The Breaking Free Series Part 2:
Breaking Free from Anxiety and Worry
March 2014
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 NIV
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Philippians 4:6 NLT
“ I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.” Psalm 77:11-14 NIV
Anxiety and worry: 2 things that can keep us up all night, stress us out, leave us unhappy, sap our energy, and make us ineffective.
Friend, here’s some truth about worry and anxiety:
Today, we’re going to break free from anxiety and worry by conquering the “God can’t” disease, the “What if” disease, and the “If Only” disease.
Friend, do you truly believe that God can or do you just say, quote, or post that He can? I’ll be honest, there are times when I’m screaming, “God can do the impossible!” And then there are times when my actions are “quietly” saying that I believe the exact opposite. I’ve been guilty of worrying and being overly anxious. I’ve been guilty of trying to plan away the day, so to speak, just in case something doesn’t work out! But one day I realized that I created for myself a prison with bars made up of worry and anxiety. I had the “what if” and the “if only” disease. I also suffered from the subtle, but destructive “God can’t” disease.
Why is it subtle, but destructive? Because we can be saved, go to church, have our quiet time, minister the Gospel and STILL not truly believe that God can do “it!” How? By being too focused on the problem and not the Problem Solver, by forgetting how big the God that we serve is when we’re overwhelmed, and also by allowing our circumstances to dictate our attitude, our joy, how we choose to live life, and if we choose to believe God or not. One of my favorite scriptures is 1 Thessalonians 5:24, which says, “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” Friend, in order to be healed of the “God can’t” disease you must know and believe the Healer. You must know and believe His character. You must know and believe that He is faithful, sovereign, loving, caring, and that HE WILL NEVER LEAVE OR FORSAKE YOU. You must also know and believe that, "The Lord himself will fight for you” (Exodus 14:14 NLT). The rest of that verse says to, “Just stay calm!” Ha! I love that. He’s telling us in a nutshell, don’t worry, don’t stress out, do be anxious…..JUST STAY CALM! Friend, we can stay calm when we know that the God who fights for us stands bigger than any circumstance. We can stay calm when we know that the God who fights for us covers and carries us. We can stay calm when we know that the God who fights for us…..ALWAYS wins. It may not look like it or feel like it….but it is so! Sometimes friend, when you don’t know what to say all you need to say is, “I don’t know how I’m coming out, but I KNOW I’M COMING OUT!” How do I know I’m coming out? Because If God could get Joseph out of prison and into the palace, cause David to triumph over Goliath with just a sling shot and a stone, cause Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego to come out of a fire that was 7 times hotter than usual with no sign of ever being in one, part the Red Sea for Moses, close the mouths of lions for Daniel, put a baby boy in the arms of Sarah, feed 5000 with just five loaves of bread and two fish, open a prison door for Peter, make the sun stand still for Joshua, and raise Lazarus from the dead then He can certainly take care of whatever it is that you think He can’t. Always remember that nothing you are facing is too hard for Him to handle! And friend, one thing that always encourages me when I feel as though things aren’t quite working out is that God does not change. He will never wake up one day and be over us, not love us, leave us, or not want to be around us anymore. Neither do we have to worry which version of Jesus we’ll get on any given day. The same God that did great and mighty things for the men and women in the Word is the same God that lives on the inside of you and me and does miracles today. He is ALWAYS good. He is ALWAYS faithful. He is ALWAYS constant! That alone reminds me that GOD CAN!
Now on to the other two “diseases.” These two are fraternal twins. They are alike, but not alike; the “what if” and “if only” disease both lack eyes of faith. What If looks to the future and worries about what may or may not happen. And If Only looks to the past and complains about what has or has not already happened. Both lead to the same destination……worry/anxiety. We cripple ourselves spiritually by going over and over in our minds the “what ifs.” And we “catch” the if only disease when we dwell on what we don’t have instead of on what we do have.
· What if God doesn’t come through
· What if I fail
· If only this would have happened
· If only this would not have happened
· And the big one: What will I do if…..
