August 17th, 2022
How many of you have ever felt afraid or anxious? Anxiety is a word we use a great deal in our society. It could apply to nervousness about something in particular, like speaking in front of a crowd, or it could mean living constantly with an underlying, consistent fear. I recently read an article that said that 40 million Americans, which is about 20% of the population, are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Another study said that number was even higher and indicated it had risen roughly 25% since the start of the Covid Pandemic in 2020. This is something the church, especially, should be talking about, but it’s also a piece of my story as I’ve walked with God, and I have some thoughts that I hope will encourage you!
Anxiety is something that I walked through for many years. At about 8 years old, I began to struggle greatly with fear about all kinds of different things—some more rational than others. I would have seasons that were better than others, but I lived with the constant hum of anxiety. When I was 17 years old, I gave my life to Jesus and my whole life changed. I learned that I could walk free from fear and while that didn’t happen overnight, He set me completely and totally free.
Now, I know this is a sensitive subject, especially in our society and part of the reason for that is that we have normalized anxiety to the point that there’s danger of accepting it as part of life. We may attribute it to circumstances or genetics, but whatever the reasoning, we can’t make an excuse to allow fear to remain. Anxiety and fear are absolute contradictions to the truth of God’s word. 2 Timothy 1:7 says,
“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
Fear is never from God and it’s always His desire to set us free from its every effect. However, as someone who struggled with it, I understand that when you’re in the middle of anxiety, believing you can be free and seeing a way to the other side can feel impossible. That’s why you have to fight with the Word of God. See, something I did for a long time was ask God to heal me from anxiety. I begged him to heal me. I cried, pleaded, prayed, and yelled, but nothing worked. Then God spoke to me and I realized that nowhere in the Word of God does He ever heal anyone from fear or anxiety. Instead, over and over again, He commands us to not be afraid. Philippians 4:6 says,
“Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus.
Isaiah 35:4 says,
Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”
He actually tells us to say to those who are anxious, “Don’t be afraid!” Interesting, isn’t it? That’s not the way we usually handle anxiety in our society, but He wouldn’t tell us to do something if He hadn’t given us the power to do it! I remember asking God one day to set me free from the crippling anxiety I was living in and He said to me, “I will, as soon as you stop being afraid.” I will be honest with you, I was upset with God. I felt absolutely hopeless and I thought He was being pretty insensitive. I thought to myself that if the only way for me to be free from fear was to stop being afraid, then it was a lost cause, but it wasn’t. Psalm 23:4 says,
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me”
Look at that verse again. Why should we not fear, even in the valley of death? Because He is with us. His Word has the power to set us free from fear, but we have to choose to obey that Word and refuse to be afraid. The only way to do that is to declare His Word until our hearts believe it. He wouldn’t tell us over and over again to not be afraid unless He'd already empowered us by His Holy Spirit to do it.
Anxiety is defined as “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease.” That is not peace and Jesus said that He gives us peace that the world can’t take away. There are many different types of anxiety disorders, but all of them are simply fear. Fear is paralyzing, dark, and exhausting and it’s not God’s plan for any of His children. Don’t believe the lie of the world that anxiety is a genetic disorder that you have to live with. You don’t. God didn’t make you that way. God didn’t give you anxiety to teach you a lesson. His desire of God is not that you would have fear ever, and if God is for you who can be against you? That is the truth and the “why” of anxiety is always irrelevant in the face of His Word.
If you’re struggling with anxiety and fear today, I want to share with you five very simple truths that have the power to set you free. See, fear is always born in a lie and when you know the truth, you can’t stay bound! If any of these are a struggle for you to receive, I encourage you to seek God’s Word and find more Scriptures on each one and declare them until you believe!
1. God loves you. If you don’t believe He loves you fully, completely, with everlasting love then you won’t be able to walk in freedom. The Bible doesn’t tell us that courage casts out fear. It tells us that perfect love—God’s love— casts out fear. This was the area I struggled so hard to find freedom. You have to know not only that God is love, not only that He sent His Son to die on the cross for the world, but that He loves you and He sent Jesus to die for you. (Is. 54:8) (Is. 41:10) (1 John 4:18)
2. God is good. He is completely and totally good. There is not one single shadow of turning in Him and it is His good pleasure to give us the kingdom. (James 1:17) (Luke 12:32)
3. We are His children. We have to understand that as sons and daughters of God, we are co heirs with Christ. If He didn’t spare his own son, will He not also give us every good thing? (Ps. 95:10) (Romans 8:17) (John 3:1) (Romans 8:32)
4. His word is absolutely, completely, and 100% true. (Isaiah 55:11) (Ps. 18:30) (2. Tim. 3:16) (John 1:1-5) (John 14:16) (Malachi 3:6)
5. He keeps all of His promises. He’s promised to provide for us, protect us, keep us, speak to us, love us, and never leave us. He has never broken a promise and He never will! (Ps. 91) (1 Peter 5:7) (Deut. 31:6) (Ps. 55:22) (Ps. 121) (John 10:28-29)
Fear and anxiety can only take root if there is unbelief in your heart regarding one of those things and we have got to fight it with the Word of God. God loves you; He is absolutely good and He will never fail. There are hundreds of Scriptures in the Word of God regarding anxiety, but you will only be set free when you grab ahold of those truths and choose to walk in them! When you do, the power of fear will be broken. Now, I have been talking about anxiety today, but in actuality this applies to any battle that we could possibly face. God has promised us victory over fear, just like He promised victory over sickness, and just like He promised us prosperity. God’s word carries hope that breaks every lie that would shackle us in darkness. Even if you have struggled with something for years, I want to encourage you today, that there is freedom. His Word declares it and I can testify to it: For freedom Christ has set us free!
