God’s Answer to Anxiety

Who doesn’t experience Anxiety in this life? It is more common to humanity than any of us care to admit. No one is exempt. We are anxious about what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen. Anxiety is a thief that steals our peace and enjoyment in life. We worry about outcomes, whether they will be good or bad. We worry about people—our friends, family, and ourselves. We worry about our health and our money. These feelings of Anxiety come from a host of different reasons, from things not going our way to being mistreated, insulted, or neglected. Interestingly, the older we get, the more Anxiety we are prone to experience.

Jesus told us not to worry: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ( Matthew 6:25). Jesus’ words are profound! Life has to be more—it has to have meaning and purpose, God-given purpose. We know that God put each of us here for a reason.

Anxiety is nothing new, because Solomon, in his book of Ecclesiastes, gives us some good advice on how to lessen it. Solomon said, “So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 11:10). He knows from experience that our world, in its broken state, brings us loss and many troubles. He tells us to cast off these troubles. In other words, rather than dwelling on what has happened to us, which usually perpetuates the problem, cast it off by giving it to God. Peter also tells us: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

The prophet Isaiah had some things to say about Anxiety: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15). We will never know true peace unless we repent of our sins and find God’s forgiveness. The Christian life is one of quiet trust in God’s strength. God will take care of us. We may face difficult times ahead, but he will be with us. God gives us light in our darkness: “when his lamp shone on my head and by his light I walked through darkness!” (Job 29:3).

Isaiah says, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore, he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! (Isaiah 30:18). It is not always easy to trust God and allow him to calm our hearts, but this is the only way we will truly experience peace without Anxiety.

 

Grace Makes Life Enjoyable

One of the best things we can do is to learn to appreciate the present circumstances of our lives. When we do, we avoid the deadly trap of always waiting and hoping for the time when everything will be perfect. Perfect doesn’t exist on this earth, and we will never see perfection until Heaven. Accepting our life doesn’t mean we don’t strive for improvement. Doing the best we can is part of who we are as committed believers of Christ. However, when we hold onto unrealistic expectations for ourselves and others, we contribute to our own sadness. Paul encouraged us to think like this: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Col. 3:23-24). So often, our dream of perfection is about more money and more things. Paul warned us about this: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Tim. 6:17). God wants us to enjoy our life, with him, with our family and friends and be grateful for what he has given us.

Our need for grace is great. We need grace from God and from others, and we need to show grace to God. In Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian was shown a room full of dust. A damsel came into the room and began sweeping. She stirred up so much dust that Christian began to choke. Then she fetched a pail of water, sprinkled the floor, and swept. Now there was very little dust. The interpreter who was explaining the meaning told him sweeping without the water was the work of the law. It does not do the job, and it is painful in its effort. The springled water was the work of grace. Likewise, when we expect perfection out of our children, our spouses, we choke the life out of them. When, however, we give them grace, we see them flourish.

Job said this world is full of trouble and we cannot avoid it, “Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). We can, however, face that trouble with grace, which makes our life so very different.

Paul viewed his trouble of being a Roman prisoner with grace: “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear” (Philippians 1:12-14). What a difference grace makes!

Good Advice

Good advice is hard to come by. In fact, people pay high prices for expert advice. There are financial, legal, medical, psychological, and exercise specialists. However, often the common-sense advice we need for daily living is even harder to find. One man named John wrote letters in the New Testament filled with good, common-sense advice. He was one of Jesus’ disciples, and he was in his 90s when he wrote these letters. Here are some basic guidelines for living e gave us.

Don’t Let Sin Trap You: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin” (1 John 2:1). We are to learn to beware of sin because it is a trap. We can find ourselves trapped before we even know it, so John says, aware of sin, especially sexual traps. Pornography is a trap that has ruined the lives of many men today.

Walk With Jesus: “…But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1). This means everyday communion and engagement with Jesus, not just on Sundays.

Remember You Have an Advocate: “….But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2). There is a good chance we will mess up, but John says Jesus will intercede for you, and you can and will be forgiven if you come in repentance.

