Kingdom Living Part 4 - Trading Anxiety for Trust
In Part 4 of the Kingdom Living series, we step into one of Jesus’ most life-changing invitations: to seek first the Kingdom of God—and in doing so, exchange anxiety for trust.
Building on the previous episode about the heart behind our behavior, this conversation moves us from awareness into action—showing us how to actually live from a transformed heart.
Through honest reflection, personal testimony, and powerful teaching from Matthew 6, Diana unpacks what it truly means to seek the Kingdom in everyday life—not just in spiritual moments, but in the middle of real-life stress, uncertainty, and overwhelming thoughts.
In this episode, we explore:
Why anxiety often reveals where trust has been misplaced
What it means to surrender control and allow God to lead
How our attention shapes our thoughts, emotions, and direction
Practical ways to shift from worry into prayer and peace
How to redefine success through a Kingdom perspective
With vulnerability and encouragement, Diana shares her own journey of learning to release control, trust God with daily needs, and discover the rest that Jesus promises.
Because the truth is: Peace isn’t found when everything is handled—it’s found when everything is surrendered.
If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or spiritually weary, this episode will gently guide you back to the heart of Kingdom living—where trust replaces striving, and peace becomes your foundation.
Diana’s Notes
Series: Kingdom Living Part 4
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Heartfelt Conversations with Diana.
I’m so glad that you are a part of the conversation today as we continue with part 4 of our Kingdom Living Series. And today’s episode is Seeking the Kingdom- Trading Anxiety for Trust.
Question: Have you ever noticed how easy it is to say, “I trust God”…
…but then five minutes later, you’re worrying about everything?
What’s going to happen… How it’s going to work out… Did I make the right decision… What if this doesn’t change…
Or is it just me?? Before I know it, my mind is running, my heart feels heavy, and peace feels out of reach.
Does that sound familiar to you? I believe this is more of a struggle than a lot of us may want to admit.
But! The good news is — Jesus knew we would struggle with this.
Which is why He gives us a better way.
In our last episode, we talked about the heart behind the law…
We talked about what’s going on beneath the surface, the hidden things… our attitudes… the places in our hearts that quietly shape our lives.
And now, as we move into Matthew chapter 6, Jesus takes us one step further.
He doesn’t just show us what’s going on beneath the surface, but He teaches us how to live differently so that those things don’t steal our peace.
His peace. Because we have learned to trust our very lives to Him.
Jesus introduces us to this Kingdom Living.
In Matthew, Jesus says something that sounds so simple… but is actually life-changing.
Matthew 6:33: (AMP): “But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.”
Did you catch that? The attitude and character of God.
Through experience, I have discovered the hard way that a good day and a bad day really come down to our attitude.
So what was Jesus actually saying? What does Matthew 6:33 actually mean?
Because Jesus said, “but first and most importantly, seek (aim at, strive after) His Kingdom. “
What does it look like to seek the Kingdom on a regular, ordinary, everyday kind of day?
Not just on Sunday morning…
…but on a Tuesday afternoon when life feels overwhelming?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SEEK THE KINGDOM?
I believe that Seeking the Kingdom isn’t about adding more to your life…
I believe it’s about reordering our lives. It’s about shifting what comes first. Where do our priorities lie? What is MOST important?
It’s about learning to live with God at the center of our lives, not just as a part of our lives, but truly as the One leading our lives. Leading my life.
With that, let’s dive in a bit on this with Point 1 -
Who is leading my life? Who is leading your life?
Maybe you think it is you! Lol But as you walk this earth long enough, it doesn’t usually take too long to realize that we have been influenced by other people, by life’s circumstances and culture and before you realize it, there are so many voices and so much noise in your brain, running your thoughts that any control of your life you thought you had, left long ago. Now, what is really in control are anxious thoughts, self-doubt, insecurities, restlessness, heaviness, sleepless nights, and, as hard as you may try, you just can’t seem to find any satisfaction and rest in life.
Does anyone remember the song “ I can’t get no satisfaction” lol
We have been wrongly led down a path of control. It is all about control, so others can’t control us. But Jesus tells us something different. Jesus says that seeking the Kingdom actually starts with surrender.
Not control.
