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Dealing With Anxiety

Dealing with Anxiety


A friend of mine wrote me the other day, I will keep him anonymous, but he asked a question that I think affects us all in some way or another. 

"I was in church a couple of weeks ago, and the Homily was on worry. What the homily was saying was Jesus does not you to worry. The Homily said if you worry you do not have faith in God, and worrying is a sin. The Homily also said for pass worries God will give you mercy, for present worries, God will give you love, and for future worries God will give you providence. Since I have been out of work, worry has been a part of life. Based on that Homily, I do not have faith in God, and I am quite a sinner. Please give me your thought on that." 

Well, I think all of us struggle with this sin.  Who among us at times has not been overwhelmed with the idea of the future?   I am very compassionate on this subject and have struggled myself with this faith robbing sin. Jesus can take away worry from our heart with a supernatural peace if we let him.  I think what we must keep in mind is that when Jesus brings up to us that we are worrying, it is not to condemn us, but so that we will find and pursue diligently the peace that He has for us.  However, I think that we cannot look at worry and say, “well I can’t help it is just my personality.”  Or to say, “Well you do not understand what I am going through who wouldn’t worry.” 

Rick Warren said, “Worry is practical atheism. It says you don’t really believe your loving Heavenly Father will keep his promises to care for you.”

Here is a sermon outline I preached on Worry and anxiety and some confession at the end to help you.  Say them every day till you feel God’s peace and believe that he will help you!

Dealing with Anxiety

Phil 4:6-9 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. NASU

Introduction:

What has you anxious these days?  I’m not talking about the little foxes in this life that are the nit-picking elements of everyday life. I’m talking about the gut wrenching giant monsters of worry that crawl on your bed at night and steal your sleep.  Those anxieties that ruin a weekend away or take away pleasure from vacation and fill your thoughts.  Nobody has the same list of worries all but all lists have the same effect. They steal a smile and take our joy.

Are you anxious? Really anxious Maybe we need to punctuate some things?  What you need is a comma. No, on second thought, if you’re anxious, you probably need something stronger like a semi-colon or a period. Of course you couldn’t go for an exclamation point that would be too much to ask.  Punctuation has never been my strong point.  I guess I was not taught it well enough or was not listening in English class.  Nevertheless it is important. 

Sometime if you have a magazine or a newspaper handy, try reading it without using punctuation marks. It doesn’t make sense. It just becomes a string of words. The meaning is lost. It lacks direction. Punctuation is mean to guide the reader into the true meaning of words and phrases; Punctuation gives life and purpose to words. For many of us our lives represent an article with no punctuation. There are no pauses for prayer, no commas or full stops of silence or solitude. Life becomes just one hectic string of worries that robs from us the true meaning of life that the purpose of his words the author intended for us to see.

Phil 4:4-9 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Who hasn’t thought about these verses lately?  Especially the command not to worrying about anything in verse 6

The word anxious in Greek means, “to be divided or distracted.”   IN LATIN THE WORD MEANS ANXIUS, IT ADDS THE SHADED MEANING OF CHOCKING OR STRANGLING.  The word has also found it way into the German language wuergen it means  “to choke or strangle Physically strangulation is connected with the mental anguish of worrying.

Lets look at anther scripture Mark 4:14-20

There are four kinds of soil. {Exposit} 

Mark 4:14-20 "The sower sows the word.

15 "These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

16 "In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;

17 and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.

18 "And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,

19 but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

20 "And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

So what is anxiety?  It is the painful uneasiness due to impending fear. It mental, emotional and spiritual strangulation. At it’s mildest; we churn inside; at its worst, we panic. We even have something called panic attacks where so literal pass out because they cannot cope with life anymore.

What does anxiety do to you and I? Why is it wrong?  What’s the problem? Here are four statements that prove it is wrong.

• Anxiety highlights the human viewpoint and strangles the divine. So we become fearful.

When we worry we have such a high level of awareness of the human events surrounding us that Gods ways and perspectives are blocked out. Gods thought are removed from sight.

Anxiety springs from the desire that things should happen as we wish rather than as God wills.

• Anxiety chokes our ability to distinguish between the incidentals {minor} from the essential {major}, so we get distracted.

In the midst of our worried world, May things are added .One worry always build upon other, one upon another, one upon another. Our whole life seems to topple in our top-heavy world of anxiety. We concentrated on what should not be a care instead of the real needful things in life

•  Anxiety twist so many worries around our hearts that we cannot relax, so we become unfruitful

Fruitful people are relaxed people. As far as Eternal production goes it demands relaxed people!

Heb 12:11-13 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

• Anxiety drains off our energy and joy making us judgmental rather than accepting of others, so we become negative.

As worry wins the battle siphons our energy we become negative, and expect wrong and we find it. Afraid of the future, discontent with the present and afraid of dying we become the worrying animal.  We are the only things in God’s creation that seem to worry. Charles Spurgeon said “Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows but only empties today of its strength. “

Some of our hearts are about as calm and peaceful as the floor of the stock exchange.  Inside there is a feeling of panic Worry has flooded the market, causing the value of the fruits of the spirit to plummet. Peace is down a thousand points and steadily dropping. Joy has posted a serious decline. The trading is chaotic and confused. It could be a repeat crash mimicking the great depression of 1929.  Is this you? Are you life being chocked by worry?  They say when BOA constrictor has it victim it takes as it chokes its victim it takes up the slack. As they gasp for air he tightens his body around it victim until they are lifeless. George Muller once said, “The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.”

