Reversing Anxiety
Good morning MGCC!
SO….
ARE YOU READY - to encounter the living God through His…
Holy, Inspired and authoritative Word?
ARE YOU READY – for God’s word (like the rain and snow that fall from the sky causing things to bud, grow and flourish)
TO FALL ONTO – your heart and mind… accomplishing what God desires and achieving His purpose in your life.
LIKE – are you ready to walk out of these doors in a few moments different than when you walked in.
BECAUSE OF – the wonder working power of His word.
OKAY – let’s do this….
We read the following in Mark 4, beginning at verse 35…
As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed).
But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.
Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.
Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!” – Mark 4:35-41
Prayer…
OKAY – this morning we are kicking off a 4 week series called, ‘Overcome, The Challenges that we face.
NOW – I do not think that I need to tell anyone here, that as you strive to live out the life God intends for you (an abundant life in all it’s fullness)…
THAT YOU – will encounter many obstacles, difficulties and challenges… STORMS – (winds and waves) that you will need to over come.
LAST WEEK – I mentioned 8 possible topics for discussion in this series
(Overcoming - Hurt, Insecurity, Temptation, Discouragement, Yourself, Depression, Fear, Loss).
AND – I asked you out of those 8 topics what are the top there (in rank order) that you would like to have a conversation about on Sundays…
WELL – after all the rankings were added up here are the top 3… #1 – Fear; #2 – Insecurity; #3 - Hurt
SO – next week we will begin looking at these 3 challenges in a conversation I am calling… “Moving Beyond Insecurity”
AGAIN – that’s next week.
THIS MORNING – we are going to be talking about one of the most unrelenting of storms that we will need to overcome.
I MEAN – it’s waves and wind crash up against our lives frequently. AND - that is anxiety.
UNDERSTAND
ANXIETY – is a thief, it steals…
• your thoughts
• your peace
• your joy
• your confidence.
NOW – for many years a woman couldn’t sleep at night because she was so worried that her home would be broken into.
I MEAN – it was just this uneasy thought that dominated her mind day in and day out for years.
WELL - one night her husband heard a noise in the house, so he went downstairs to investigate. When he got there, he found a burglar.
The husband said to the him, “Hey, could you come upstairs and meet my wife. She has been waiting 10 years to meet you.”
POINT - a thief will steal from you once but anxiety can steal from you for decades.
OKAY – raise your hand if you have ever struggled with anxiety.
LIKE – has anxiety ever stolen your (thoughts, peace, confidence or your joy?
SO – we are not alone in this struggle, in this storm.
LOOK – at 3 people “You’re not alone.”
OKAY – let’s do this “Overcome, The Challenges We Face” week one… “Reversing Anxiety.” AND - here is how I want to attack this conversation… BY - unpacking 2 statements
#1 The problem of anxiety #2 The path out of anxiety
AND LISTEN – before we dive into our study this morning…
I feel that I need to be clear about 2 things…
#1 – I realize that this conversation has limits…
LIKE – I know that one Sunday morning message is not going to solve all the issues we face in regards to anxiety.
I MEAN – perhaps for some in this room, anxiety has been ‘the issue’ that you have been facing for years….AND - what is needed is to see a doctor or a counselor. AND LISTEN – there is no shame in that, and doing so does not make you a second class Christian. (I’ve been) SO – yeah I know, this conversation does have limits…
#2 – HOWEVER - with that being said I still believe that because we are sharing truths from God’s word, and because it is God’s desire that we (His children) not live our lives tossed to and fro by the waves of anxiety - that something supernatural and powerful can happen.
YES – I believe in the power of the living and active Word of God and so I believe that in the next few minutes has the potential to make a significant difference in our lives and empower us to reverse anxiety… GET IT?
OKAY – buckle up, and let’s do this!
AND LISTEN – I can think of no better way to begin than to read what I think are the 3 most powerful passages in the entire Bible about anxiety.
LEAN B/S – this is the word of God. Jesus is teaching on the mountain side by the sea of Galilee.
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
QUESTION – what are you worried about?
I MEAN – this covers it all, right?
Jesus says do not worry about your life.
NOT JUST – don’t worry about your bills, about your kids, about your health, about your marriage, your relationships
NO – He says don’t worry about your life.
