ANXIETY IS A DOWNER
INTRODUCTION: Last week I shared Prov. 12:25, "An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up." in regards to shining our light. Light warms and so therefore a kind word warms a person's heart. As I focused on the later part of the verse last week, today I want to focus on the beginning part of the verse. So, let's take a look at the unnerving subject of anxiety.
1) Anxiety is heavy.
Prov. 12:25a, "An anxious heart weighs a man down."
There was a woman who for years had been living with the tension of all her various responsibilities at work, home, church and in her community. She went to her doctor for a check-up. She told him, "I'm not sure what's going on; I feel all run down." After hearing her out he asked her some questions. Upon the completion of her exam he told her, "The trouble isn't so much that you're all run down but that you're all wound up!"
Can anyone relate to that? The reason we are all run down is because we 're all wound up. We push ourselves because there's so much to do. We become anxious about getting everything done and we reach the point where we overdo it and break down.
Mechanical engineers study the strength of metals. They say that every metal has a "fatigue limit". It's the point at which the metal breaks under extreme tension and stress. We too have a "fatigue limit". A point we reach where we either break down or lose control. When we are caught in the grip of unrelenting stress-hour after hour, day after day, the least amount of added pressure brings us closer to the "fatigue limit".
But what can we do? The pace of life is demanding. We can't just stop. Maybe you feel like the business man who said, "I've reached the point where I can't keep going but I can't stop either." We might not be able to make life stop but that doesn't mean we have to be anxious about what life brings.
Now, it's worth mentioning that a certain amount of tension is a good thing. The rubber band needs to be stretched in order to be useful, guitar strings need to be tightened in order to sound right; you need to draw back a bowstring in order to shoot an arrow. So it is with us. The right amount of tension keeps us active; it keeps us sharp. Too much of it though and we will break-like the rubber band, guitar string and the bowstring.
So we need a healthy balance. We need positive outlets to relieve the pressures caused by everyday life so we can be lifted up when we feel weighed down. We need to do things like relax, meditate, listen to soothing music, take a little cat-nap, read the bible, call a friend-things to take our minds off what we're anxious about.
2) Anxiety is unsettling.
Some synonyms for anxious: nervous, uneasy, restless. When I think of these synonyms I think of the word "unsettled". Interestingly, when looking up 'restless' in the NIV, I came across two occurrences and both have to do with two guys who made some poor choices. The first one was the first murderer-Cain.
Gen. 4:10-12, "The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
Cain killed his brother and for that one of his consequence was that he would be restless; he would never be settled. As the Geneva Bible Notes commentary put it, "You will never have rest for your heart, you will be in continual fear and worry." Do you know anyone like that? They seem to always be in a state of worry or fear?
Arthur Somers Roche said, "Anxiety is a thin stream of fear, trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained." Anxiety is something that can consume us. If left untreated our anxious thoughts will take over to where it seems all we can think about are the things we're afraid of or worried about.
Adam Clarke's commentary put it, "You shall be expelled from the presence of God." I thought about that and it occurred to me-when we live in the mindset of fear, worry, anxiety we are living outside the presence of God. God wants us to be close to him so we can be free from these draining and debilitating emotions.
The second occurrence of the word "restless" is seen in the account of another set of brothers; one of which made a poor choice-Esau.
Gen. 27:38-40, "Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud. His father Isaac answered him, “Your dwelling will be away from the earth’s richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.”
Esau sold his birthright (and the blessing therein) to his brother Jacob for a bowl of stew. And one of the consequences for that blunder was that he too would be restless. Now for Cain it might have been more of wanting to find rest but being unable to where as for Esau, he would grow restless and be unwilling to continue in his situation. Have you ever known someone who never stayed in one place or situation very long?
I'm not talking about someone who can never seem to be able to sit still. Some people just have high levels of energy and they're always on the go. These people might need to learn to slow down and take a break every now and then but what I'm talking about here is being easily unsettled in things like a job, living situation or relationship.
It could stem from being discontent/never satisfied. It can also come from being unwilling to deal with difficulties. At the first sign of trouble they cut and run. The first time something doesn't go their way they're ready to throw in the towel. These can be signs of restlessness; anxiety type reactions.
Either way, I think it's interesting that the only two occurrences of the word restless have to do with consequences for poor choices. That would tell me that when we make good choices we can enjoy peace and rest. And the best choice to make when we're restless is to come to Jesus.
Matt. 11:28-30, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." When we are unsettled in our spirit we need to find peace and rest. Jesus is the answer. He wants to put our spirits at rest. Our lives may still be busy but our soul can find peace and rest. Are you restless? Are you unsettled in your spirit? Come to Jesus.
3) We can be anxious about work.
Ecc. 2:22-23, "What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless."
