Mike Breaux - 4 Practical Habits to Overcome Anxiety (01/12/2026)
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Summary:
In this message, Breaux teaches that worry and anxiety pull us in a thousand directions, distracting us from real life and fueling a hurried, regret-filled pace. Drawing from Jesus' words in Matthew 6:25–34, he reminds us that we are far more valuable to God than the birds He provides for, and that worrying cannot add a single moment to our lives. The key takeaway is to seek God’s Kingdom first and practically combat anxiety by celebrating His goodness, asking for help, listing gratitude, and meditating on truth—leading to the peace that guards our hearts.
Welcome and Introduction
Today I want to welcome all of our campuses and those of you who might be in the bridge today or maybe you’re joining us online, cuddled up next to a roaring fireplace. So glad you’re here! I have a confession to make: I’m a Bengals fan and a Packers fan. Today the Packers and Cowboys play, and my prediction is Cowboys 45, Packers 3. I think that’s going to be the score today; I think we’re going to get killed, but we’re just happy to be in the playoffs.
My name is Breaux, by the way, and we are in week two of a series we’re calling «Regret-Proof Your Life.» We’re going to be hanging in Matthew chapter 6 and Philippians chapter 4 today, so if you’ve got a Bible, you can turn to that, or if you have an app you use, we’ll also have it on the screens so we can all track along together.
A Note from Josh and Some Humor
I was already scheduled to teach this weekend, but I got a text from Josh just the other day. For those of you who are brand new around here, Josh is our lead pastor, and you are going to love him when he’s back next weekend. He sent me a picture of three feet of snow, saying, «Hey dude, I wish I could be there this weekend and hang out, but we can’t even get out of the house we’re in; we’re snowed in on some mountain.» He is super excited to be back to preach next weekend, and I’m guessing his topic is going to be in this series, «I Regret Planning a Trip to a Mountain in January.» I think that’s going to be his topic.
Hey, any country music fans here today? Any country music fans? Yeah! I heard that the number one song of 2023 was by Luke Combs, called «Fast Car.» It’s a cool song; it’s actually a cover of a 1988 Grammy Award-winning song by Tracy Chapman. It’s got this haunting guitar lick running all the way through it. I crank it up every time it comes on; I love the song. Now, I doubt that anyone will ever cover and re-release the song that won the Grammy the next year in 1989, although it might be a timely message for all of us. It won Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance of the Year.
Any guesses what that Grammy Award-winning song was in 1989? Here, let’s see if you can figure it out. Let’s all snap our fingers together. Here we go: «Here’s a little song I wrote; you might want to sing it note for note.» You got it? «Don’t worry, be happy.» You know the song? A stupid song; no one’s ever going to cover or re-release that song. But today that’s kind of our theme in this regret-proofing our life: we’re just saying, «I don’t want to look back at my life and say, man, I wish I’d been a lot less worried and a lot more happy.»
Recap of Last Week and the Root of Hurry
We talked last weekend about the pace of life. If you missed it, you can catch it online. We talked about this very real clinical diagnosis called hurry sickness. We talked last week about how if you and I really want to detox our soul this year, if we want to slow our pace down, we’ve got to pull over, pop the hood, and change lanes. Did anybody actually try that this week? Now, when you do that, when you pop the hood and you pray that prayer, «Search me, O God, » what’s contributing to the hurry sickness inside of me? You’re likely to find that it’s worry, anxiety, and fear that’s fueling that out-of-control pace.
Fear in Our World Today
Man, there is so much fear in our world these days, isn’t there? I mean, you scroll through your news feed or watch cable news, and they’re always cranking up the Fear Factor because they know that fear is what drives clicks; fear is what drives viewership. Y’all ever watch the local evening news? Now, those of you under 50 are going, «I don’t know what that is.» It comes on right before Wheel of Fortune; that’s what that is. You’re watching the news after you just polished off like this fresh green salad because you wanted to eat healthier this year, and right before the anchors go to a commercial break, it’s like, «Can you really trust your romaine lettuce? An alarming study when we come right back.»