LIKE – let’s get it all out there.
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?
Look at the birds of the air;
God is always trying to get us to look at things other than ourselves…
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?
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
BTW – that is what worry does it just spins us around and around and around… until we get too dizzy to do anything
Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
Jesus is like… “why are you worry about stuff the Father is already working out for you.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. – Matthew 6:25-34
AND THEN PAUL – from a prison cells writes…
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
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 hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy —think about such things.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. – Philippians 4:4-9
AND THE PETER – one of the guys who was freaking out in the storm – full of anxiety – waking Jesus up and saying ‘Don’t you care that we are going to die…’ wrote to believers who he says in chapter 1 were scattered…
IN OTHER WORDS - these are refugees.
These are Christians who have—because of suffering and because of persecution—had to leave their family.
They’ve had to leave their friends. That’s a lot of reason for anxiety, right? That’s a lot of stress. Many of them had lost their jobs because of their faith. Many of them had had their possessions seized because of their faith. So this is the audience that is receiving this teaching on anxiety.
Their circumstances would seem to create a lot of stress, a lot of fear and anxiety in their lives. So Peter says in 1 Peter 5:6
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
AGAIN – they had a lot of reasons for anxiety…
AND – this next verse is powerful…
NOW – I have known and quoted 1 Peter 5:8 for years…
Just like I have known and quoted 1 Peter 5:7 for years
BUT – until this week I never noticed how connected they were.
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
UNDERSTAND – one of your enemy main weapons to devour you is roar into your life with anxiety.
NOW – because of Jesus the devil is declawed and on a leash but he can still roar…
Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
Peter is like… “Hey you are not alone in this…”
LOOK AT – 3 people “you are not alone”
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. – 1 Peter 5:5-10
HEY – didn’t I tell you these were incredible passages.
They are so powerful, so awesome, so relevant… and they pretty much are saying the same things from different angles.
I MEAN – I could just read them over and over again for 30 minutes… pray and then go home.
I. The Problem Of Anxiety
Anxiety…
UNDERSTAND - it’s a problem that all humans’ beings have to deal with at one time or another.
AND LISTEN – to understand what the bible teaches about anxiety, it is important to know a little bit about the Greek word that both Jesus, Peter and Paul used.
It’s the word… Merimnao (mer em na o) –
It appears 19 times in 17 verses
And the way that it is translated into English is primarily with the words primarily – worry, anxious and care.
SO – when Jesus says in Matthew 6 as we read just a few moments ago says…
Do not worry about your life… Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life… Why do you worry about clothes… - Matthew 6:,25,27,28
He is using the word merimnao.
AND WHEN - Jesus speaks to Martha who is so upset and so distracted and just so busy as Mary was sitting at his feet…
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, - Luke 10:41
AGAIN - the same word ‘merimnao.’
AND – it is the same word that Paul uses in 1 Corinthians chapter 7 when he says,
I want you to be without care… - 1 Corinthians 7:32
So - merimnao – is translated as concern, worried, anxious, care
AND SO – given that I now want you to know where this word comes from…
Merimnao is a compound word (it comes from 2 Greek words stuck together)…
AND WHEN - I tell you what they are you will get a full understanding of what worry in the Bible is describing.
Anxiety = ‘Merimnao’ – merizo (to divide, to separate, to cut into pieces, to tear apart) - nous (the mind)
SO - merimnao means (to divide – to separate – to tear apart) the mind… WHICH - really a great description of anxiety.
YOU SEE - anxiety is where you mind is divided between legitimate thoughts and destructive thoughts
SO - Anxiety takes your mind in two different directions
AND LISTEN - I believe that these verses on anxiety speak louder today than perhaps at any other time before…
AND - I also believe that they especially speak loud into the culture in which you and I live.
Let me explain…
• 40 million American’s suffer from some form of anxiety disorder.
• That is 18% of all American adults
• In 2015 Boston University reported that anxiety has surpassed all other disorders in our country, including depression.
RECENTLY - A world mental health survey was taken of 14 countries… and it found that Americans…
• were the most anxious people in all of the 14 countries studied
• and that we have more clinically significant levels of anxiety than people living in Nigeria, Lebanon, and the Ukraine
AND IF – you know anything about those countries you know that they are troubled spots.