God says, “My child, you are asking the wrong questions. Here’s the one that would assuage your fears: “What will God do if…?” Here’s some answers to that mighty good question. God says, “I, the Maker of heaven and earth, will:
1. Perfect everything that concerns you (Psalm 138:8)
2. Work all things together for your good (Romans 8:28)
3. Contend with those who contend with you (Isaiah 49:25)
4. Fight this battle for you (2 Chronicles 20:15)
5. Equip you with divine power (2 Corinthians 10:4)
6. Delight to show you mercy (Micah 7:18)
7. Meet all your needs according to My glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19)
8. Give you grace that is perfectly sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9)
9. Be your power in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9)
10. Do immeasurably more than all you could ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within you (Ephesians 3:20)
Friend, life can be hard sometimes. I get it, but we can’t live this life worried and anxious. We must live free…. after all, Jesus came so that we could have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). ~John 10:10 AMP
Jeremiah 17:7-8 NASB says,
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit”
I know you’ve heard it many times, but if you are going to not only break free, but also live free from worry and anxiety, YOU are going to have to trust the Lord. You are going to have to trust him with your, “what ifs” and your “if onlys.” Friend, when you truly trust the Lord, you will be like a tree planted, meaning that you will not be easily moved. When you truly trust the Lord, no matter how hot the situation gets you will not fear! When you truly trust the Lord you will not be anxious or worried when it seems as though nothing is working out in your favor. Friend, when you truly trust God, you will never cease to yield fruit. What fruit? Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. You will shine bright for Jesus and all that see you will want to get to know the God you serve. Now, I’m not just going to say, “Trust God.” But another thing I will say is that you must stand in faith. The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith. The beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety. True faith= the end of anxiety. True faith raises you above your circumstances. True faith enables you to be content even when life doesn’t make sense. True faith believes that God is true to His word even when your feelings are screaming out something different. True faith is ALWAYS active; put some feet to your faith! How? One thing I do when I feel worried and anxious is I do as 1 Peter 5:7 says, I cast my anxiety/cares on Him. I take a sheet of paper, and write out everything that is worrying me. Then I put feet to my faith, crumble that paper up and toss it in the trash. I then do as Philippians 4:6 says, instead of worrying, I pray. I tell God what I need, I believe that I receive what I prayed for, and then I thank Him for ALL he has already done! And last, but certainly not least, I focus on what He has already done. Psalm 77:11-14 says, “ I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.” Sometimes I get my journal and I make a list of all the things that God has already done for me….even things that are as small as getting a parking space at the store. I meditate/focus on them! It’s then that I realize that I serve the God who has, who can, and who will! What god is as great as our God? He is the God who performs miracles. He displays His power among the peoples! Let’s declare this today: “I’m living a worry free life! I’m living an anxiety free life! No matter the circumstance, I trust God. I trust God. I trust God!”
Be encouraged!
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Philippians 4:6 NLT
“ I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.” Psalm 77:11-14 NIV
Anxiety and worry: 2 things that can keep us up all night, stress us out, leave us unhappy, sap our energy, and make us ineffective.
Friend, here’s some truth about worry and anxiety:
- · When we’re worrying, we’re saying, “God can’t.”
- · When we’re walking in anxiety, we’re not walking in faith.
- · “Worry implies that we don’t quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what’s happening in our lives.”
- · Worry and anxiety never changes a single thing except the person that is worrying and being anxious.
Today, we’re going to break free from anxiety and worry by conquering the “God can’t” disease, the “What if” disease, and the “If Only” disease.
Friend, do you truly believe that God can or do you just say, quote, or post that He can? I’ll be honest, there are times when I’m screaming, “God can do the impossible!” And then there are times when my actions are “quietly” saying that I believe the exact opposite. I’ve been guilty of worrying and being overly anxious. I’ve been guilty of trying to plan away the day, so to speak, just in case something doesn’t work out! But one day I realized that I created for myself a prison with bars made up of worry and anxiety. I had the “what if” and the “if only” disease. I also suffered from the subtle, but destructive “God can’t” disease.
Why is it subtle, but destructive? Because we can be saved, go to church, have our quiet time, minister the Gospel and STILL not truly believe that God can do “it!” How? By being too focused on the problem and not the Problem Solver, by forgetting how big the God that we serve is when we’re overwhelmed, and also by allowing our circumstances to dictate our attitude, our joy, how we choose to live life, and if we choose to believe God or not. One of my favorite scriptures is 1 Thessalonians 5:24, which says, “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” Friend, in order to be healed of the “God can’t” disease you must know and believe the Healer. You must know and believe His character. You must know and believe that He is faithful, sovereign, loving, caring, and that HE WILL NEVER LEAVE OR FORSAKE YOU. You must also know and believe that, "The Lord himself will fight for you” (Exodus 14:14 NLT). The rest of that verse says to, “Just stay calm!” Ha! I love that. He’s telling us in a nutshell, don’t worry, don’t stress out, do be anxious…..JUST STAY CALM! Friend, we can stay calm when we know that the God who fights for us stands bigger than any circumstance. We can stay calm when we know that the God who fights for us covers and carries us. We can stay calm when we know that the God who fights for us…..ALWAYS wins. It may not look like it or feel like it….but it is so! Sometimes friend, when you don’t know what to say all you need to say is, “I don’t know how I’m coming out, but I KNOW I’M COMING OUT!” How do I know I’m coming out? Because If God could get Joseph out of prison and into the palace, cause David to triumph over Goliath with just a sling shot and a stone, cause Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego to come out of a fire that was 7 times hotter than usual with no sign of ever being in one, part the Red Sea for Moses, close the mouths of lions for Daniel, put a baby boy in the arms of Sarah, feed 5000 with just five loaves of bread and two fish, open a prison door for Peter, make the sun stand still for Joshua, and raise Lazarus from the dead then He can certainly take care of whatever it is that you think He can’t. Always remember that nothing you are facing is too hard for Him to handle! And friend, one thing that always encourages me when I feel as though things aren’t quite working out is that God does not change. He will never wake up one day and be over us, not love us, leave us, or not want to be around us anymore. Neither do we have to worry which version of Jesus we’ll get on any given day. The same God that did great and mighty things for the men and women in the Word is the same God that lives on the inside of you and me and does miracles today. He is ALWAYS good. He is ALWAYS faithful. He is ALWAYS constant! That alone reminds me that GOD CAN!
