Hello to all! I’ve missed talking with you. My life has been crazy busy these past 2 months. I can’t believe I just had another daughter graduate from HS! I’m beginning to feel old LOL! If any of you have been there, then you know what I mean when I say it’s been crazy busy! We are still trying to get some normalcy back into our home. She decided after she graduated that she wanted to move her bedroom from upstairs to downstairs, so that’s been a huge project (that turned my whole house upside down)! Soon she will be moving to the dorms at college. I will miss her, but I know it’s time to allow her to spread her wings and fly (and get my house and head back in working order LOL…just kidding)! As her mother, I know I’m naturally going to be worried about her…which is what I’m going to talk to you about in this blog. It’s something that affects everyone’s life!
So, yesterday evening, I taught my ladies discipleship training class. It wasn’t the first time, but I was still nervous. So, I prayed about it and left it in God’s hands. He spoke to me and through me and the environment was very relaxed so I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I’d be. We talked about something that EVERYONE deals with on a daily basis. Worry & Fear! I would like to share with you some of what God led me to share with them. We allow worry & fear to seep into our daily lives whether it be boarding an airplane, a visit to the doctor, opening a bill, walking down a dark sidewalk, or a glance at the clock when our child is late for curfew. Christians aren’t exempt from worry & fear. All throughout scripture God’s people are tormented by the same alarms as everyone else. Even though Jesus was always with the disciples, they still seemed to stay afraid—of storms, of armies, of crowds, of diseases, of poverty, of the loss of their leader… Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by danger or to be afraid of something. It’s an emotional response to a known or definite threat. Genuine fear is involuntary. Worry is a thought that something bad might happen. To give way to anxiety or unease or fear is a state-of-mind that dwells on difficulty or troubles. So it goes without saying that people which struggle with depression and anxiety battles these things on a daily basis on an even deeper level. Worrying, however, is a choice. No one is born a worrier. Worry is a harmful form of fear. Another word for worry, which we use quite often, is anxiety. Fear and worry/anxiety are sins…they cause us to doubt God’s promises, question His power, disregard His presence, and divert our hearts from His praise!
How, then, do we lock up the criminals of fear and worry/anxiety??? By using these 3 God-given weapons: 1. Prayer 2. Promises 3. Perseverance Let’s begin with number 1. Prayer Prayer is our primary method for telling Jesus about our worries and, in the process, of recognizing the presence of God. We draw near to Him in prayer & in His presence is peace! One example we are given in the Bible is something I shared with you in a previous post. Paul was tormented by the thorn in his flesh. We don’t know exactly what the thorn was that he was referring to, but we know that it caused him much pain. He was worried and troubled by it and so what does it tell us he did? He went to Jesus 3 different times asking for Him to remove the thorn from his flesh. That’s only one example of many given to us. We are to go to God in prayer when we are worried, anxious or afraid of something. Fear can paralyze & trap you when you’re facing uncertainty, tragedy, or circumstances beyond your control. When you’re scared your mind races through scenarios of “what if”? Jesus tells us multiple times in the Bible “Do not be afraid”. He recognized fear as a serious problem for His disciples then and He knows it still haunts us today. I am going to list several references/Bible verses that you can read about taking our worry, anxiety & fear to Him in prayer. Before I do, here are 6 Words of Wisdom for Worriers Worry About Nothing—Pray About Everything! Phillipians 4:6-7 tells us…Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. John14:27, Joshua 1:9, Matthew 6:34, Psalm 27:1, 1Peter 5:6-7, Deuteronomy 31:6, Psalm 56:3, Psalm 34:17, Isaiah 43:1, Psalm 23:4, Psalm 34:4, Psalm 94:19, Psalm 118:6, 1Chronicles 28:20, Isaiah 41:13, Isaiah 54:4 Moving on to number 2. Promises We need to give God all of our fears and worry in prayer and then…search the scriptures for specific promises for our need. We should copy them down, hang them places we can see them, meditate on them, memorize them throughout the day. Billy Graham said “Historians will probably call our era the age of anxiety”. Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered in anything short of God and His will for us. He wrote this in 1965…no one knew how true they would be 50yrs later. Anxiety/worry and fear distracts us from our relationship with God. It’s a crippling disease that takes over our minds and moves our thoughts into darkness. God wants so much more for us than to walk through life full of fear, worry, & anxiety. I’m going to reference some Bible verses that you can read that talks about God’s promises to us. Proverbs 29:25, Isaiah 41:10, 13, Isaiah 40:29, Isaiah 43:2, Isaiah 54:10, 2Chronicles 7:14, Mark 11:24, Psalm 9:9-10, James 5:14-15, Matthew 6:31-34 Along with these scriptures that I have listed, here are 7 promises from God to remember when your soul feels overwhelmed by troubles. 1. He will be our shelter & shield Psalm 119:114; 2. He is our safe place Psalm 31:20; 3. He will be our song Psalm 40:3; 4. He will never tire of our worries Luke 12:22-25; 5. We are His…Isaiah 41:3; 6. Our heart is His home-His love for us is perfect Jeremiah 31:3; 7. We are forever in His heart…His choice to choose us and love us is irrevocable 2Corinthians 1:22 Last, but not least, our 3rd God-given weapon….3. Perseverance “Trust Him” Perseverance is persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. The book of Hebrews was written to those facing persecution. In chapter 12 it says that because believers in earlier generations trusted God with their difficulties, we too should “run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith”. Perseverance in trusting Him means we aren’t going to be terrorized by worry and fear. We are, instead, going to trust God, fix our eyes on Christ, and keep going! Read these verses related to persevering until the end, regardless what we may be going through. Hebrews 12:1-2; James 1:12; Romans 5:3-5; Matthew 24:13; Ephesians 6:18
Don’t misinterpret what I am saying now…we are definitely going to have tribulations in life. Tribulation means trouble or suffering; worry, anxiety, burden, affliction, hardship, problem, issue, misfortune, tragedy, etc… But we don’t have to allow it to break us. Is fear, worry or anxiety stalking or crippling you??? Let them drive you to prayer; claim God’s promises; and persevere by fixing your eyes on Jesus. I will leave you with this… In John 16:33 Jesus said “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” This verse sums up a whole lot! Christ emphasizes here: the inward peace which is His purpose for us; the outward tribulation which is our certain fate; and the courageous confidence which Christ’s victory for us gives. My prayer for you is that God will bless you, when you are faced with the tribulations of this world, with the peace that only He can provide.