During the commercial, some new prescription drug is being promoted, and the disclaimer— you know that fast-talking disclaimer— it’s longer than the entire commercial. You know what I’m talking about? I heard an especially long disclaimer one night for a certain drug, and it went on and on and on. So I went to their website and I downloaded an edited version of their disclaimer. The drug’s real name was left blank, but this is what it said: «If you, your family, or caregiver notice agitation, hostility, depression, or a change in behavior, thinking, or mood that are not typical for you, or if you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, anxiety, panic, aggression, anger, mania, abnormal sensations, hallucinations, paranoia, or confusion, stop taking blank and call your doctor right away. Also, tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems before taking blank, as these symptoms may worsen while taking blank. Some people can have serious skin reactions while taking blank, some of which can become life-threatening; these can include rash, swelling, redness, and peeling of the skin. Some people can have allergic reactions to blank, some of which can be life-threatening and include swelling of the face, mouth, and throat that can cause trouble breathing. If you have these symptoms, or a rash with peeling skin or blisters in your mouth, stop taking blank and get medical attention right away. In clinical trials, the most common side effects of blank include nausea, sleep problems, constipation, gas, and vomiting, and these are not all the side effects of blank. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.»
I’m thinking, dang, can I get a prescription for fear? Arthur Rocher says that worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained. So let me ask you, what’s draining your thoughts these days? Now, I’m not talking about being merely concerned about something; it’s okay to have concern. But I’m talking about when you and I take it to a whole other level where we’re just obsessively worried and all stressed out. Maybe what started as a thin stream of fear has now turned into this raging river of anxiety that has you living with your head barely above the water level. If so, you’re not alone. The latest stats show that some kind of anxiety disorder affects over 40 million American adults. That’s about 18% of the United States population, and that’s only the adult population. You throw in kids and students, and that number goes much, much higher.
Jesus' Command Against Worry
The truth is, we all occasionally wrestle with worry and anxiety. All of us from time to time get a little fearful. I think it’s why out of all the commands that Jesus gives us in the Gospels, He gives this one more than any other, 21 times, three times as many as the one in second place. Some form of «fear not, » «Don’t be afraid, » «Take heart, » «Be of good cheer, » «Don’t panic, » «Take courage, » «Don’t let your hearts be troubled, » «Don’t worry, » which tells me, having lived in our skin, that Jesus knows that fears are a very real struggle. It also tells me that He cares about our fears because He knows that fear can paralyze us and fill our lives with so much regret.
The Greek word in the Bible that’s used for worry and anxiety is «merimnao, » which literally means to be pulled in different directions, to have distracting cares. Does «distracted» describe anybody these days? Have you ever said, «Man, I feel like I am being pulled a thousand different directions»? There’s this amazing talk that Jesus gives over in Matthew chapter 6, verses 25 to 27. It’s commonly referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. In the middle of it, He starts talking about how money and material things can really mess with you and me, even steal our hearts away from God. Then He says this in verse 25: «That’s why I tell you not to worry about everyday life, whether you have enough food and drink or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food and your body more than clothing?»
Jesus Speaks to His Disciples
Over in Luke’s account of this teaching, Luke points out that Jesus turns to His disciples when He says this; He is personally talking to His 12 guys, His 12 closest followers. He says, «Listen, guys, that’s why I’ve been trying to tell you not to worry about stuff. It steals your heart away, it distracts you from real life, it will pull you a thousand different directions, and it’ll make your whole life about you. When your whole life is about you, then you will think that you have to control everything, even things you can’t control. When life is all about you, then you’re going to chase all kinds of stuff, shallow, empty stuff. You’ll be all stressed out about projecting the right image. You’re going to worry about what people think of you, what people are saying about you, how they see you.
Listen, guys, someday you’re going to be standing in a checkout line at the Jerusalem Walmart, and you will see these things called tabloids. The covers are filled with beautiful people, and someday you’re going to scroll through images on your smartphone, and you’ll be tempted to make your whole life about fad diets, body image, and fashion. I’m telling you right now, it’s all an illusion and a shallow way to live. You need to know that many of the people who will appear on those covers are absolutely miserable. They’re so stressed out and worried about so much.
So, guys, I want you to learn right now that life is so much more than temporary things like fortune and fame and food and fashion. And it is! Then He turns back to the whole crowd and says, „Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you far more valuable to Him than they are?“ Man, that’s a great question to ask ourselves—"Aren’t I much more valuable to God than they are?» I don’t know, maybe Jesus pointed to some birds flying overhead. He said, «Look at them, look at them! Now, it’s true, they don’t just sit around; they work, they hunt for food, they bring it back to their families. But they’re not freaking out about it. They instinctively know that their Creator will provide. That’s why they sing! You’ll never hear them saying, 'Can you believe the price of worms these days? Insect inflation is out of control! We were going to fly south for the winter, but you know the way the economy is right now.'»
