135. IS ANXIETY YOUR PROBLEM? 1 Peter 5:7

Anxiety is excessive concern and if left unchecked, robs you of your confidence, joy, peace, humour and perspective. Anxiety comes from obsessing over something; trying to figure out what happened, needing to understand what people are thinking or trying to decide what to do. In (Proverbs 3:5-6) we read “Trust in The Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Trust requires living with unanswered questions, accepting that God knows what you don’t. You and I will never have perfect knowledge or have all the answers to every question. Well not in this world anyway! Even Paul acknowledged this when he wrote 1Corenthians 13:9 “we know in part.” The cure for Anxiety may involve the help of a Doctor or medical professional, but it begins with understanding 1. that God knows all things, 2. that He is never surprised, and 3. that He is never without a solution. So here are your options, Carry the burden yourself or cast them on The Lord. When reading (1 Peter 5:7) Note the word ALL that means: ALL your cares, ALL your worries, ALL your anxieties and All your concerns once and for all cast on Him, for He cares about you with the deepest affection and watches over you every moment of the day. Learning to live this way takes patience and practise, so don’t expect an overnight miracle. The secret is giving your Anxiety to God one more time than you take it back. Learn to catch yourself in the act. When anxiety comes, say “Lord this is not my problem, it’s yours, so I’m turning it over to you.” Just try it for a month and see what happens. Hannah Whitehall Smith told a story that took place a hundred years ago, yet it’s as relevant today as tomorrows news. A farmer in a horse and cart noticed a man walking along the road with a heavy sack on his back, so he offered him a ride. The stranger accepted and climbed aboard. But as they proceeded the farmer noticed the stranger was still bent down under the load of his sack, and said to him “Why don’t you put the sack down?” to which the stranger replied, “That would be to much to ask, I am grateful that you’re carrying me, I can’t expect you to carry the sack too. That’s what we do when we accept God’s offer of Salvation but insist on carrying all our own burdens. (Psalm 55:22) says “Cast all your burdens on The Lord (release them) and He will sustain and uphold you.” God wont begin working on your problem, until you turn it over to Him. He gets involved when He gets invited. We often wait till we are falling apart, then wonder why He hasn’t helped. In (James 4:2) we read, ”You don’t get because you don’t ask” Have you asked God for help? Have you placed the problem in His hands, confident that He will work it out for your good, patiently waiting for Him to come through with the solution? This doesn’t mean that you sit around passively doing nothing. You need to do what you believe is right and have peace about doing so. Learn the difference between your part and God’s part and stop frustrating yourself by trying to do what God only can do. It’s good to have a goal for the future, and a plan for achieving it. But it’s not good to project into the future and then worry about all that can go wrong. That’s anxiety and should have no place in the mind of a redeemed child of God. If any part of your plans are wrong God will change situations or circumstances as need be. Just trust Him. (Matthew 6:31-34) reads “Do not worry or be anxious about anything saying ‘What will we eat? or what will we drink? or what will we wear? ’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek after these things; Your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But, seek first The Kingdom of Heaven and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own.” Those Scriptures can be reduced to one line; ‘Live trusting God each day to take care of you, and stop projecting in to the future. Each morning God gave the Israelites a one-day supply of food. If they tried to gather more, it rotted; God’s message was simple. “Each day I will guide and provide for you.” Anxiety can consume you. So when you feel anxious, stand on this Scripture;(Lamentations 3:22-23) “It is because of the Lord’s loving kindness that we are not consumed, because His (tender) compassion never fails it is new every morning, great and beyond measure is your faithfulness.” When you start worrying about the future, recall some of the things that God has all ready brought you through. Situations when and where you never thought you would survive, But He caused you to thrive? Nothing can separate you from His love, see (Romans 8:38-39) But your anxieties can rob you of the security which His love brings. One writer said I was the kind of person who wanted to understand everything because it made me feel I was in control. I was not good at “Not knowing” my mind went on and on all day with thoughts like, Why did I act like that? I wonder what so-and-so is thinking about my decision to buy a new car? Why hasn’t God answered my prayer yet for a promotion at work? I wonder if I am doing something wrong or have enough faith? The “Whys” in my mind seemed to never cease, and that made me miserable. My mind was becoming a home for all sorts of uninvited guests (tormenting thoughts) simply because I never said “No” to them. I wondered, reasoned, fretted, worried and imagined, to the point where it left me completely exhausted. God actually showed me that I was addicted to reasoning everything out, and I had to give it up. It didn’t happen overnight but each time I started my mental gymnastics, I said out loud “I will not try to figure this out.” And gradually I was able to trust God with my life” To day, right now, God wants to be your Guide, your adviser, your provider and your protector; In fact your all in all. So stand on His Word which His Prophets have given us like this one from (Isaiah 25:4) “You are a strength to the needy in his distress.” Don’t live with anxiety, it’s not good for your Soul or your Body: And it will keep you from trusting in God who has done so much for you. Thank you for reading these thoughts on dispensing with Anxiety. It’s a tool Satan will use to make you not only distrust God, but People too. You will end up being a very lonely, isolated, friendless person whom he (Satan) can manipulate to his advantage. Don’t let that happen. Deal with it NOW. God Bless. Phaline