Is there a growing sense of panic in the pit of your stomach?  Are you feeling distracted and overwhelmed by worry?  Depression could be next. —But it doesn’t have to be. You can turn the market around with a little sound investing.  Determine what is important by the word of God and put those things first all other can wait.

Matt 6:25-34  "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

27 "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

28 "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,

29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

30 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!

31 "Do not worry then, saying, "What will we eat?' or "What will we drink?' or "What will we wear for clothing?'

32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

God never built a Christian strong enough to carry today's duties and tomorrow's anxieties piled on top of them.    Theodore Ledyard Cuyler (1822-1909) 

Listen to the Apostle Peter in:

1 Peter 5:6-7 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,

7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Lets do that now!

Lets stop for a minute here and put away our bible and close our eyes. Lets pray a prayer you listen and agree with my and I will pray it.

[1]Father, we know it is not right for so much hope, Joy and peace to be stolen from us every day. Yet sometimes there seems to be no escaping for us from the treadmill of our daily lives.

We ask you to help us, to guide us into a finer way of living. Check our impulse to spread our selves so thin that we are exposed to fear and doubt, to the weariness and impatience that makes our tempers wear thin, that robs us of peace of mind, that makes skies gray when they should be blue, that stifles a song along the corridors of our heart.

May we have:

• The mercy of God to forgive us.
•  The strength of God to make us resolute to do his will
•  The grace of God to be kind, tender and affectionate one to another
•  The patience of God to believe in the ultimate triumph of thy kingdom on earth. This we ask in your name Jesus in whom all peace resides. Amen.

[1] Prayers of Peter Marshall

Here are the confessions {these are to say OUT LOUD} every day..This is how you retrain you mind and build you faith..FAITH COMES BY HEARING AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD..... 

• I cast all my anxieties (worries) upon the Lord, because He cares for me. 1Pet 5.7
• I have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving I let my requests be made known to God. Php 4.6
• I do not fret or worry or get anxious because of wicked people. I am not envious of wrongdoers. Ps 37.1
• I am still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him. I do not get uptight or worry over the one who prospers through dirty tricks and dishonest methods. Ps 37.7
• I will hold myself from getting angry about this stuff. I will stop getting really angry with people. I'm not going to worry about it - because this kind of worrying just leads to worse evil. Ps 37.8
• It is vain to rise early and go to bed late and work anxiously. God gives me sleep because He loves me. Ps 127.2
• Anxiety in my heart would weigh me down. Instead I will receive and meditate on good words which will make me glad. Pr 12.25
• I don't fret because of evildoers, and I won't wish harm on the wicked because they are having undeserved benefits. Pr 24.19
• I am like a tree planted by water. I don't fear when the heat comes. I am not anxious in the year of drought. I don't cease to bear fruit. Jer 17.8
• I am not anxious about my natural life, what I shall eat or drink, nor about my body, what I shall wear. I refuse to have an anxious mind. Mt 6.25
• I am not anxious about tomorrow. Tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Mt 6.34
• I am not going to be anxious when on trial for the Lord. Mt 10.19 Mk 13.11
• I am not going to be anxious about household problems. Lk 10.41
• I am not to be with an anxious, doubtful mind. Lk 12.29
• God wants me to free from worldly anxieties. I am concerned only for the affairs of the Lord. I cast all my anxieties (worries) upon the Lord, because He cares for me.
• 1Pet 5.7
• I do not fret or worry or get anxious because of wicked people. I am not envious of wrongdoers. Ps 37.1
• I am still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him. I do not get uptight or worry over the one who prospers through dirty tricks and dishonest methods. Ps 37.7
• I will hold myself from getting angry about this stuff. I will stop getting really angry with people. I'm not going to worry about it - because this kind of worrying just leads to worse evil. Ps 37.8
• It is vain to rise early and go to bed late and work anxiously. God gives me sleep because He loves me. Ps 127.2
• Anxiety in my heart would weigh me down. Instead I will receive and meditate on good words which will make me glad. Pr 12.25
• I don't fret because of evildoers, and I won't wish harm on the wicked because they are having undeserved benefits. Pr 24.19
• I am like a tree planted by water. I don't fear when the heat comes. I am not anxious in the year of drought. I don't cease to bear fruit. Jer 17.8
• I am not anxious about my natural life, what I shall eat or drink, nor about my body, what I shall wear. I refuse to have an anxious mind. Mt 6.25
• I am not anxious about tomorrow. Tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Mt 6.34
• I am not going to be anxious when on trial for the Lord. Mt 10.19 Mk 13.11
• I am not going to be anxious about household problems. Lk 10.41
• I am not to be with an anxious, doubtful mind. Lk 12.29
• God wants me to free from worldly anxieties. I am concerned only for the affairs of the Lord. 1Cor 7.32
• The only thing to be concerned for is the welfare of the churches. 2Cor 11.28 Php 2.20 1Cor 7.32