No, it goes more like this: «Said the robin to the sparrow, 'What I’d really like to know is why those anxious human beings rush around and worry so, ' said the sparrow to the robin. 'Well, I guess that it must be that they have no Heavenly Father.'» The kind that cares for you and me. So Jesus is saying, «Listen, if birds matter to God, don’t you think that you matter to Him? Because you are the object of His affection. You mean so much more to Him than anything else in all of creation.»
Besides that, Jesus says, «Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?» Man, that’s another great question to ask yourself. I’ve had to ask that question: Is all this stress actually adding to the quality of my life? Is my anxiety, my worry, my fear, my attempts to control everything, adding years to my existence? Why am I allowing this thin trickle of fear to turn into a raging river that is draining all my thoughts?
The Effects of Worry
Let’s just get honest for a while about the effects of worry. Somebody put it like this: «Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.» It’s like you and I take the tiniest little thing that just might happen, and we blow it up— we magnify it like 400%. I was reading an excerpt from an illustrated children’s book designed to help kids who are struggling with anxiety disorders. It said this: «Worry is like planting a tomato seed. If you water it and feed it and tend to it every day, pretty soon, you’ll have tomatoes everywhere. You’ll have tomatoes in your salad, you’ll eat tomato sandwiches, tomato juice, tomato ice cream, tomato cookies, and they all came from that one little seed that got planted and tended every day.»
I got thinking, if you tend it enough, that tomato starts eating you. And that’s a scary image! So this is not me asking—this is Jesus asking: Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Because I love you all so much, and I want you so much to experience the peace of God, the peace that transcends all human understanding. Can I just be so bold to ask a few personal probing questions? Do other people frequently tell you, «You worry way too much»? Do you worry about bad things happening even when everything’s going great? You’re thinking, «Oh, the bottom’s going to fall out.» Has fear and worry stopped you from pursuing what you want in life? Do your fears just keep you up at night? Do you feel like you’ve got a broken record of endless worries just playing in your head? Are you finding yourself more on edge and more irritable toward other people lately? Do you often try to ease your anxiety and worries with food, alcohol, shopping, or sexual addictions? If you answer yes to any of those questions, I need to tell you your worry is reaching dangerously toxic levels, and you really need to talk to somebody about it.
You know what? Sometimes it is a physiological issue that may be helped with medication. Listen, there’s no shame there. I’ve got all kinds of friends and family members who have found that to be very helpful. But for lasting internal peace, you have to ask yourself these same questions that Jesus is asking and answer them honestly, and then lean into Him daily for help and start to make the necessary changes.
Seeking the Kingdom First
Jesus wraps this up by saying, «And here’s the biggest change you need to make: seek the Kingdom of God above all else. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow brings its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. Put your trust in the unshakable God.» Seek Him first, as we just sang. He’s the God of generations, and He won’t fail.
Someone put it like this: «Peace is the deliberate adjustment of my life to the will of God.» Peace is the deliberate adjustment of my life to the will of God. So let me just share a little acrostic that’s helped me make a deliberate adjustment to my life with all of this. I told you before there was a time in my life when these words that Jesus spoke about worry in Matthew chapter 6 and a passage from Philippians chapter 4 were plastered all over the place. I needed to see them all the time. I had them on the dashboard of my truck, I had them on my bathroom mirror. You remember back in the day when your computer screen had a scrolling thing, you know, like a screensaver scrolling across? These verses were my screensaver.
Here’s the passage from Philippians 4: «Rejoice in the Lord always. I’ll say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all, because the Lord is near. Don’t be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus».
Man, that is such a rich go-to passage when you’re feeling worried, stressed, and anxious. So here’s a little acrostic that goes along with that passage. I originally got this from Max Ko: four practical things based on Philippians 4 that you and I can do when anxiety, fear, and worry start to get the best of us. It’s each letter of the word «CALM.»
C — Celebrate God’s Goodness
The C in «CALM» stands for celebrate God’s goodness. That passage started with «Rejoice in the Lord always.» He’s good; He’s faithful. And did you catch that? He is near. He said, «The Lord is near.» He’s not far; He’s not distant; He’s not unconcerned. He’s with you; He’s in you, right here, right now. Lean into that reality. It’s not wishful thinking but reality. Like Jesus said, He’s your Father; He’s your Daddy; He’s your Abba. Trust Him.
