High school can be a stressful time. Achieving high grades, maintaining friendships, completing assessments on time, working towards your chosen post-school pathway, and, on top of all that, navigating the challenges of everyday teenage life. Juggling all these responsibilities can lead to anxiety, stress, worry, and at times, burnout.
Thankfully, God knows our struggles, and in His Word, He has provided us with antidotes to help us navigate life’s challenges with a greater sense of peace and calm.
I was watching a reel once of an American living in Australia who was documenting things he regarded as uniquely Australian. Things he simply didn’t encounter in the United States. In one particular clip, he pointed out how many birds there are in one of our cities. He was highlighting how Australian urban areas are steeped in birdlife. Even I have noticed the abundance of birds around my own neighbourhood. Interestingly, these same creatures were used by Jesus in His famous Sermon on the Mount. My hope for you is that after reading this, birds will become a regular reminder of God’s great love for you during times of anxiety and stress.
Let’s read Jesus’ antidote for worry from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:25–34):
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
What is this text teaching us? Here are a few key takeaways from the passage:
- Don’t worry about tomorrow. Live life one day at a time.
- Don’t worry about your food. Look at the birds. They don’t store worms in a fridge, yet God feeds them.
- Don’t worry about your clothing. Look at the flowers. They don’t work or weave, yet God clothes them in beauty.
- God loves you far more than birds and flowers, so you can trust Him to provide for your daily needs.
- What, then, should your focus be? Jesus says to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness.
What a great comfort! God cares for us to such a degree that He looks after our daily needs like food and clothing. He simply asks us to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness. This rich principle applies to every stage of life, including your high school years.
But what does it look like to seek first God’s Kingdom? And how can that help ease anxiety? The next time stress begins to build, or the worries of tomorrow cloud your mind, seek God by pushing aside the haze and fixing your eyes on the cross of Calvary. There, over 2000 years ago, God gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, as the atoning sacrifice for your sin. Every weight of guilt, every failure to love God and others as we should, was laid upon Christ. He bore the punishment for our wrongdoing, was buried, and on the third day rose again in victory.
Because of His work, every sin has been cancelled and nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:13–14). Through faith in Him, you are forgiven and welcomed into God’s eternal family as His adopted child. That is your identity. That is your security. And it cannot be taken away by exams, failures, disappointments, or life’s uncertainties. Knowing that your eternity is secure in Christ enables you to face the uncertainties of today. When your greatest problem has already been solved at the cross, you are free to trust God with the challenges that lie ahead. You are liberated to attempt great things for His glory, knowing that your worth and future are secure in Him.
So, the next time you see a bird, remember that God loves you and He’s got you! So, I encourage you to keep looking to Jesus as you take your next steps, serving God with loving hearts and strong minds.
Stephen Ally
Head of House – Community