Anxiety
Lou Tiscione, Pastor, Weatherford Presbyterian Church (PCA)
Both Jesus and the Apostle Paul dealt with the issue of anxiety. Anxiety is a recognized plague in our culture. Medications, specialists abound with the sole purpose of helping us deal with our anxieties. We’re anxious over so many things. I can only list some major ones. We’re worried about our health, our finances, our security, etc.
Paul wrote to the Church in Philippi and said, “Do not be anxious for anything” (Philippians 4:6). He echoed the words of Jesus. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing” (Matthew 6:25)? In addition, King David wrote about the same issue in the life of a believer. He said, “Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers” (Psalm 37:1)!
By God’s grace and mercy, the Bible doesn’t only give prohibitions, it also reveals positive action that is emblematic of one who knows the Lord. That is, worry has a positive action contrasted to it.
“Trust in the LORD; Delight yourself in the LORD; Commit your way to the LORD” (Psalm 37:3, 4 and 5). Trusting in, delighting in, and committing to the Lord is the contrast to worry and anxiety.
The more I read and study the Bible, the more I am confronted by the majesty of God and His grace of giving His words such that they can be understood. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
The clarity and efficacy of the word is essential in combatting worry and anxiety. God has said that the one who trusts in Him is not to worry or be anxious about anything. I find myself being anxious about many things. I worry about many things, and God convicts me as His Spirit works in concert with His word to His work of free grace of sanctifying me.
God is faithful even when believers are faithless (see 2 Timothy 2:13). Faithfulness and truth are attributes of God and God cannot deny Himself! Therefore, He will convict you when you worry and are anxious.
I admit that I often worry about the kind of world in which my children and grandchildren will live. I worry about the condition of the evangelical church that seems to be more in love with the world than her Head, Jesus. I’m anxious concerning chronic illness experienced by the ones I love.
The Spirit of God convicts me of my sins of worry and anxiety reminding me that the God who saved me is sovereign over all. He reminds me that Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth. He tells me that the church does not belong to any man, but to Christ alone. He said that even the gates of hades would not prevail against His church (Matthew 16:18)!
We are exhorted to confess our sins including anxiety and worry. They are sins for which Christ died. He already paid the penalty for these sins and every sin that everyone who belongs to Him has committed or will commit.
It is pure joy to know that God has promised to forgive me of my sins if I confess them. He has promised to forgive my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
There is no other way to combat the sins of worry and anxiety but to know the one true God. There is only one way. His name is Jesus. He is the God-Man. He has risen from the grave. He ascended into heaven and sits now at the right hand of the Father ruling all things.
Please don’t misunderstand me. We Christians are commanded to contend for the faith. Those who know the Lord have a passion that the lost will come to know Him too. If we truly know the sovereignty of God, we will obey His command to disciple the nations. We will seek to equip ourselves to be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks us for a reason for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15).
Likewise, we are accountable before God to be salt and light in the world. We are to be concerned about our witness. We should seek to make a difference in society for the glory of the God who promised to provide all our needs. We are expected to expose evil and seek to do good.
May the Holy Spirit convict you to trust in, delight in and commit your way to the Lord as you cast all your cares upon Him!