Anxiety is something that I walked through for many years. At about 8 years old, I began to struggle greatly with fear about all kinds of different things—some more rational than others. I would have seasons that were better than others, but I lived with the constant hum of anxiety. When I was 17 years old, I gave my life to Jesus and my whole life changed. I learned that I could walk free from fear and while that didn’t happen overnight, He set me completely and totally free.
Now, I know this is a sensitive subject, especially in our society and part of the reason for that is that we have normalized anxiety to the point that there’s danger of accepting it as part of life. We may attribute it to circumstances or genetics, but whatever the reasoning, we can’t make an excuse to allow fear to remain. Anxiety and fear are absolute contradictions to the truth of God’s word. 2 Timothy 1:7 says,
“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
Fear is never from God and it’s always His desire to set us free from its every effect. However, as someone who struggled with it, I understand that when you’re in the middle of anxiety, believing you can be free and seeing a way to the other side can feel impossible. That’s why you have to fight with the Word of God. See, something I did for a long time was ask God to heal me from anxiety. I begged him to heal me. I cried, pleaded, prayed, and yelled, but nothing worked. Then God spoke to me and I realized that nowhere in the Word of God does He ever heal anyone from fear or anxiety. Instead, over and over again, He commands us to not be afraid. Philippians 4:6 says,
“Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus.
Isaiah 35:4 says,
Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”
He actually tells us to say to those who are anxious, “Don’t be afraid!” Interesting, isn’t it? That’s not the way we usually handle anxiety in our society, but He wouldn’t tell us to do something if He hadn’t given us the power to do it! I remember asking God one day to set me free from the crippling anxiety I was living in and He said to me, “I will, as soon as you stop being afraid.” I will be honest with you, I was upset with God. I felt absolutely hopeless and I thought He was being pretty insensitive. I thought to myself that if the only way for me to be free from fear was to stop being afraid, then it was a lost cause, but it wasn’t. Psalm 23:4 says,
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me”
Look at that verse again. Why should we not fear, even in the valley of death? Because He is with us. His Word has the power to set us free from fear, but we have to choose to obey that Word and refuse to be afraid. The only way to do that is to declare His Word until our hearts believe it. He wouldn’t tell us over and over again to not be afraid unless He'd already empowered us by His Holy Spirit to do it.
Anxiety is defined as “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease.” That is not peace and Jesus said that He gives us peace that the world can’t take away. There are many different types of anxiety disorders, but all of them are simply fear. Fear is paralyzing, dark, and exhausting and it’s not God’s plan for any of His children. Don’t believe the lie of the world that anxiety is a genetic disorder that you have to live with. You don’t. God didn’t make you that way. God didn’t give you anxiety to teach you a lesson. His desire of God is not that you would have fear ever, and if God is for you who can be against you? That is the truth and the “why” of anxiety is always irrelevant in the face of His Word.
If you’re struggling with anxiety and fear today, I want to share with you five very simple truths that have the power to set you free. See, fear is always born in a lie and when you know the truth, you can’t stay bound! If any of these are a struggle for you to receive, I encourage you to seek God’s Word and find more Scriptures on each one and declare them until you believe!
1. God loves you. If you don’t believe He loves you fully, completely, with everlasting love then you won’t be able to walk in freedom. The Bible doesn’t tell us that courage casts out fear. It tells us that perfect love—God’s love— casts out fear. This was the area I struggled so hard to find freedom. You have to know not only that God is love, not only that He sent His Son to die on the cross for the world, but that He loves you and He sent Jesus to die for you. (Is. 54:8) (Is. 41:10) (1 John 4:18)
2. God is good. He is completely and totally good. There is not one single shadow of turning in Him and it is His good pleasure to give us the kingdom. (James 1:17) (Luke 12:32)
3. We are His children. We have to understand that as sons and daughters of God, we are co heirs with Christ. If He didn’t spare his own son, will He not also give us every good thing? (Ps. 95:10) (Romans 8:17) (John 3:1) (Romans 8:32)
4. His word is absolutely, completely, and 100% true. (Isaiah 55:11) (Ps. 18:30) (2. Tim. 3:16) (John 1:1-5) (John 14:16) (Malachi 3:6)
5. He keeps all of His promises. He’s promised to provide for us, protect us, keep us, speak to us, love us, and never leave us. He has never broken a promise and He never will! (Ps. 91) (1 Peter 5:7) (Deut. 31:6) (Ps. 55:22) (Ps. 121) (John 10:28-29)
Fear and anxiety can only take root if there is unbelief in your heart regarding one of those things and we have got to fight it with the Word of God. God loves you; He is absolutely good and He will never fail. There are hundreds of Scriptures in the Word of God regarding anxiety, but you will only be set free when you grab ahold of those truths and choose to walk in them! When you do, the power of fear will be broken. Now, I have been talking about anxiety today, but in actuality this applies to any battle that we could possibly face. God has promised us victory over fear, just like He promised victory over sickness, and just like He promised us prosperity. God’s word carries hope that breaks every lie that would shackle us in darkness. Even if you have struggled with something for years, I want to encourage you today, that there is freedom. His Word declares it and I can testify to it: For freedom Christ has set us free!
No Comments