And if we’re honest… we like control. I do! I admit it!! I am learning not to have to control everything, but it is tough; it isn’t easy to let go and trust God to have your backside when you have spent most of your life having your backside kicked! Sucker punched! Have you ever been hurt or betrayed, and you never saw it coming?
We like to know what’s coming. We like to have a plan. We like to feel secure. Do you feel like that, too, or is this just me?
Jesus invites us into something different.
He invited me to something different when Matthew 11 became a very real living testament of Jesus’s words. I took Jesus up on His word and began claiming Matthew 11 as a promise from Him to me concerning my life, and it was a game-changer for me. I felt the weight of everything I had ever carried begin to lift off of me and onto Him. He took my stress, my shame, my pain, and gave me His rest.
“Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me… and you will find rest for your souls.”
Here is the entire passage of scripture that helped me take my first step to really follow Jesus - to learn of Him, His ways- Kingdom Living
Matthew 11:27-30: (AMP) All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father; and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Son except the Father, and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Father except the Son ( listen close here) and anyone to whom the Son deliberately wills to make Him known.
I began with verse 27 because at the time, I was desperate for God the Father to reveal to me that He did not reject me as I had always believed. I needed Him to be made known to me. To be deliberate in revealing His love for me, to me. And verse 27 told me how to have that assurance.
Draw close, stay close, follow Jesus closely. He is the One Who will make our Father fully and accurately known to us.
28-30: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. ( I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls)
And that is what I needed so desperately: ease, relief, and a refreshed soul!
He goes on to say:
Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble ( lowly) in heart, and you will find rest ( relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls.
For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good - not harsh, hard, sharp or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.
Another way to describe or define Heavy-laden may be Troubled, weary, or overwhelmed by anxiety, cares, or sin. Have you ever been Heavy-laden or overburdened?
When this verse came alive to my soul, that is exactly what I was feeling. Overburdened, overwhelmed, and over, always feeling that way!
This is written in my bible next to that passage of scripture: When life feels overwhelming, when my body limits me, when I feel betrayed, hurt, mistreated, when my heart feels stormy and disquieted, help me to place my trust in Your promise.
I was in a season of life where I was so anxious all day long. I went to bed anxious. I woke up anxious. I felt like a stranger looking in on my life, and I couldn’t see myself in my own life. I found myself in constant fear.
Then, I read that passage in Matthew 11. It wasn’t like I had never read it before. Growing up, I had read this scripture many, many times, but this was a time in my life where God’s word came alive to me, and one day, when I was seeking help from the Lord, I came to this verse, and for the first time, I got what Jesus was saying. Exchange all the worry, all the anxieties, all the heavy burdens and cares, and uncontrollable concerns over everything you are having right now, Diana, exchange it all for what I have for you. If you give Me your burdens, I will exchange them for MY rest. I will refresh your soul!
Rest & Refreshment! Not pressure. Not striving. Not figuring everything out. Rest.
I was always trying to figure everything out. If I knew what was coming, then I could be prepared, maybe even prevent it. I thought I needed control to stop bad stuff from finding its way into my life. But what I discovered is that trying to control everything is oftentimes what will pave the way for more stress, more fear, more doubts, more insecurity.
Jesus was showing me that if I will simply yoke up, attach myself to His direction, then I won’t be fighting against His plan and path for my life, but I will actually be walking in the safety, protection, and provision of this new Kingdom Living.
Rest will come when we stop trying to lead our own lives and begin to follow Jesus as our Shepherd.
POINT 2 — WHAT AM I TRUSTING?
Jesus connects this idea of seeking the Kingdom directly to worry.
In Matthew 6, He talks about food, clothing, our daily needs…
And then He says:
“Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34)
And I love how honest Jesus always is. Jesus doesn’t pretend life is trouble-free. Rose colored glasses, bury your head in the sand kind of life.
Jesus teaches us a different way to live life. To be able to remain on our feet and not get knocked down by every storm that comes our way. Jesus teaches us to surrender our worry to Him because our Father already knows our needs.
In 2020, the Lord asked me if I truly trusted Him with all of my daily needs.
I wrote this note in my bible. I am struggling. Do I trust God? Then one day God asked me if I really trusted Him, would I step out in faith, to truly trust in Him, to meet and supply my daily needs, my daily bread.