Solomon isn't saying, "It doesn't pay to work. Everyone should just quit their jobs because it's all pointless." That wouldn't make any sense plus when we get to the verses that follow we'll see that's not what he meant. What he is saying is not to get all consumed with work. Solomon's point would echo Jesus' in not storing up treasures on earth but rather treasures in heaven. Not that it's wrong to leave an inheritance behind but when it causes anxiety it's a problem.
Just like how Jesus followed up talking about storing up treasures in heaven with not worrying about what you will wear or what you will eat. You need these things and you should work to provide for these things but if there's a bump in the road don't worry about it. Also, don't allow work to take over your life because of your worries or desire to accumulate more and more stuff.
"Even at night his mind does not rest". Of course it doesn't-he's anxious? He's thinking about work or he's worried about his bills. Instead of being anxious about work we need to put into practice what Solomon said in verses 24-25, "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?"
If God's not in the picture work can be full of stress and anxiety and worries but with God I can actually find enjoyment in it. That doesn't mean it's easy or free of any difficulties but I can handle them better. When it comes to work, people or anything else in life we would do well to put into practice what Paul said in Phil. 4:6, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
Paul is saying no matter what it is you don't have to be anxious about it. Whether it's looking for a job when you've been out of work and the bills are piling up or you're waiting for the results of your biopsy or you've got a court date coming up, we don't have to stress about it. We need to pray, give it over to God and focus on what there is to be thankful about. If we do these things we can have our anxiety removed. God will give us what we need to get through it. We need to have the faith and trust that says no matter what happens God is good and he has a plan.
4) Let it go.
Jesus will show us he's capable of handling it. Matt. 8:23-27, "Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
The disciples were tense but Jesus was calm. How? He knew he had everything in control. We don't have everything under control (which is one of the reasons we're anxious) but God does and if we are serving him we can let it go and give it over to him. He can calm the winds and waves of our anxiety; if we will come to him.
There was a man who was hiking up a mountain. Caught-up in the beauty and wonder of the landscape he lost track of time wandering on the trail and it soon became dark. Feeling his way back down the mountain he slipped and fell over a cliff. As he fell he managed to grab a protruding tree limb and hung on for dear life. In his anxiety he heard a voice say ever so calmly, "let go". He thought to himself, "are you nuts?" The voice repeated itself, "it's okay, you can let go". The hiker responded, "No way, I can't do that; I'll die."
After holding on for what seemed like eternity he felt his grip slipping away. With his anxiety level at its peak and the hope of someone coming along to rescue him waning, he braced himself for the fatal fall. He fell a total of six inches before he hit the ground. After all that needless anxiety, he was only a few inches away from the ground. He couldn't see that in the dark but God knew-that's why he told him to just let go.
We have a limited view. We get into a perilous situation and we try to think of our own way out. God tells us to let go and trust him but we're skeptical to do that. We feel letting go will lead to a catastrophic end. That's Satan telling us it's too risky to let go and trust God. So we listen to Satan and hold on in anxious agony. But when we decide to stop listening to the liar we let it go and find that God is right and there was nothing to worry about.
And in that there is a lesson for us to have faith and trust. After Jesus calmed the storm (and no doubt the disciples' anxiety, he said to them, "oh you of little faith; why did you doubt?" C.S. Lewis said, "Anxiety is not only a pain we must ask God to alleviate, but also a weakness we must ask him to pardon." Things like anxiety and worry stem from a lack of faith and trust in God.
They can also be a result of pride; a stubborn battle of wills. "Anxiety springs from the desire that things should happen as we wish rather than as God wills." I can become anxious when things don't go according to my plans and desires. That's when I need to humble myself and hand it over.
In any of life's situations when I won't let go things don't go so well for me. Tubing/waterskiing-"let go of the rope!"
5) When we're anxious God is our comfort.
Psalm 94:16-19, "Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers? Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. 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."
David might've been feeling like it was him against the world. Ever feel that way? And against all that pressure David started to slip. But God was there. God's love supported David. Consolation means relief, comfort, support. In times of anxiety, God is there as a loving Father offering us relief.
"A Doctor had to give a little four-year-old girl a painful shot. When she learned what the doctor was about to do, her face showed her anxiety and her body tensed up. As the doctor picked up what looked to the little girl to be a needle big enough to drop an elephant, she turned her eyes to her father, who took her hand and fixed his eyes on hers. An expression of calmness and confidence came over her face. She found comfort in her father's presence."
1st Pet. 5:7, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." No matter what is causing anxiety in our lives we need to give it to God. I can do that when I'm convinced that he cares about me and that he will care for me. And when we exhibit faith, trust and humility we will have peace, rest and joy.
Anxiety pulls us down and keeps us down. That is, until we give our worries over to God. Then the burden is lifted so we can be lifted up. Without the weight of an anxious heart we can live in the joy of having a cheerful heart.
