I am amazed at how many issues in our lives are due to anxiety. Anxiety is defined as a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. To release something is to let it go. Now, if you are someone who suffers greatly from anxiety, you’re probably tuning me out about now. You are probably thinking people just don’t understand. However, you would be wrong. You have bought another lie that this world and its system is selling. Anxiety is one of the most common mental illnesses in America. It affects over 40 million adults over the age of 18 every year. This is not a small issue and each year it is growing.
Why are so many people suffering from anxiety? I believe there are two important factors that are causing this number to rise. First, we live in a fallen world where Satan is the prince of the air, as noted in Ephesians 2:2. His design is to destroy anyone and anything that would point people to Christ. He is the author of fear. II Timothy 1:7 reminds us that God is not the author of the spirit of fear. Some suffer from a fear that controls them.
Ephesians 2:2 “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”
II Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
No matter how close we are to the Lord we all fear from time to time. It is a normal human reaction to life’s situations. We know this because the psalmist says in Psalm 56:3 “what time I am afraid” not if I am afraid.
Psalms 56:3 “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”
Second, our natural instincts are to not trust something we cannot see or understand. Without faith, we can never believe in God. Without believing in Him, we cannot live with peace, hope, and confidence in the future. We cannot trust and diminish anxiety without faith in Him.
How do we react when these anxious moments come? I Peter 5:7 says to cast all our anxieties on Jesus. We must fight against the unbelief that we are on our own in the battle and nothing will help. When we focus on anxiety, we are building a wall between ourselves and God. The more we think about the “what if’s,” the more we begin to doubt God. Doubt is a lack of faith, our faith is not to be, “if I believe,” then everything will go my way. It is a faith that believes God knows best and wants what is best for me. He sees the big picture, the end of the story, and He WILL work things out for what is best for me. (Romans 8:28) Our problem is that we don’t trust Him to fulfill what He says. We are impatient and seek to take things into our own hands, which only yields greater anxiety.
So, what’s the solution? Prepare ahead of time. Find verses that bring peace to your soul. Verses like Psalm 91, I Peter 5:7, I John 4:18, Isaiah 40:31, 41:10, Joshua 1:9, Psalm 34:4, Philippians 4:6-7, Matthew 6:25-34, and Romans 8:38-39 to name a few. Read them and put reminders around your house to help you to meditate on them. Meditation is thinking deeply about a verse while alone with God, giving it time to penetrate your heart and mind. These verses are promises from God himself.
Next, we need the help of the Holy Spirit. It is a battle to be freed from anxiety. It is fought by the Spirit and belief in the truth. (II Thessalonians 2:13) The work of the Spirit and the Word are the weapons to fight and gain victories.
I know to some of you this may seem like words you’ve heard before that just don’t work for you. In that case, you may need to see a doctor, but before you do that spend some time meditating and engaging the Spirit for help. Get alone with God every day and don’t miss that time. It is so worth every effort you make when you gain victory. If you were fighting for your child, best friend, or parent, you would fight until death. If you give that much effort toward your fight to gain victory in faith you will never regret it.
When we read the promises of God and we pray for the help of His Spirit, things begin to clear up so that we can see the plans God has for us. Our faith grows stronger and anxiety becomes powerless. We begin to believe each day is a new day He has planned for us.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
