Jesus vs. Anxiety

I am not sure how you process confusion, stress, or inconvenience in life. Personally, I am laid back. It takes a lot for me to become visibly upset. However, I am just as susceptible to anxiety as the next person. Christian author Vince Miller wrote, “Anxiety is the most predominant form of mental illness today. And Jesus holds the key to healing.” This is the purpose of this blog post: How does the the Christian deal with anxiety? 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7)

Paul’s instruction for the Philippian church was to attack anxiety with prayer and thankfulness. We pray because we serve a God who can answer them. Have you had those times when you complain to a friend or coworker about some situation? You’re not so much complaining to change the outcome, because neither you nor they can really do much. That is not at all how we are to view our prayers to God. First, when we pray we should do so reverently and seriously. Second, we should pray expectantly. From Paul’s perspective, prayer should alleviate out anxiety. Another aspect of our prayer is thanksgiving. I think Paul pushed them toward thankfulness in order that they refocus their view from themselves to a Holy, Sovereign, Almighty God. When placed next to the eternal salvation of our souls, our day-to-day issues tend to lose their immensity. 

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27)

As a result fo Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we have peace. Jesus promised to give His disciples true peace. What an amazing thought! The world offers “peace” in the form of entertainment, money, promotion, and substance, but these are a fleeting joy and not a true joy at all. Jesus bids his followers not to be filled with trouble or fear, but with peace. We are free from anxiety’s enslaving power because we have been set free by Christ! You have been given a spirit of freedom whereby we cry Abba, Father! 

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”
(Psalm 55:22)

Sometimes the initial reaction for the American Christian, when life gets tough, is to pray. We pray as a means to an end far too often. “Lord, deliver me from this __________” The rest of the week we have little or worse, no use for God. However, when things are suddenly out of our control, we turn back to God to bail us out. 

Admittedly, that was written in a harsh tone. I don’t mean to be offensive but honest. God, in Psalm 55, never promised to remove our burden. He is not the genie from Aladdin, waiting to give you the desires of your heart. He doesn’t snap His fingers and *Boom* we are transferred to a far away place. God bids us cast our burdens upon Him, and promises us the grace to endure. He comforts us with His sustaining power. The word “sustain” has the same same connotation as God’s providing for the Children of Israel during their 40 years of wilderness wandering. The God who faithfully led 600,000 (minimum) people through the desert, implores you to trust Him. 

Christian brother or sister, are you one dominated by anxiety? Are you incapacitated with fear and uncertainty? First, pray. Pray as a mean to praising God for His character and power. Spend time reminding yourself of God and how He has revealed Himself through His Word. Second, pray as a means of thankfulness. Thank the Father for Jesus’ sin-crushing sacrifice. Thank Him for the freedom you have received in Christ, power to endure! Finally, pray as an access to grace. Like the psalmist wrote, pray not for deliverance (though that may be what you desire) but for the grace to endure. Beg God to show you more of Himself as a result of whatever is causing you anxiety. He is waiting and ready to show you more of Himself, as a means to true joy, if you are willing to take your eyes off your current situation and lift them to the God of Creation.

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