Now on to the other two “diseases.” These two are fraternal twins. They are alike, but not alike; the “what if” and “if only” disease both lack eyes of faith. What If looks to the future and worries about what may or may not happen. And If Only looks to the past and complains about what has or has not already happened. Both lead to the same destination……worry/anxiety. We cripple ourselves spiritually by going over and over in our minds the “what ifs.” And we “catch” the if only disease when we dwell on what we don’t have instead of on what we do have.
· What if God doesn’t come through
· What if I fail
· If only this would have happened
· If only this would not have happened
· And the big one: What will I do if…..
God says, “My child, you are asking the wrong questions. Here’s the one that would assuage your fears: “What will God do if…?” Here’s some answers to that mighty good question. God says, “I, the Maker of heaven and earth, will:
1. Perfect everything that concerns you (Psalm 138:8)
2. Work all things together for your good (Romans 8:28)
3. Contend with those who contend with you (Isaiah 49:25)
4. Fight this battle for you (2 Chronicles 20:15)
5. Equip you with divine power (2 Corinthians 10:4)
6. Delight to show you mercy (Micah 7:18)
7. Meet all your needs according to My glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19)
8. Give you grace that is perfectly sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9)
9. Be your power in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9)
10. Do immeasurably more than all you could ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within you (Ephesians 3:20)
Friend, life can be hard sometimes. I get it, but we can’t live this life worried and anxious. We must live free…. after all, Jesus came so that we could have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). ~John 10:10 AMP
Jeremiah 17:7-8 NASB says,
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit”
I know you’ve heard it many times, but if you are going to not only break free, but also live free from worry and anxiety, YOU are going to have to trust the Lord. You are going to have to trust him with your, “what ifs” and your “if onlys.” Friend, when you truly trust the Lord, you will be like a tree planted, meaning that you will not be easily moved. When you truly trust the Lord, no matter how hot the situation gets you will not fear! When you truly trust the Lord you will not be anxious or worried when it seems as though nothing is working out in your favor. Friend, when you truly trust God, you will never cease to yield fruit. What fruit? Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. You will shine bright for Jesus and all that see you will want to get to know the God you serve. Now, I’m not just going to say, “Trust God.” But another thing I will say is that you must stand in faith. The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith. The beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety. True faith= the end of anxiety. True faith raises you above your circumstances. True faith enables you to be content even when life doesn’t make sense. True faith believes that God is true to His word even when your feelings are screaming out something different. True faith is ALWAYS active; put some feet to your faith! How? One thing I do when I feel worried and anxious is I do as 1 Peter 5:7 says, I cast my anxiety/cares on Him. I take a sheet of paper, and write out everything that is worrying me. Then I put feet to my faith, crumble that paper up and toss it in the trash. I then do as Philippians 4:6 says, instead of worrying, I pray. I tell God what I need, I believe that I receive what I prayed for, and then I thank Him for ALL he has already done! And last, but certainly not least, I focus on what He has already done. Psalm 77:11-14 says, “ I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.” Sometimes I get my journal and I make a list of all the things that God has already done for me….even things that are as small as getting a parking space at the store. I meditate/focus on them! It’s then that I realize that I serve the God who has, who can, and who will! What god is as great as our God? He is the God who performs miracles. He displays His power among the peoples! Let’s declare this today: “I’m living a worry free life! I’m living an anxiety free life! No matter the circumstance, I trust God. I trust God. I trust God!”
Be encouraged!