Do you ever feel that thing in your chest? Do you have a hard time going to sleep at night? When you wake up, do you spend hours letting the stresses of your life and the worries of your life just run rampant?
Do you ever feel as though you’re being held hostage by anxiety? If you ever feel that way, you’re not alone. Pre-pandemic, anxiety was the number one mental struggle in our society. So, when the pandemic hit, anxiety, depression, and worry skyrocketed.
Our nation is dealing with isolation, fear, and political strife. Cities are being burned. Anxiety is a real struggle, especially right now. Let us not discount it or lessen its severity. This message will help you if you’re dealing with anxiety.
Anxiety has been a part of human society from the beginning. The Bible talks about anxiety and even uses the word in the Old and New Testaments. Many people believe it was anxiety that the author of Ecclesiastes was struggling with when he said things like “The world is meaningless.” Have you ever felt like that before?
Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.
Does anybody feel weighed down by anxiety today? Is the weight of anxiety crushing you? These words from Paul in Philippians 4 will help:
The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:5b – 7
Why are you anxious? Because the world is ever-changing and volatile whereas God is never changing and stable. You can be released from the prison of anxiety today if you would seek peace from God in prayer. If it sounds oversimplified or trite, it may have to do with what you may be wrongly believing about God.
God is powerful and Jesus is ever-present for you and anyone who has ever experienced this age-old struggle.
- Embrace the presence of Christ.
Knowing that the Lord is near is central and powerful towards your effort of seeing anxiety relieved in your life. It’s the Lord Jesus Christ that allows you to stand firm in an ever-changing society. It’s His gentle spirit that you
The first step toward dealing with anxiety is realizing that Jesus is with you. He’s never left you. Jesus is for you. And He can help you. But you must turn to him in order to receive the help. Learning to trust in Jesus in an untrusting society is sometimes easier said than done.
Can I just spend a minute or two helping you build that firm foundation of trust in Jesus? How many of you sought after Jesus climbed Jacob’s ladder and found him on your own? No, you didn’t find Jesus. He found you. He left heaven and came to this earth, to be like you and to die for you. He knows you.
He’s your Creator. He knows how many hairs are on your head. He knows how many anxieties you’re going to deal with. He knows everything about you. Jesus felt anxiety just like you. You can trust him because he’s been there. He’s gone through it, yet He didn’t sin so He could be a suitable sacrifice.
He earned your favor before God by taking your place. So, if you trust and believe Him, He becomes your help today – your ever-present help in the time of need. This is the gospel message itself. It shows us that Jesus Himself has earned the right for us to trust Him.
This may mean trusting in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior for the first time. If you’ve been trying to do it on your own, it’s not working. Your sin will always weigh you down. Confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. That’s the starting point so you can start sharing your anxiety with Him.
- Turn your worry list into a prayer list.
Stop worrying. Do not be anxious. Now I know it sounds unrealistic and a little laughable as anxiety is probably running roughshod over you today, but it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. That would be like me telling you if you had a broken leg, just walk it off. No, that’s not going to work but it takes time to heal.
Instead, Paul is telling us to turn those worries into prayers. This is the path to recovery. When you feel anxious, bring those anxieties to God through Christ in prayer. Pass those anxieties on to Christ. Anxiety has manifested itself in fear and anger, but there’s no place for fear as the believer. By the power of God, you can have faith over fear. Speak your anxieties to Christ in prayer.
Philippians had a reason to be anxious. Christians back then could have been killed for their faith. Paul was familiar with anxiety, but he knew something that sometimes we forget that God is sovereign and God has the power to help. So yes, though anxiety has existed and will always exist, it does not have to control you. Paul was writing this letter from prison, where he could have been sentenced to death at any time. Paul was shipwrecked, stoned, and beaten. These could be causes for anxieties and worries. You may always have a reason to be anxious, but that doesn’t have to cause you to worry.
Matthew 6:25-27, 31-32
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
Worry is a pagan practice, not a disciple’s posture.
Matthew 6:33-34
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Like Paul, Jesus is not just saying stop it. It’s just going to add more burden to you. He’s saying you have a reason not to worry because God’s got you. God is sovereign. God loves you. So go to him in prayer.
Do you think Paul’s pretending that all of a sudden your worries are going to become non-existent because you start praying? No. In fact, Paul would argue that you may need those worries in your life for the sake of God growing you to be like him. He is saying, stop trying to handle it on your own and take these things that you’re worried about to God in prayer. Let go of the illusion that you have control and trust Him with your burdens.
- Pull out a piece of paper or open up your iPhone and use your notes.
- Type the word “Worry List”
- Start writing down what you’re worried about.
- Go back to the top and cross out Worry and write the word, Prayer.
Fill this list in throughout the day, but speak those words to God in prayer. Sometimes we talk about prayer and we like the idea, but we don’t actually present our requests to God.
Prayer means talking to God. Supplication and petition means to ask God. Ask God for His will to be done. Ask God for the things in your heart to be done. Ask God for the things in your neighbors and your brother’s heart to be done – this is intercession.
We often forget what we’re thankful for when we’re anxious. When you’re anxious you’re only thinking about yourself. You can find relief in your anxieties, by remembering what God has done for you and praising God for who He is. The pressure begins to be reduced. This works because God’s Word says it works.
This is much of what counseling does for you. You have to name what’s happening, then you have to share how it makes you feel. Paul wants you to use Jesus as your counselor. Name your worries and bring it to Christ in prayer.
If you continually bring your anxieties to God in prayer, peace will slowly start to take the place of the burden. Here’s the promise. The peace of God will come and guard your heart. Many times this is the first step on the journey of lessening your anxiety.
Guard is a militant term for those who are keeping watch over the city while the city sleeps. This is the power of God that is released to you through prayer. He will be the guard over you so you can rest easy through the power of Christ. This is the first step in finding a solution to your anxiety.
Restore your prayer life back again. Embrace the presence of Christ. Allow him to help you turn your worry list into a prayer list. Then actually pray and let the peace of God wrap you up like a warm blanket so you can truly find rest for your weary soul.
Only God can bring peace. Only God can restore your soul. Only God can bring joy. Turn to him through prayer.
Anxiety Resources
Book: Winning the War in Your Mind
Free Online Resources
https://www.hopefortheheart.org/anxiety/
Sermon Series by John Mark Homer
Part 1:https://bridgetown.church/teaching/my-name-is-hope/part-1/
Part 2:https://bridgetown.church/teaching/my-name-is-hope/part-2/
Part 3:https://bridgetown.church/teaching/my-name-is-hope/part-3/
Online Counseling
