TODAY'S WORD FOR THURSDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2014.
ANXIETY
Distress or uneasiness caused by fear of danger or misfortune; concern; worry; dread.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7.
Anxiety in a person’s life brings about an unwelcome interruption to the normality of life. Anxiety can also totally distract us and consume us so that we can think of nothing else. We can be so preoccupied by our anxiety that we become completely non-productive.
Anxiety affects our relationship with others. If you are a parent your relationship to your spouse and your children is affected by the fact that your time and energy is focused on the anxiety concern that you are faced with.
Anxiety also leads to one making unwise decisions and steals away from you the joy and peace that you enjoy as a believer. Peace and anxiety do not mesh. A person cannot be anxious and at the same time be at peace in their life. Anxiety also wastes our valuable time and energy.
Anxiety is not necessarily avoidable. If you are dealing with a serious health issue or that of someone close to you, or if you are in a serious financial crisis, or you are in some life threatening danger, it is to be expected that you would have anxiety.
Anxiety is different from fear. Fear is the natural response to an immediate threat or danger, whereas anxiety is worry over the expectation of a future threat.
When a person has long-term and deep rooted anxiety to deal with on a daily basis it brings on physical concerns. Constant anxiety is detrimental to a person’s health.
The apostle Paul faces this issue right on in Philippians 4: 4-7. Paul gives us in these verses three specific solutions to deal with anxiety in one’s life.
First, Paul tells us to bring our anxiety to God in prayer. You need to acknowledge your anxiety or it will never leave you.
Secondly, you need to come to God in prayer in the spirit of thanksgiving. Giving thanks to God focuses your thoughts on God’s goodness to you and reminds you that he is in control and always wants what is best for you. God loves you and understands your anxiety and He has the sovereign power to overcome any issue that you face. He promises to help us when we face anxiety in our lives.
Thirdly, we are to come to God with a conviction that God does love us and we can ask Him to help us in any situation because He wants to help us. The result will be that He will fulfil His promise and give you the peace of God. The peace of God is the inner calm and peace of mind that only God can give and is beyond human understanding.
Anxiety is a faith battle. One must, by faith, ask God to relieve you, rescue you, cover you, protect you and give you peace. Anxiety is a choice most of the time. It is how you handle it that eliminates anxiety.
Anxiety is bondage. You can be free of that bondage by turning your anxiety into a prayer. As Paul advises in Philippians 4:6 when you start to worry just stop and pray. If you want to be less anxious then pray more. Fret and worry over the things that are troubling us is no antidote for anxiety. Doctors often prescribe medication to relieve anxiety. That is no real solution either. Many people turn to liquor and/or drugs which needless to say is not the solution.
Since everyone will have reason to feel anxiety at one time or another why can Paul tell us not to be anxious about anything? It is because anxiety stems from a lack of trust in God’s power, His sovereignty and His wisdom. Paul had an antidote for anxiety. It was his complete trust in God.
Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:16.
Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Help me to come to You with every anxiety in life that I may face so that I will not be distracted from serving and living for You. Help me to be an influence on my family so that we keep our minds focused on the Lord and the teachings of His Word so that we can know the peace of God that passes all of our understanding.
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