I may have told you this before, but I have regrets over never doing this with my grandkids because it is such a stellar granddad idea. A friend of mine told me that she would spend the night at her grandparents' house, and her granddad, who she loved with all of her heart, would take a bag of Cheerios and give every kid a bag of Cheerios. They would go out in the backyard and plant seeds. Then, the next morning, before they got up, he went to the donut shop and bought a dozen donuts and would go out in the backyard and strategically place donuts all over the yard. When they woke up, they’d run out to the backyard and each pick a donut for breakfast. She said it was so much fun and a lasting memory. They all believed it because of who said it.
So I have to ask myself: Do I really believe my Father? Do I trust that God will provide for me? Do I really believe that my Father is in control and that He’s working all things together for my ultimate good? Do I really believe that my past, present, and future are in His hands? Do I really believe that this life is temporary and that He’s prepared a much better place for me? Do I trust in the One who promises that He’ll provide?
See, I’m learning that if I can get my eyes off of myself and my situation and onto Him, my Father, if I acknowledge His goodness and His constant care and provision, it just changes my stress levels. I can rest in the fact that He is in control, and I need to let go of trying to control everything. That doesn’t mean I’m not proactive in the situation, but I realize I can’t control it all, and I just need to let God be God and celebrate His sovereignty and goodness.
A — Ask God for Help
The A in «CALM» stands for ask God for help. One of the main reasons for unanswered prayer is prayerlessness. We just never got around to asking Him for help. This passage reminds us to talk to Him in anxious moments. It says, «Don’t be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.» Ask Him for help. Tell Him honestly how you’re feeling in the moment. Ask Him to point you to the truth, to help you see the bigger picture, and to relax in His power and love.
I have found a great way to do that is to regularly use that little Serenity Prayer that’s used in many recovery programs. You’ve no doubt seen it. Can we just throw it up on the screen and maybe read this out loud together? «God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.» Just talk to Him. Say, «God, help me not to worry about things I have no control over. Instead, give me the courage to pursue things in my life that I can control.» And, Father, You said if anybody lacks wisdom, to ask You. So, God, I’m asking for it. I’m asking for help.
When you do that, did you see how it said to do it with thanksgiving in your heart? So, as you celebrate God’s goodness and ask Him for help, you get practical.
L — List Things You’re Grateful For
The L in «CALM» stands for list things you’re grateful for. I know I have talked ad nauseum about gratitude; you’re probably tired of hearing me mention it. But, gang, I’m telling you, God’s Word is permeated with this practice, and I have come to believe that the practice of gratitude is one of the most powerful ways to drive out fear and anxiety.
I was talking to a buddy of mine who’s in AA, and one of the guys he’s been sponsoring—he sponsors like four or five guys—called him last week and said, «Man, I’m feeling overwhelmed.» Then he said, «I’m sensing this impending sense of doom.» My buddy told him, «Hey listen, as soon as we hang up, I want you to sit down and start writing a gratitude list.» Because it’s amazing what happens. I’m just telling you, it really is. If you want to regret-proof your life, you have to build a heart of gratitude. You see, as thanksgiving goes up, anxiety goes down; that’s just the way it works.
I shared this a while back, but I’ve kept it in my office for many years. Written by the late Frederick Buechner, it just says this: «Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and the pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness. Touch, taste, smell your way to the hidden and holy heart of it because in the final analysis all moments are key moments and life itself is grace.» When you live with that kind of awareness, when you live with that kind of gratitude in your heart, it just calms you down.
M — Meditate on Things That Are True
So, celebrate God’s goodness, ask Him for help, list things you’re grateful for, and then the M stands for meditate on things that are true. Now there’s been a ton written about different types of meditation, and lots of people practice some form of mindfulness, or maybe you do breathing exercises or stretching or my favorite: afternoon naps. But when the Bible talks about meditation, it’s not talking about getting your quads and hamstrings in an uncomfortable position and emptying your mind. Rather, we are instructed in Scripture to actually fill our minds—fill our minds with good stuff, real stuff, positive stuff, eternal stuff, life-giving principles, life-changing perspectives.
You dwell on it; you chew on it; you hide it in your heart; you memorize it; you revisit it; you highlight it; you chew on it again. Here’s what the last part of that passage in Philippians 4 says: «Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable; if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.» Fill your mind; meditate on these kinds of things.