AND MGCC - what that tells us… IS THAT - Americans are the undisputed champions of anxiety and worry. I MEAN – if anxiety and worry were Olympic events we would win gold every time.
In the last 3 decades Anxiety Disorders have jumped 1200%.
One psychologist Dr. Robert Leahy in his book ‘Anxiety Free’ says, “The average American teenager today exhibits the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient did in the 1950s.”
So that gives you some kind of feel for where we are on the anxiety meter. That’s our country.
SO – what are Americans so worried about…
WELL - according to the Gallup organization
#1 – Personal Income (will I have enough money to survive whatever happens in the future)
#2 – The Social Security System (kind of ties into the first one, will the social security system be able to take care of me when I get old)
#3 – Possible Terrorist Attacks (will I become the victim of some hostile act of violence)
#4 – Health Care Availability in the future
#5 – Race relations
SO - those are top concerns of Americans.
NOW – I did an informal survey on Facebook this week asking people what they worry and are anxious about and here are some of their responses
People are anxious about…
Money – their children – work – family balance – political turmoil – our country – evil people – sickness – finding love – the unknown – being a single parent – house issue – car issues – making an impact with their lives
YES – anxiety is real, anxiety is here and anxiety is a problem for at least 3 reasons…
Anxiety is – unhealthy, unproductive and unbecoming
Let’s take a moment to drill down on those
A) Anxiety Is Unhealthy
Anxiety often produces such unhealthy things as…
Nervousness, fear, irritability, sleeplessness, and just the general sense of feeling overwhelmed.
Anxiety can overwhelm our emotions.
It can alter the serotonin and dopamine systems in the brain.
It can cause disturbing and obsessive thoughts.
It can cause agitation and anger and annoyance.
It can make you feel moody, lonely, sad, depressed.
ANXIETY - can have physical symptoms, too.
LIKE - aches and pains
and stiffness and breathing difficulties
and chest pains and concentration problems
and digestive issues and insomnia and low energy
and forgetfulness and blood pressure and circulation problems and hormone imbalance and hypertension and migraines
and weight gain and weight loss and body odor
and hair loss and ringing in the ears,
and increased sensitivity to sound and smell,
and even it can literally leave a bad taste in the mouth.
AND SO - you start thinking through these things, and it’s like one of those commercials where you’re...ninety percent of it is side effects, right?
Like, you just…one thing after another is connected to it.
And so it’s…it’s a challenge that all of us have in one degree or another.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control says that about half the deaths that take place before age sixty-five are related to stressful lifestyles. The Harvard Business Review says, “Anywhere from sixty to ninety percent of medical visits are stress related.”
In His book ‘Anxiety Free’ Dr. Robert Leahy concludes that “We live in an age of anxiety. We have become a nation of nervous wrecks.”
Anxiety is unhealthy, and
B) Anxiety Is Unproductive
NOW - I really like how Jesus put it in Matthew 6…
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
- Matthew 6:27
LIKE – what good has worry ever done for you?
All that anxiety… how is that working for you?
I MEAN – is it getting you anywhere good or productive?
UNDERSTAND - Jesus’ point is that worrying won’t change anything. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
I MEAN - Think for a minute about the things we worry about.
Politics; who of you by worrying can change the outcome of an election?
Finances; who of you by worrying can put a single dollar in your pocket?
Relationships; who of you by worrying can change another person?
Actually, it’s not true to say that worrying won’t change anything. It will. It will make things worse.
Cause health problems. Marriage problems. Affect your family. That’s why Jesus says don’t do it, it’s unproductive.
Worry like I said earlier is like spinning around in a circle…
A lot of movement but you haven’t gone anywhere.
And now you’re just dizzy.
Dr Joseph Galway did some research and he found that
85% of the things we worry about never happen
OF - the 15 % that did happen 79% of the people found that they were able to handle the difficulty better than they thought OR - the difficulty taught them lessons worth learning…
SO – he concluded that 97% of what we worry about is just a fearful mind punishing you with exaggerations and misconceptions.
