narrator says, “Does anxiety keep you from enjoying the simple things in life?” The mother continues to lag behind the family, with rain falling on her alone. The narrator concludes the commercial by encouraging us to “ask your doctor if (insert name of medicine here) is right for you.”
Medication is essential and effective, but I’m left wondering why the rest of the family didn’t seem to notice the raincloud over mom’s head? Why didn’t someone at least bring an umbrella for her?!?
The Challenge of Anxiety
Anxiety can be challenging for us all. Modern medicine is wonderful and is tremendously helpful with anxiety. But the first defense against stress is a community of people who care for each other and speak peace into each other’s lives.
Proverbs 12:25 tells us, “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.” In this message, we look at what Proverbs says about how we can help each other cope with the stresses and anxieties of life.
Ask your preacher if Proverbs is right for you!
This sermon continues the series that began with Proverbs: Short Sentences Long Remembered. We’re spending the summer looking through Proverbs, focusing on the “Solomonic Proverbs,” those short one-sentence sayings in chapters 10 through 22. We will likely make a diversion here and there, but I want to spend as much time as possible in these “short, pithy sayings.”
And the series needs to be as practical as possible. I mean, Proverbs just scream to be practical, don’t they? After the service Sunday, everyone got a card like the one below. This is homework! Offer someone a kind word this week!