Now, I am not talking about the power of positive thinking, like some motivational speaker conference thing. But honestly, negative thoughts can’t lead to a positive life. It’s like if you put the batteries upside down on a flashlight; no lights are coming on. The people who really shine are those who consistently think great thoughts. We’ve seen this a bunch, but look at what the Apostle Paul, who also wrote that Philippians 4 passage, says in Romans 12: «Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.» So you ask God, «What can I feed my mind with this year so that it can flourish?» God will show you all kinds of healthy things, and He will help you filter through things that are lovely and those that aren’t, things that are right and things that aren’t, noble things and those that aren’t. Those things will start to feed your mind.
As you feed your mind, as you meditate on that truth, your anxiety levels begin to lower. There’s an old adage that says, «If you can worry, you can meditate.» You see, like worry, meditation is just churning a thought over and over and over in your mind. And as you do that, your brain is rewiring itself. Your mind is being fed much-needed truth, and your anxiety is replaced with that peace that transcends all human understanding.
My youngest son, the children’s book writer Cody that I shared a few weeks ago, started practicing this in a way that works for him. He reads through a Psalm in the Old Testament section of the Bible, then writes a short recap of what he got out of it, how God spoke to him, and he does it in rhyme. He calls these things «Tiny Psalms.» I just think it’s a cool way for him to practice this meditation.
For instance, here’s a tiny Psalm he wrote: Psalm 23. Some of you are familiar with Psalm 23. Here’s the synopsis: «You are my shepherd; You’re all that I need. When I need to breathe, you walk at my speed. When the road gets scary, I’ll look for your eyes. There’s nothing to fear when you’re by my side.» Psalm 25: «Show me your ways, Lord; mine’s a dead end. Unveil your path like a secret to a friend. My hope is in you; your truth is my guide. Remember me, Lord; keep me close to your side.»
Just a simple way that works for him to meditate on Scripture. Maybe you could read and write something like that because if you can worry, you can meditate. For instance, you might read a verse of Scripture that says, «The earth is filled with His unfailing love.» So you read that, and you start to churn that concept over and over in your mind: God has unfailing love—not just love. He has unfailing love; He alone is the source of unfailing love. It’s amazingly available; it says the earth is full of it. He loves me with an unfailing love—an unfailing love—an unfailing love. Nothing can separate me from His unfailing love. His unfailing love is high and it’s wide and it’s deep and it’s long.
Or maybe you read a verse from 1 Peter that says, «Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.» And so you read it and you say, «I need to do that; I need to throw this off. I’m going to give it to God. God, I give it to You; I know You care for me. You really care for me; God cares for me. He cares for the birds; He cares for me. I can’t do anything about this anyway. Any attempt I make at control is just a lack of humility that makes it worse. So God, I’m just going to cast it on You. I’m letting it go; I’m giving it to You, God. I’m casting on You; I’m casting on You. I’m going to trade this in for Your unexplainable peace because You care for me; You care for me. Wow! You care for me.»
Just turning that thought over and over in your mind, meditating on that truth. And gang, I’m telling you, this is a big deal because life gets hard, and when it does, I guarantee you the enemy will be there to whisper lies like, «See, God doesn’t love you. Unfailing love? You’ve got to be kidding me. Your whole life is falling apart. You ought to be freaking out. You need to be anxious; you ought to worry. I mean, think of all the what-ifs.»
God does not care about you. The enemy of our soul, whose agenda is to kill, steal, and destroy, wants those thoughts churning over and over in our minds. But when you and I have been consistently downloading truth into our minds, we’re able to see those lies for what they are-actual lies-because the truth you’ve been meditating on is calming you down.
So if you want to see fear and anxiety levels fall, if you want to maintain a sense of calm in this new year, celebrate God’s goodness, ask Him for help, list things you’re grateful for, and meditate on what is true.
Time to Practice CALM
So, like we did last week, I want to give us all a chance to practice this right now at all of our campuses. Just slow down and breathe deeply. No one moving around or rushing for the parking lot. Just sit, cast all your anxiety on Him, slow down, reflect. You might even need to cuddle up a little bit because it’s cold, but just reflect on what God says to you. He’s your Father, and I’m just telling you, He wants to give you peace. He wants to calm you down; He wants to draw you close; He wants to take your anxiety and your worry.
So, we’re just going to scroll through some awesome truth on the screens and give you a chance for a few minutes to be still, read, meditate on God’s words to you, and experience the peace that transcends all human understanding. Let’s just do that for a few minutes.