One blessing that the pandemic brought to my life was the desire to listen to sermons from churches all across the country. I now have a list of church services I listen to—in addition to the local church I hope to attend again soon.

A particularly dynamic minister is Tim Dilena of Time Square Church in New York City. Recently, he preached a message on how to overcome anxiety, and there were points he made that I thought were profoundly simple, particularly memorable, and spot-on.

Recent surveys reveal that one in three Americans is experiencing anxiety. This number has skyrocketed under the stresses of the pandemic. Joblessness. Loneliness. Fear. These all feed anxiety. And, anxiety destroys joy.

Charles Spurgeon once said that anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength. And, while that rings true, it is often hard to reason yourself out of the state of anxiety. So, what can we do to keep anxiety at bay?

Pastor Dilena began by noting that you cannot pray and worry at the same time. So, begin with prayer. Prayer defeats worry.

He also noted that we should cast all of our cares upon Jesus because He cares for us. Here, Pastor Dilena made an interesting point. He said that the only other place in the Bible that the word “cast” is used is when the disciples “cast” their coats on the colt that Jesus rode on Psalm Sunday. The significance of this similar word choice is that when the disciples cast their coats on the colt, they put Jesus on top of them. Pastor Dilena noted that we should do the same with our cares and anxieties. We should cast them off—and put Jesus on top of them.

The sermon is brilliantly crafted—and there is much worth hearing. You can watch it on YouTube or by going to the church webpage and clicking on the January 2nd sermon. I will repeat one story that he told that stuck with me.

Pastor Dilena was noting that we need to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand because what lies ahead in our lives is too much for us to face alone. He illustrated this through the story of a young man who was helping his father on the farm. The young man was clearing a field and was removing rocks. He reached a particularly big rock, and he simply could not budge it. Try as he would, he could not move the rock.

He told his father, “I have tried repeatedly to move this rock and I simply cannot. I have used every bit of my strength, but it will not budge.” He father stared at the young man and said, “No son, you have not used all of your strength.” The young man was puzzled and a bit offended. “How can you say that?” he asked. “I have used all the strength I have.”

His father said, “No—you never called me over to help. I am always here for you, always with you, and I am part of your strength.” And, together, they moved the stone.

Anxiety is like that big stone. We can push and pull on it to no avail. But, the Lord is our strength. We need to turn to Him, cast our cares upon Him, and rely on his strength to help us remove the sources of anxiety from our lives.

So how do we deal with anxiety?

We pray—because you cannot worry and pray at the same time.

We cast our anxieties and put Jesus on top of them.

We humble ourselves under His mighty hand because what lies ahead is simply too much for us.

We call upon His strength to see us through.

Pastor Dilena concluded by urging his congregants to listen to the voice of God instead of the roar of the lion—the noise and disturbances of this world. “My sheep know my voice,” Jesus says.

Listen for the voice of Jesus.