FREEDOM FROM ANXIETY
FREEDOM FROM ANXIETY
Tom Johns, Dallas, TX
When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought Joy to my soul. [Ps. 94:18-19 NIV]
Anxiety, fear, worry, and stress are familiar words in our day. Extreme levels of these lead to the disruption of normal individual lives, create havoc in family situations, generate struggles at workplaces, etc. Christians are not immune to these. They also live in the real world, challenged by the effects of Gen 3: 16-19 when God cursed the earth.
Jesus knew this when He taught the disciples to pray ‘Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ The only permanent solution for the troubles of this life is to have the kingdom of God come to this earth. Our Lord promised that He would do that.
The Reality
Although we live in anticipation and eager expectation of it, we now live in a world riddled with trials. We deal with the loss of a job, economic hardships, health challenges, premature or accidental death, mental health issues, genetic disorders, and disabilities and the list can go on.
In addition to all these, we create anxious moments and scenarios created by our own poor or misguided choices. We enter marriages with romance and lofty goals, but the reality turns out to be far from it. Once we face the mundane realities of life, we soon realize that the Promised Land we expected is nothing but the barren desert. Soon anxiety, frustration, and fear set in.
The Remedy
But there is an escape from these. This brief article will not sufficiently explain the pathway to escape but you may see a glimpse of a road map. Phil. 4:6 is perhaps the most quoted verse when we talk about anxiety. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
We all know what this verse is meant to teach us, but we fail to experience it in our lives. Since the verse starts with ‘Do not be anxious,’ it becomes a command from God. So, this may be the most violated command by Christians. Let us breakdown this verse and focus on some specifics.
Recognize that these are commands from God, and we do have an obligation to obey. If these are commands from God, then He would give us the strength to fulfill them. It is demanding us to take some steps. They are the ‘right kind of praying, right thinking, and right action.’ We learn all these principles from the revealed word of God and not from the experiences of others or of our own.
The Response
Such experiences can merely be shifting shadows, unlike God’s words to us. We are taught in the scriptures to approach God with a thankful heart recognizing that the circumstances that we are in now are something God allowed. Without His allowance, nothing will happen to us or anyone else. 1 Cor. 10:13 says that God would not allow anything to happen to us that would be too much for us to bear.
He promises in Rom 8:28 that He will work out everything for our good in the end. 1 Peter 5:10 teaches that God is doing something marvelous in us during our sufferings. He is ‘perfecting, confirming, strengthening and establishing us.’ When we recognize that these truths are God’s message to each of us, we receive the strength and start experiencing His promised peace, and gradual removal of our anxious thoughts.
The Realization
If I could make this message specifically for you my dear reader, I would like you to realize that you are not just one among the many for Jesus Christ. But you are mightily special for our Lord. In John 17:20-21, just hours before His death, He prayed to God specifically for you. “My prayer is not for them (the Apostles) alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their (the Apostles’) message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” When we realize that the Lord specifically prayed to the Father for you, it must give you the strength to ‘face tomorrow.’
In Exodus 39:6 God designs the priestly garments. He devoted a special place on the shoulder areas of the garment to place the names of all the twelve tribes of Israel. God decorated that with precious stones and designed it very beautifully. Just as a High Priest carried the names of the twelve tribes of Israel when he went into the Holy of Holies, our High Priest is carrying your name on His shoulders and is interceding for you that ‘all things would work together for good at the end.’
Will God answer Jesus’ prayer for you? Of course, He would. This is our confidence. As the Psalmist says, ‘I lie down and sleep,’ knowing that he is safe in the arms of God. So can you, ‘lie down and sleep.’
But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain.
I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. [Ps. 3: 3-5 NIV]
(From Grace & Peace E-Periodical, Issue no 198 - April 2023)