When we worry, it often reveals something deeper…
Worry is often a sign that we’ve stepped out of trust.
And we’ve stepped back into trying to carry something that was never ours to carry in the first place. Or at least that is what Jesus has been teaching me.
So sometimes it is good to ask ourselves, what am I trusting right now. God’s ways or mine? If we are humble, we will not stumble.
Which leads us to:
POINT 3 — WHAT HAS MY ATTENTION?
Here's the truth: what has our attention is forming and shaping our lives.
Jesus says:
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)
So what are we focusing on? What are we dwelling on? What are we giving our mental and emotional energy to? What is filling up the wells of our souls?
Because whatever we keep looking at, whatever our mind, our thoughts are set on, where the desires of our hearts are at, rest assured, will begin to lead us.
Remember Proverbs 4:23: (NLT) Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
If our hearts are set on what we can control, we will be filled with anxious thoughts, with the pressure of what we can or can’t do. A checklist of all the things will pop up within us, and suddenly we are overwhelmed, burdened, and stressed out!
And I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t realize how much anxiety was quietly driving my life, until I tried to let go of control.
I thought I trusted God, but I also wanted to manage the outcome.
I wanted peace—but I wanted it on my terms. Does anyone know what I mean?
And God, in His kindness, began to show me through His word, by learning to follow Jesus, that peace doesn’t come from having everything figured out…
It comes from learning to trust Him, even when, especially when I don’t have it figured out.
Jesus came to give us rest through KINGDOM PEACE
Because in the Kingdom of God…
Peace works differently. Peace isn’t found when we’ve got “everything handled”… figured out.
True peace, the Jesus kind of peace, is only found when everything is surrendered.
And sometimes, the way we overcome anxiety is not by fighting it harder, but by shifting our focus higher.
Jesus teaches us to seek something greater than our fears, greater than all of our anxieties, and our doubts; we are to seek His Kingdom.
Because when our hearts are set on Him, on what He came to give to us, then the weight of everything else begins to shift.
What are PRACTICAL WAYS TO SEEK THE KINGDOM
What does this look like in real life?
1. Start your day with Him
Before the noise. Before the phone. Before the to-do list.
Even if it’s just a few minutes a day, invite Him into your day.
Father, this is Your day you gave me as a gift to enjoy. I surrender my day to You, direct the steps that You have already established for me. In Jesus Name I ask. Amen
2. Talk to God instead of spiraling into a big mess. Like a tornado in a storm! lol
When anxiety starts rising, pause. It is hard! I know! I wrestle with this. But it is amazing what quieting our thoughts and our hearts for just a few seconds before we respond to anything or anyone will do for our stress. Talk it over with God first! He wants to hear from you. His child.
Turn your thoughts into prayer.
Philippians 4:6–7 reminds us:
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything… Then you will experience God’s peace.”
Father, this thing that has me anxious and stressed out is ruining my day. I am becoming agitated and frustrated. I can’t control the outcome, but I can turn to you for rest, for relief, for some peace. Give me Your peace as I trust you to work everything out for my good. Thank you, Father. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.
3. Live one day at a time
You don’t need grace for next year. You don’t even need grace for next week.
God gives you what you need for today.
I took this challenge 6 years ago to learn to trust God for my daily needs. To not manufacture an outcome. To not be a bull in a China shop, making everyone aware of my needs. But I have been learning to quietly and privately take all of my cares, worries, and daily needs to Him, and then go about my day. Believing, trusting, I will receive exactly what I need.
I have also had to learn how to see God’s answers. They don’t always come in the ways we would expect.
I have lost the very peace Jesus came to give me because I was seeking with a worldly vision, not a Kingdom vision.
I had to redefine, to realign my thoughts, my ways to the Kingdom Way.
Which means we may have to REDEFINE SUCCESS…
The world’s measure of success is usually in opposition to Kingdom Living
Seeking the Kingdom means learning how to redefine what success looks like.
It’s not about having it all together… It’s about being aligned with Him.
It’s about becoming more like Christ. It’s about living from a place of trust, not pressure.
At the end of the day…
Seeking the Kingdom isn’t about striving harder. It’s about learning to live under the care of our King, who is also our Shepherd.
