The modern world is a
rat race! Our adversary Satan, uses
the world’s condition to stimulate fear, doubt and uncertainty in us. It
doesn’t take long for the things of the world around us to become our primary concern,
pushing God’s kingdom out of our hearts and minds entirely.
Consider your own life, those of family members and close friends.
They’re always busy and stressed out from trying to accomplish a thousand
things each with a deadline. Gotta get this or that done, now, right now! It’s
very rare to find a person who is not stricken with the disease of anxiousness. Maybe it would be good to re-read Matthew 6 to get
some insights on this disease of anxiety.
Life in our world is full of many concerns stemming from the
absence of certainty and control over our future. The psychological and physical effects of anxiety
can be overwhelming for our minds and bodies. Are you a person who’s life is dominated with
anxiety? Are you consumed with worry? Here’s a short summary of some of the
controlling effects anxiety may be having on your life...
The emotional effects of
anxiety may include feelings of
apprehension or dread, trouble concentrating, feeling tense or jumpy,
anticipating the worst, irritability, restlessness, watching (and waiting) for
signs (and occurrences) of danger, and, feeling like your mind's gone blank as
well as nightmares/bad dreams, obsessions about sensations, feelings of deja
vu, a trapped in your mind feeling, and feeling like everything is scary.
The cognitive effects of
anxiety may include thoughts about
suspected dangers, such as fear of dying, being in a traffic accident, falling
from a bridge and similar dreadful fears. You may... fear that the chest pains
you experience from time to time are a deadly heart attack or that the shooting
pains in your head are the result of a tumor or aneurysm. You feel an intense
fear when you think of dying, or you may think of it more often than normal, or
can’t get it out of your mind.
The behavioral effects of
anxiety may include withdrawal from
situations which have provokedanxiety in the past. Anxiety can also be experienced in ways which
include changes in sleeping patterns, nervous habits, and increased physical
responses such as extreme finger or foot tapping.
Do you experience any
of those conditions? Have you ever stopped and tried to analyze your
worries? Why do humans so easily succumb to worry? We can learn to manage anxiety and other worry
produced emotions by understanding what the Bible says about them.
We worry because we’re slaves to our own desires and will. Worries
increase when we become focused on the things of this world. We have desires,
and if our desires aren’t fully met we experience frustration to all out
devastation. We worry because we’re too concerned about earthy things, and not
spiritual things. Jesus told people not to worry about earthly things, for they
are subject to decay and can be quickly lost, but heavenly treasures
are secure for eternity (Matt. 6:19; 6:25). We worry because we’re afraid God
won’t work things out for our good. In other words, we have very little faith
in what God has promised (Matt. 6:30).
We worry because we’re not content. We’re not satisfied with God
providing our needs (Matt. 6:32), He must also provide our wants. And these aren’t just our present wants, but
the future ones we haven’t even thought about .The Bible teaches that we should
deal with each day's problems when they occur and not be obsessed with future
concerns that may never happen (Matthew 6:34).
All worries spring from the fact that we have a strong desire for
something which, if not met will bring down our spirits and make us lose our
joy. There are many legitimate concerns worth consideration in our lives. But if we become hyper focused on
life’s issues, then Satan turns our concerns into obsessions, to the point that
we’re dwelling on whatever is on our minds to the exclusion of “the things of
God”... the most important “thing” being our relationship with Him.
Worrying does nothing
for our situation as Matthew 6:27 says... "And who of you by being worried can
add a single hour to his
life?” Worry is the cause of
millions of deaths – heart attack, stroke, high blood
pressure, etc. Our Lord does not want us to live this way,
but rather with the peace of the Holy Spirit filling our hearts. It is not
God’s will for us to be slaves! God saved us to be free and immersed in His
Kingdom business; not to always be chasing after our own will. Matthew 11:28 says... "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you
rest."
While we can never be completely free from worry, the Bible shows
us how to minimize worry and anxiety in our lives. Philippians 4:6-7
says... do not worry about anything, but with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests known to God and then the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
We can have genuine hope and security in a troubled anxiety ridden
world, because the Lord upon our confession of faith and obedience to His plan
for salvation has given us the Holy Spirit. God Himself is dwelling within us,
working out His fruits in us over time (Galatians 5:22-23;24-25). This means
that we can be delivered from this disease of anxiety and inordinate concern
for our own will. We must conduct our journey in Christ, in lock-step
with the power that permeates our lives... The Holy Spirit.
Matthew 6:33 says... "But seek first
His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
It may sound cliché, but
it’s a universal truth... focus yourself toward the
heavens, towards the things of God, and you will see the
things of earth becoming smaller, and insignificant.
The kingdom of God is like this.
Etch these three IFs
in your mind & heart...
IF we make Christ everything to us, we will find
ourselves less and less concerned about the cares of this world.
IF we are single minded – setting our main goal in
life to become conformed to the image of Christ, and to press into the Lord,
becoming one with Him, then we will find ourselves being delivered from
obsession with our own will, and the cares of this world.
IF we trust only in the Lord, knowing that our Lord
is in full control, that He is on our side (Rom 8:31), then we can rest assured
that we defeat the debilitating effects of worry and anxiety and find (don’t be
discouraged when it doesn’t happen instantly) the spiritual peace we all
desire.
