Worry, Fear, and Anxiety
Every time I turn on the news lately, I hear about another mass shooting. I’m told about a bank failure, the looming economic recession, inflation, and the value of the U.S. dollar dropping. There are stories about road rage, fights on a plane, and teenagers ganging up to beat someone just for more views on social media.
But it’s not just stories on the news. There are things that happen in our own jobs, schools, families, and each area of our lives that are really difficult to go through and cause great concern.
My blood pressure goes up when I go through those times, or I see what is happening in our world. I start to think about keeping my family locked in the house to keep them safe. I begin to worry if we have enough money and how we are going to keep making it in this world. I fear what my kids will be exposed to and what trouble may come their way.
Worry, fear, and anxiety can cripple us. It can become so defeating in our lives. It can lead to despair.
So, what can we do? We can’t just pretend that everything is ok, right? These things are real, and they do impact our lives.
TURN YOUR FOCUS ON CHRIST
All throughout the New Testament of our Bibles, we are told not to keep our focus on earthly things but on Jesus. Here’s what we are told in Hebrews 12:1-2.
And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
Why? Why do we fix our eyes on Jesus?
Well, because He sits above all things and while things all around us can be changing and spiraling seemingly out of control, we are told that He is constant, faithful, and holds all things together.
One of the most Christocentric passages in all of Scripture is found in Colossians 1:15-20. Here’s what the apostle Paul says there, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t read that and continue to worry. My fear and anxiety begin to fade away when I am reminded of how BIG Jesus really is and all that I have in Him, regardless of what is going on in my own world or the world around me.
So, if you didn’t slow down and read the passage above, do it now. Pause and take time to slowly and meditatively read about The Great I Am in those verses and what that means for you.
CAST YOUR WORRY ON HIM
As you and I focus on Christ, we are told to give our worries, fears, and anxieties over to Him. The apostle Peter reveals this to us in 1 Peter 5:7.
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
God cares about you so much that He wants to take your worries and carry the burden for you. He doesn’t want you dwelling on them and trying to control your situations and circumstances around you. He wants you to cast them on Him and allow Him to deal with them.
In Philippians 4:6, Paul says this:
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
The word “present” in the original Greek refers to naming specific things. In other words, as we cast our worries, fears, and anxieties on Jesus, He wants us to not do it in a general way but rather to name each one.
Give him the problems in your marriage, the mistakes your kids are making, the stress at your job, the mass shootings, the economic recession, and the health concerns you have been diagnosed with. Tell Jesus about them. Ask Him to carry the burden of each one for you. Release your specific worries, fears, and anxieties to Jesus.
As you do, Paul goes on to say this in the next verse of the Philippians 4 passage:
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
As you present your specific worries to Jesus, you will begin to experience His peace. You will feel Him take your worries from you, and you’ll walk lighter.
Your situation may not change. The world around you may not change. However, even if those things continue, you will have deep, inner peace. You will find rest in Him.
Cast your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
“It is one thing to believe that God is with us and has promised to never leave us or forsake us yet quite different to live daily in that knowledge. This comes through remembering, setting our minds, and acknowledging that He is with us. Living it takes diligent practice because many things in life attempt to distract our minds from God…We cannot control the thoughts that come into our minds, but we have the power to choose if those thoughts remain there.”
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