He sees you. He knows what you need. He’s already gone before you.
And He is inviting you to trust Him. One day at a time.
So this week, let’s practice that together.
Let’s pause… let’s breathe… and let’s choose trust over worry.
Because there is a better way. And Jesus is leading us into it.
I hope these conversations have been encouraging to you. I know they have been for me. And, I hope you will join our next conversation, as we wrap up this series with a discussion on building our lives on the Rock!
Until then, you can check out today’s notes and a link to Pastor Alexa‘s message from Palm Sunday, If Rocks Could Talk:
on -heartfeltconversations.com
Along with the other resources I just mentioned, there is a link to join us online at Valley Family Church if you do not already have a church home.
This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it! Psalms 118:24:(NLT)
See ya next time on Heartfelt Conversations with Diana!
Palm Sunday: If Rocks Could Talk | Pastor Alexa Jones
Need a Church Home?
Join us at Valley Family Church, tell them Diana invited you! 🙂
Thirst Quenchers
Songs to Inspire You:
MercyMe - Even If (Official Lyric Video)
Phil Wickham - Resurrection Story (Official Lyric Video)
Trust In God (feat. Chris Brown & Isaiah Templeton) | Elevation Worship
Foundational Encouraging Verses:
Isaiah 42:16: God’s Word Translation
I will lead the blind on unfamiliar roads. I will lead them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light in front of them. I will make rough places smooth. These are the things I will do for them, and I will never abandon them.
Isaiah 54:10: Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”
Psalm 119:105: Your word is a light unto our path and a light unto our feet.
Isaiah 54:17: But in that coming day, no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the LORD; their vindication will come from me. I, the LORD, have spoken!
Isaiah 52:12: (EASY) But you will not have to hurry and run away. No, the Lord, Israel's God, will keep you safe. He will lead you at the front, and He will be your guard at the back.
Isaiah 46:10: “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’”
Matthew 7:11: So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
1 Peter 2:23 tells us - When He was insulted, He did not answer back with an insult; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but placed His hopes in God, the righteous Judge.
Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
1 Peter 2:12 says, “Live such good lives among the pagans that… they may see your good deeds and glorify God.”
The New Living Translation reads it this way: Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20: "I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Now choose life."
Luke 6:37“Forgive, and you will be forgiven”.
Matthew 6:14: If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
Romans 8:31 in the AMP Bible tells us: What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be [successful] against us?
Psalm 65:11: You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
Psalm 32:8: The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.
Proverbs 15:3: The Lord sees everything, whether good or bad.
1 Peter 5:7: Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
Additional Resources:
Steven Furtick: Triggered Taking Back Your Mind in the Age of Anxiety
Beth Jones: Getting a Grip on the Basics is a great resource to help you get the basics of how vital you are to God and how good He desires to be to you
https://www.thebasicsuniversity.com
Joyce Meyer: The Mind is a Battlefield - https://joycemeyer.org
Prayer of Salvation
Jesus has given salvation, healing, and countless benefits to all who call upon His name. These benefits can be yours if you receive Him into your heart by saying this prayer:
Heavenly Father, I come to You admitting that I am a sinner. Right now, I choose to turn away from sin, and I ask You to cleanse me of all unrighteousness. I believe that Jesus rose again from the dead so that I may be justified and made righteous through faith in Him. I call upon the name of Jesus Christ to be the Savior and Lord of my life. Jesus, I choose to follow You, and I ask that You fill me with the power of the Holy Spirit. I declare right now that I am a born-again child of God. I am free from sin and full of the righteousness of God. I am saved in Jesus’ name. Amen.
This prayer and the comment above were taken out of the book:
Secrets to Powerful Prayer - Discovering the Languages of the Heart
By Lynne Hammond and Patsy Cameneti
If you have just received Jesus as your Savior, please write Lynne Hammond Ministries at:
PO Box 29469
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55429-2946
Or, email one of the ministries listed on the Additional Resources Tab and let them know that you are a brand-new Christian and need some direction on the next steps for your new life in Christ.
Or email us here at Heartfelt Conversations with Diana, and we will forward your information to you.
Congratulations if you are a brand new Christian or if you have Returned Home! Welcome!!! Get in God’s Word and get it into you.