Corrie ten Boom who during WW II first along with her family hide Jews from the Nazi’s and then later was captured and placed in a concentration camp (talk about causes for anxiety) wrote –
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” – Corrie Ten Boom
Anxiety is a problem… it’s unhealthy, it’s unproductive and it is..
C) Anxiety Is Unbecoming
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. – Matthew 6:31,32
UNDERSTAND MGCC– it makes sense for those who do not know God to be anxious and run after these things.
I MEAN…
WHEN – people just think that they are just dangling in some inexplicable universe… with no design, no plan, no God.
WHEN – they believe that they are really nothing more than products of random chance
WHEN – they do not know why they are here or where they are going, that has to be scary… like no wonder there are anxious and spin around in circles running after this things.
HOWEVER – for a Jesus-follower to ran around the same way, to have the same kind of anxieties, is saying to the God who feeds the birds of the air and clothes the grass of fields and who holds the entire universe together – I don’t trust you.
AND – it says to a watching world that our God must not be that great because we are just as fearful and anxious as they are.
YOU KNOW - I have 5 children and I have never once seen them worry about whether or not they are going to have food to eat or a place to sleep.
SO - Anxiety really is a problem…
it’s unhealthy, it is unproductive and it is unbecoming.
AND – it steals and devours (like a roaring lion)…
• your thoughts
• your peace
• your joy
• your confidence
BUT LISTEN – there is some really good news.
MGCC – there is a path out of anxiety.
II. The Path Out Of Anxiety
AND – here’s the deal…
The path out of anxiety calms the storms of our worries, bringing to us, the Peace ‘Of’ God.
Paul in that great teaching on anxiety in Philippians 4 says…
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 hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus… - Philippians 4:6,7
The peace of God
OKAY – here’s the deal every Jesus follower has peace with God… AND - we received when we waved the white flag and surrendered our lives to Jesus.
BUT LISTEN – not every Jesus-follower has the ‘peace of God.’
NOT – every Jesus-follower has that transcendent tranquil feeling of confidence…
“Ahh everything is going to be okay. God is still the master of the universe and He is still on his throne.
The peace of God is that confidence that Peter talked about in 1 Peter 5:10
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
And the peace of God is that confidence that Jesus talk about in Matthew 6…
Confidence that our Heavenly Father already knows what we need and that when we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness that all these things will be added as well
It’s this confidence that Paul has that the ‘peace of God’ will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Paul’s says that when we walk the path out of anxiety that God’s peace becomes a guarded stationed as a check point in our hearts and minds.
Everything thought must pass through Him first.
“Can I see you ID… What is your purpose for wanting to enter Steve Malone’s mind”
Hey Turn around now… you are not getting in.
QUESTION – would anyone here like to walk on the path ‘out of’ anxiety?
OKAY – in the next few minutes I want to tell you how to do this.
UNDERSTAND MGCC – when the waves and winds of anxiety begin to crash up against your life…
No matter what that anxiety trigger is
The very first thing you need to do is…
A) Celebrate God’s Greatness And Goodness
PAUL SAYS - that we are to rejoice in the Lord and to rejoice in Him always.
PETER SAYS – that we are to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God.
JESUS SAYS – seek first His Kingdom
LISTEN, LISTEN… the key to walking the path out of anxiety is not to start with your anxiety, but to start with the greatness and the goodness of your God.
YOU SEE – celebrating God’s greatness and goodness puts whatever is causing you anxiety into it’s proper perspective.
UNDERSTAND – your God is not intimidated by the wind and waves…. He is not intimidated by whatever is causing you to be anxious.
SO – you start with God.
Paul says
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer – Philippians 4:6
Do be anxious but pray
Don’t do this but instead do this
The word that is translated pray is also the word for worship
SO – do worry, instead worship
Understand worry and worship cannot coexist in the same heart and mind.
SO – you celebrate God’s greatness and God’s goodness and this puts your anxiety in perspective…
YEAH – I think the God who…
• simply said let there be light and it was so
• created everything out of nothing
• who breathes out stars and spoke billions of galaxies into existence
•
So when you are tempted to worry – worship
When you’re burdened – bow.
When the anxiety seems so large – flip the lens
UNDERSTAND – that this must come first to walk the path of out of anxiety.
LIKE - this comes before we cast our cares.