You are a Child of God! Live Like it!: “….The man who says, ‘I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him…This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2:3-6). Living out the faith in everyday life is our greatest challenge. I like to call it authenticity.

Our Respect for God Translates into Our Obedience: “But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him” (1 John 2:5). Obeying Jesus’ words and living like him show our deepest respect for Christ. It means we honor him as our Lord!

Jesus is Your Hero:  “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6). There is no better hero than Jesus; no one is more worthy to imitate than the one who died for us.

There you have it—six basic rules that will literally make a difference in our lives.  When we really understand how dangerous sin is, we will stay away from it.  That means we will remove ourselves from the temptation the way Joseph did when he ran from Potiphar’s wife.  John advises us to take the scriptures literally.

Hope Shines Through The Darkness

 

Everyone needs hope to live, no matter who you are or where you live. Easter is the time of year that reminds each of us that there is hope. Maybe your hope has dimmed, and the light is barely shining. Many of you are burdened with troubles and find yourselves in the midst of a personal crisis, but so were the first Christians on that very first Resurrection Sunday morning. Just as those first believers found life to be a dead-end street with no future, you too may feel the same. They came to realize that Jesus really did die, but he also really did rise from the dead. For you this morning, it may feel like there is a three-ton boulder blocking your path, but on the first Easter, they found the stone already rolled away. The angel of the Lord had come and moved the stone, not for Jesus, but for those who needed to verify that Jesus was risen. Maybe it feels like all hope is gone for you. It is hard for you to find motivation, even to do the most basic things. Your joy is gone. You are not alone. It was this way for the followers of Christ after Jesus died on the cross. With Jesus’ death came the death of all their hopes and dreams.

The women who went to the tomb early on Sunday Morning did not go thinking they would find an empty tomb, but rather a dead body. However, the resurrection of Jesus changed everything. I invite you to take a look at the empty tomb, and you, too, will find that He is risen. Easter means Jesus is risen from the dead, and death could not hold him. That ugly monster of death, which has intimidated every person who has ever lived, has met its match. The prophets said that Jesus’ body would never see decay, and they were right: three days later, he arose from the dead. Easter means Jesus is alive. It means he is present with us. He is here! However, this is not just an announcement; it is a day to respond to God’s invitation to receive life. It is a day to embrace God with all your heart. I encourage you today to open your heart and allow God to speak to you. Jesus died for you, and he will transform your life if you let him. Because Jesus is alive, you can have hope for this life and the next.

Securely Connected to God

 

Admiral Byrd, the famous explorer, once found himself about 100 yards away from the safety of his South Pole hut when a sudden blizzard hit. With temperatures well below zero, visibility was difficult due to the blinding snow. There were no landmarks in the white expanse that would help him get his bearings. Yet he knew that if he didn’t find the warmth and safety of his hut, he would freeze to death in a matter of minutes. Admiral Byrd could not see his hut in the freezing conditions. He knew that if he struck out blindly, without a central reference point for a sense of direction, he would become hopelessly lost. Refusing to panic, the admiral assessed the situation. In his hand was a 10-foot pole that he carried with him to probe for holes in the ice as he walked. He struck the pole in the snow and tied his bright-colored scarf to it. Then he began looking for the hut, keeping the pole in sight, knowing that he could always return to it if necessary. He struck out, first in one direction, then in another, always keeping the pole and scarf in sight. Three times he returned to his point of reference; on the fourth try, he found his hut. His life was saved because he maintained a point of reference. 

 Such is the case with us when we venture away from God; we get lost in a world that is filled with mine fields of sin and destruction. There are times in our lives when we face heightened anxiety, loss, health and financial problems, and relational breakdowns with those we love. All this can create an emotional blizzard, blinding us to how to proceed in life. It is precisely in this moment that we cannot leave God behind. We must always keep in sight. The writer of Hebrews says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:19). Our hope in God always brings us back to Him.

God never gives up on us, even though we give up on ourselves. The Apostle Paul encouraged the Philippians, saying: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” God does not do things halfway. What may seem to be a failure to God is simply a work in progress. Do not give up! Keep God in sight! Let Him be your anchor!