More Thoughts on Anxiety
Dear fellow worrier,
If you are a regular reader of this blog then you know that one of my ongoing battles with indwelling sin is in the area of anxiety. As I continue to seek the Lord for sanctifying help in this much-needed area there are a number of thoughts that are proving to be helpful, albeit the progress I make in application is usually slower than I desire.
The following thoughts come on the heels of a discussion I had yesterday with another pastor whom God is using to help me apply biblical truth in order to grow in trusting God rather than myself. I pass them on in simple list form and trust they will be of benefit to you as well.
- Anxiety is fear, which is the opposite of trusting God. I need the psalmist’s resolve (Psalm 56:3).
- Anxiety is the desire to know what we cannot know and to control what we cannot control. This is why it is accurate to say that anxiety is the opposite of faith (Matt 6:34).
- At the moment in which the emotion of anxiety seeks to take control of me I must rehearse trust-building truths about God. God has given me the ability to control my emotions.
- When I let anxiety control me then it hinders my obedience to God in other areas, such as Romans 12:10.
- God’s prescription for anxiety is thankful prayer (Phil 4:6-7). When I choose to be thankful to God—and look for, and name, specific reasons—my focus is directed to God and, therefore, away from myself.
