WHAT MAKES YOU ANXIOUS?

“The great antidote to anxiety is to come to God in prayer. We are to pray about everything. Nothing is too big for Him to handle, and nothing is too small to escape His attention.” – Jerry Bridges.

Anxiety or peace? We have a choice, but not an easy one. When you see bills piling up and you are not sure how you’re going to pay them, when you experience an injury that makes you wonder if you’ll ever be able to play the sport you love, or when you are wondering if you’re about to lose your job, these are just a few of life’s many trials that can cause you anxiety, worry, stress, and even doubt.

At some point in our lives, we have all dealt with or suffered from worry, stress, doubt, and anxiety. Max Lucado says in Chapter 1 of Anxious for Nothing: “We have been taught that the Christian life is a life of peace and when we don’t have peace, we assume the problem lies within us. Not only do we feel anxious, but we also feel guilty about our anxiety. The result is a downward spiral of worry, guilt, worry, guilt.”

We can and do feel anxious and then feel guilty about feeling anxious because we read what Philippians 4: 6-7 says: “Do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Several times in Matthew 6:25-34,   Jesus says, “Do not worry,” or “Do not be anxious.” Yet simply telling an anxious person to stop being anxious rarely helps. Does anyone anxious choose to be that way? Why, then, would Jesus say this? His words run much deeper than simply saying, “Stop it.” He reminds us that things beyond our control require us to trust in God’s care and provision.

So, how do we shed our anxiousness? First, God tells us that we should pray to Him with thanksgiving and make our requests known to Him. If you are anxious, pray about it. Your anxieties talk to you. Don’t talk back to them. Talk to God.

Ask God for wisdom and help. We become anxious when our problems look so big because we are focusing on the problem rather than God. He is so much bigger than our problems. As the song Waymaker says, He’s a way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness, and so much more.    Then, we need to let it go.  When we let it go, we give it to Him completely. Our focus is no longer on what is anxious but on Jesus.

“God doesn’t want us to be consumed with worry and anxiety . . . Instead, He wants us to turn our worries over to Him, and to trust Him for the future.” – Billy Graham.

Discussion Questions:

1. Knowing God and His Word allows us to face our anxiety. Why? How can you do this in practical ways?
2. It’s not uncommon to be anxious when life gets hard. What does this imply about what we believe about God?