Anxiety

One of the most common scriptures on anxiety is Philippians 4 verse 6- Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

What is Anxiety?

The dictionary definition is a feeling of worry, fear nervousness or unease typically about an imminent event. NHS.uk declares that it is caused by the release of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol and the symptoms of anxiety can be mental, emotional and physical (sleeplessness; lack of  concentration; chest pain; high blood pressure; panic  attacks; frequent use of toilet and palpitations to name a few).

Why are we Anxious?

The root cause of anxiety is a lack of trust, we often do not know how things will eventually turn out and worry that the worst might happen – in the world today there are many dangerous and unpredictable reports – natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes and famine, the economic recession, fear of job loss, violent crimes, rebellious children; delays in conception; delays in getting a life partner; and of course sickness and disease. With all what is going on around us it is very easy for our hearts to fail us especially if we make it a habit to dwell on the evil report However we must look inwards to Gods word – John 16:33.  Jesus talked about how we should react to worry in Matthew 6: 25-34 he commanded that we should not worry as we cannot change anything by worrying but we must trust the provision and love of God. Note that we are the only creation of God that provides for themselves as all animals are fed by God and it will be unnatural for us to be the most important creation of God but for him not to provide for us.

Anxiety by the children of Israel concerning the promise of deliverance

After the death of Joseph the bible says that there arose a new king over Egypt which did not know Joseph (Exodus 1:8) and the children of Israel were then enslaved for hundreds of years understandably they became very anxious for deliverance and in the fullness of time God sent them a deliverer in the person of Moses and the children of Israel were so glad that they bowed down and worshipped God (Exodus 4:29-31).. Note that when Moses came to them they expected that things will go smoothly from there, but to their dismay very shortly after Moses told them of their deliverance and after his first appearance to Pharaoh their punishment and affliction multiplied greatly as Pharaoh now instructed that the children of Israel had to build the same allocation of bricks without providing any straw (Exodus 5:7-8). So instead of their situation getting better it seemed to deteriorate just after receiving the promise from God.

Do you find that sometimes when we have prayed or received revelation concerning our victory, healing or deliverance things can sometimes get worse, if this happens should we be shaken from our victory stance and begin to fear or be anxious?

The reaction of the children of Israel was bitterness and anguish towards Moses and the bible says they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit and for cruel bondage (Exodus 6:9). Thank God Moses was an intercessor and he pleaded on their behalf so the promise was still fulfilled and we see this intercession repeated so many times during the journey in the desert (Exodus 33). The children of Israel were blessed that they had an intercessor pleading on their behalf – we also in the new testament have a better intercessor and advocate Jesus Christ(Romans 8:34 and 1 John 2:1)  and therefore we should be bold to trust that he will perfect all that concerns us (Psalm 138:8) and just like David, regardless of the contrary circumstance our hearts should not fear(Psalm 27: 1-6)

Consequences of Anxiety

Anxiety is a thief of God’s blessing, if left unchecked it will not only rob us of the peace of God, our victory and the promises we are believing for- Sarah was anxious for the fulfilment of the promise of a child and in the end she tried to ‘help’ God to speed up the promise by giving Hagai her maid servant to Abraham for an heir (Genesis 16: 1-4), but she quickly realised it was a mistake when Hagai got pregnant and started despising her (Gen 16:5) but the mess had already been done and the consequences are still been felt today (enmity between  children of Israel and descendants of Ishmael – the Arabs) as we can only get the manifestation of victory  if we hold fast our believing until the end(Hebrews 3:14) , but it will eventually rob us of our mental, psychological and physical health. We need to resist any feeling of anxiety by reminding ourselves of the goodness and faithfulness of God, listening to worship music, meditate on the word and keep our focus on him and not the problem or circumstances as we do this the peace of God will take its rightful place in our hearts (Colossians 3:15 and Philippians 4:7) and displace any feelings of anxiety as the image of God and his power begins to get bigger and bigger in us and the obstacles smaller and smaller. Remember anxiety can’t change anything your life and future is in the capable hands of the Master so trust him today and let his peace reign in you.

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

Quote: believe and receive or doubt and do without (Andrew Wommack)

Other scripture reading on anxiety are Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7; Matthew  6:25-34; Psalm 37: 8; Luke 12:32; Psalm 56:3; Psalm 46:2-3; Proverbs 29:25