Anxiety

Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. ‭ Psalms‬ ‭37:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm. Psalms‬ ‭37:8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them. Psalms‬ ‭39:6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalms‬ ‭55:22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭94:19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He has broken the gates of bronze, And cut the bars of iron in two. Fools, because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, And they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses.  ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭107:13-19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad. ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12:25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.  ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26:3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”  ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41:10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:25-34‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11:28-30‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”  ‭‭Luke‬ ‭10:40-42‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”  ‭‭Luke‬ ‭12:11-12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me.” ‭‭John‬ ‭14:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”  ‭‭John‬ ‭14:27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

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. ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:6-7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.  ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:6-7‬ ‭MSG‬‬

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Colossians‬ ‭3:15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.  ‭‭II Thessalonians‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.  ‭‭I Peter‬ ‭5:6-7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.  ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Declaration: I am strong, courageous and firm; I fear not and am not in terror, for it is The Lord my God who goes with me; He will not fail me or forsake me (Deut 31:6).

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Devotionals

One of God’s Great “Don’ts” By Oswald Chambers. Do not fret— it only causes harm. —Psalm 37:8 Fretting means getting ourselves “out of joint” mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say, “Do not fret,” but something very different to have such a nature that you find yourself unable to fret. It’s easy to say, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7) until our own little world is turned upside down and we are forced to live in confusion and agony like so many other people. Is it possible to “rest in the Lord” then? If this “Do not” doesn’t work there, then it will not work anywhere. This “Do not” must work during our days of difficulty and uncertainty, as well as our peaceful days, or it will never work. And if it will not work in your particular case, it will not work for anyone else. Resting in the Lord is not dependent on your external circumstances at all, but on your relationship with God Himself. Worrying always results in sin. We tend to think that a little anxiety and worry are simply an indication of how wise we really are, yet it is actually a much better indication of just how wicked we are. Fretting rises from our determination to have our own way. Our Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God’s plans. Fretting is wickedness for a child of God. Have you been propping up that foolish soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God to handle? Set all your opinions and speculations aside and “abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about whatever concerns you. All our fretting and worrying is caused by planning without God.

“I will put my hope in God!  I will praise him again—   my Savior and my God!” Psalms 42:11 Comments by Anonymous Author: Peace is the opposite of anxiety.  We can either listen to our hearts or talk to our hearts.  We can listen to our hearts worry about everything, or we can talk to our hearts about the hope that we have in God and our salvation.  In Psalm 42 David gives a good example of talking to his heart about overcoming depression. 

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 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. Philippians‬ ‭4:4-7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Exposing Anxiety, comments by Mike Fabarez: When God confronts the sin of anxiety in Philippians 4, his prescribed remedy helps to clearly diagnose the problem – especially in the lives of those who tend to downplay its repercussions and choose to think that worry is not that big of a deal. In Philippians 4:4-8 the Lord commands five things for those who are anxious and worried. He directs them to rejoice, to be reasonable, to remember Christ’s return, to pray, and to consistently ponder good things. Consider how God’s fix may in fact reveal the depth of one’s entanglement in this sin. If you rarely find yourself spontaneously “rejoicing” and your heart is running low on joy, then maybe you are more worried and anxious than you care to admit. If you can detect that your interaction with others is often less than reasonable, then maybe anxiety has found a home in your heart. If your mind doesn’t regularly turn to the victorious hope of Christ’s second coming, if your prayer life is lagging, and if your thoughts don’t persistently settle on what is honorable, pure and commendable, then it may be time to admit the root problem. As with any sin, recognizing it and confessing it is the first step. Then you can move on to thoughtfully and purposefully employ these five inspired corrections. God is more than ready to give us victory over this destructive sin and to “guard our hearts and minds” (Philippians 4:7) as we confess our sin and respond obediently to His instructions.

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Quotes

“Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.” – Henry Ward Beecher

“The little troubles and worries of life may be as stumbling blocks in our way, or we may make them stepping-stones to a nobler character and to Heaven. Troubles are often the tools by which God fashions us for better things.”  – Henry Ward Beecher

“Our yesterdays present irreparable things to us; it is true that we have lost opportunities which will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past sleep, but let it sleep on the bosom of Christ. Leave the Irreparable Past in His hands, and step out into the Irresistible Future with Him.”  – Oswald Chambers

“What else does anxiety about the future bring you but sorrow upon sorrow?”  – Thomas A. Kempis

“Whenever a man allows himself to have anxieties, fears, or complaints, he must consider his behaviour as either a denial of the wisdom of God or as a confession that he is out of his will.”  – William Law (1686-1761)

“Anxious care rests on a basis of heathen worldly-mindedness, and of heathen misunderstanding of the character of God.”  – Alexander MacLaren

“Anxiety comes when we look at our circumstances and then look at our ability, but faith comes when we look at our circumstances and then at God’s ability.” – Kevin Mallery

“The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.”  – George Muller

“The cares of this life emerge as very small items indeed along our daily path.”  – Watchman Nee

“Christ told His disciples not to be anxious about tomorrow, but He never said not to consider tomorrow. Intelligent problem solving demands careful consideration of the future effects of present solutions.” – R.C. Sproul

“Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.”  – Charles Spurgeon

“A Christian’s freedom from anxiety is not due to some guaranteed freedom from trouble, but to the folly of worry and especially to the confidence that God is our Father, that even permitted suffering is within the orbit of His care.”  – John Stott

“I am no longer anxious about anything, as I realize the Lord is able to carry out His will, and His will is mine. It makes no matter where He places me, or how. That is rather for Him to consider than for me; for in the easiest positions He must give me His grace, and in the most difficult, His grace is sufficient.”  – Hudson Taylor

How to replace Anxiety with Peace: Stop worrying and replace your worry with prayers to God. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience His peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. Then, His peace will guard your heart and mind as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 Choose Peace  – Bill Trok

“We must never despair; our situation has been compromising before, and it has changed for the better; so I trust it will again. If difficulties arise, we must put forth new exertion and proportion our efforts to the exigencies of the times.”  – George Washington

“Anxious care is out of place in a heavenly Father’s presence.” – Kenneth Wuest

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