Jesus taught in the Lord’s prayer to worship God first
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name
Your kingdom come, your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven
before we ask for our daily bread…
B) Ask God For Help
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. – Philippians 4:6
You ask God for help.
You make requests, but you don’t make demands.
You humble yourself before God and you ask for help.
AND LISTEN – God wants you to ask Him for help…
Jesus told several parables that underscore the truth that God wants us to come to Him in prayer…
NOW – I have always like the one found in Luke 11…
Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’
7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’
8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” - Luke 11:5-13
Ask God for help not as a last resort, but as a first response to anxiety.
C) Leave Your Anxiety With Him
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
NOW – maybe you hear the word cast your mind goes to fishing.
HOWEVER – that is not a very good image, right?
I MEAN – when you cast in fishing what do you do?
Well, you reel it back in, and there it is again.
OKAY - that’s not…that’s not what we want to do with our anxiety.
NOW - this word translated cast is used one other time in Scripture, and it’s better translated (or perhaps more helpfully, I should say, translated) as transfer.
THAT’S - probably more accurate for us. Transfer.
LIKE - “transfer your weight”—that’s the idea here.
That you’re carrying some weight.
It may be heavy or it may not be that heavy;
But you’ve just carried it for awhile.
You’re carrying some weight, and you’re holding onto it.
And the world’s approach to anxiety is: “Well, you’ve just got to let go of that—kind of set that free.”
But you know better. You can’t just let it go. If you let it go, it’s going to…it’s all going to fall apart.
So God says, “You don’t have to let it go. Just transfer it over. You’ve been carrying this weight.
Just let me have that weight.
Cast your anxiety on Me because I care about you.
Celebrate God’s Greatness and Goodness
Ask God for help
Leave your anxiety with Him
D) Meditate On Good Things
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy —think about such things. – Philippians 4:8
UNDERSTAND – if you want the peace of God don’t meditate on the mess, on the problem, on the anxiety
INSTEAD - meditate on good things.
AND LISTEN – if you know how to worry, then you have the necessary skills to meditate on good things.
And one of the best things to meditate on is Scripture…
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. – Romans 8:18
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28
The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom should I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom should I be afraid?
2 When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh, my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell. 3 Though an army deploys against me, my heart is not afraid; though a war breaks out against me, still I am confident.
4 I have asked one thing from the LORD; it is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
gazing on the beauty of the LORD and seeking Him in His temple.
- Psalm 27:1-5
I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. – Psalm 121:1,2
Mediate on Scripture or meditate on the good things God has brought into your life over the years.
You know like count you blessings and name them one by one.
Celebrate God’s Greatness and Goodness
Ask God for help
Leave your anxiety with Him
Meditate on good things
E) Start Doing What You Know
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. – Philippians 4:9
UNDERSTAND – when our enemy the roaring lion unleashes the waves and wind of anxiety against your life and mine
His objective is - to paralyze us, to keep us spinning around in circles… trapped in and consumed by our anxiety – unable to move forward.
SO THAT – it becomes what defines us.
BUT – Paul’s says…
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. – Philippians 4:9
UNDERSTAND – movement and simply doing what you know is powerful.
We see it all over the pages of Scripture.
• Moses I know your anxious about going back to Egypt, but get going and I will be with
• Joshua I know your are anxious about crossing the Jordan and talking the promise, but get moving I am fixing to part that water
• Gideon I know your are anxious about the enemies who are oppressing your people, but get out that winepress there is something I need you to do
• Elijah I know you are anxious about King Ahab and His wicked Queen Jezebel, but get up out the cave because I am not done with you yet
UNDERSTAND – the walk on the path out of anxiety and have the peace of God that transcends all understanding…
Just start doing what you know.
• Love somebody
• Help somebody
• Serve somebody
• Share you faith with somebody
•
Celebrate God’s Greatness and Goodness
Ask God for help
Leave your anxiety with Him
Meditate on good things
Start doing what you know
Hey did you see what the first letter of those words spell?
Calms
The path out of anxiety calms the storms of our worries, bringing to us, the Peace ‘Of’ God.
(Note - I found the acrostic CALM... from Max Lucado book 'Anxious for Nothing')
