What Are You Worried About?
It is amazing to me how anxiety can enslave a person. Maybe this is why Jesus said to be anxious for nothing! He wanted us to be free.
ANXIETY The state of mind wherein one is concerned about something or someone. This state of mind may range from genuine concern to obsessions that originate from a distorted perspective of life. Jesus did not prohibit genuine concern about food or shelter, but He did teach that we should keep things in their proper perspective. We should make God’s kingdom our first priority; everything else will fall in line after we do that.
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. (John 14:1)
Three important elements to understand about anxiety:
1. Anxiety is a choice: Jesus said “Don not let your heart be troubled”
2. Faith is conquering a troubled heart “Trust in God; trust also in Me”
3. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to help us with our troubled hearts
“These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. 26“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. 27“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. (John 14:27 25)
Make a choice to take your thoughts captive and overcome your anxiety.
If you are having trouble with anxiety Click Here
Nice Song! I have learned that as long as you have a positive attitude and don’t assume things, it keeps anxiety down. If I have something I’m feeling anxious about I try to reason it out in my head and move on and if I can’t, I try to handle it directly so that I can move on. Anxiety makes me feel drained and bogged down, and I hate that feeling, so I try to get rid of it immediately!
Great advice Angela! I like the get rid of it immediately statement. I was already thinking about blogging in this direction tomorrow.
Is being concerned about something or someone the same thing as being worried?
I reread your article, I think I see your answer. As you stated God did provide us with the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, to help us with our trouble hearts. That to me says, God is saying “I know life is going to sometimes concern you, here is a gift” “the Holy Spirit” to help you through those times.” Is that not saying, God knows life is going to cause us to be anxious sometimes?
Certainly life is going to throw some things at us that cause great concern. But we are to be anxious for nothing (Phil. 4:6). I believe Christ is saying don’t be obsessed with stuff that is out of your control. We must exhibit faith and trust Him. The more we exhibit faith instead of worry the easier it gets. But it is still hard work! Remember Jesus’ brother James said, “faith without works is dead.” So keep your faith alive and chase the worry out with faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit’s job is to give you comfort during this process.
I have earnestly tried to practice taking thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ. That really helps me deal with a lot of the things that come into my thoughts that cause me to be anxious. I NEVER used to do that EVER. That’s not a very victorious way to live either. I still sometimes forget to do this of course, but I’m getting better at it.
Angela great advice!
I have struggled with anxiety attacks in the past. It is a anxiety taken to the extreme; irrational, overriding panic. It is debilitating and devastating. I still deal with regular anxiety that many struggle with but the “attacks” are in remission. That is the only way I can describe it. I feel that it lurks beneath the surface and that circumstances, if difficult enough, could cause it resurface. I know it all starts with my thoughts and that can be a real struggle to get under control. I copied down all the scripture I could find on fear and and memorized them and whenever my thoughts started to lead me down that path I would recite psalm 23 over and over to try and replace those anxious thoughts. It really helped me but it is a hard thing to overcome!
Mary thanks for the insight. I love what you said about memorizing scripture. Very smart, Very powerful!
I would have to say I struggle with understanding anxiety attacks. I try not to stress over things I have no control over. There are some things that just can’t be changed so I feel it is a waste of time to stress over it. I know in my heart I have done the best I can so I move on. I also pray for a better understanding of why it happens to people. I have spent many an hour listening and talking to a person I work closely with that suffers from severe anxiety attacks. All I can do is listen and try to help reason why things are happening. And at times I am blunt and say I just do not understand why she is reacting the way she is. I sometimes think that is why God puts us in each others paths. We help to balance each other out.