BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING

BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING ...

"Be anxious for nothing ..." Philippians 4:6

Have you ever heard the phrase, "You're just like your father?" Well I had to chuckle this weekend because I saw that ring true in my son, Zach this weekend.

He wasn't really feeling well on Thursday night, and by Friday morning he was feeling pretty lousy. I went out to our family room and asked him what was wrong and he said, "I'm all churned up!" I asked him why and he said, "I'm up tight about the blizzard that's coming, going to the doctors today, and about snowboarding on Monday."

Apart from the snowboarding, I knew exactly what he was feeling. He's just like me in more ways than I want to admit. I've struggled with anxiety for a good portion of my life. Anxiety can tie us up in knots, make us sick, and cripple us from living life as God intends.

Paul in this amazing passage in Philippians 4, makes it very clear. He gives us a list of the things that we can be anxious about. He makes is really simple to remember the outline: 1. Nothing. 2. Nothing. 3. Nothing.

One author says this about anxiety: Anxiety is progressive. Anxiety moves into fear. Fear develops into control. The fear of losing control eventually becomes panic. Panic then becomes trauma. Your present becomes your past, which is called post-traumatic stress syndrome. (Chuck D. Pierce -- The Rewards of Simplicity -- Revell)

Chuck Pierce in the book mentioned above, shares 15 practical ways to address your anxiety. I found this list very helpful to me:

1. Be simple. Call your sin -sin!

2. Agree with the Word of God.

3. Allow the Word and the Holy Spirit to work in you mightily.

4. Forgive those who have hurt you in any way.

5. Break the power of isolation around you.

6. Become vulnerable.

7. Experience God's love.

8. Be willing to pray for others who are struggling with the same issue.

9. Let go and lose control.

10. Give! Give! Give!

11. Submit quickly to His will even when you are confused by a circumstance.

12. Resist the enemy's voice that convinces you that you have failed. Rejoice evermore and align every situation of your life with God's perfect will.

13. Learn to listen to others so you can sense their emotional communication within their verbal communication.

14. Trust that God can send help and intervene in your life in time.

15. Be simple. Do what God tells you to do.

Are you struggling with anxiety today? Take some time to check out Philippians 4:6 and the verses that follow. -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

DIGGING DEEPER: Proverbs 9; Leviticus 6-7; Matthew 25:1-30

DIG THIS QUOTE: If God is sovereign, and he is on our side, then nothing can stop Him from His determination to keep us secure. – R. C. Sproul

DETERMINED DIGGING: Level 1 -- Psalm 19:14; Level 2 -- Psalm 27:1-6

Join us this Thursday night for our February Men's Fellowship Night with special speaker, Dr. Glenn Blossom. The evening begins with dinner at 6:15 PM. Come bring a friend. Call for reservations: 732-350-1187