I had a problem, because I worried that anxiety was a sin.
In Matthew 6:25-34 and Philippians 4, Jesus and Paul seem to tell us ‘be anxious for nothing’ (Ph 4:6a) But here’s the thing; I can’t just turn it off. I remind myself of all the reasons I shouldn’t have to worry, but my rational mind is fighting against my emotions. My emotions usually win.
Where does this battle against fear come from? Gen 3:10 “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” Fear entered the human experience as a result of the first ever sin. In God’s loving care of the garden, no fear had been needed, Once outside of the garden, fear would be part of everyday life. Despised, but necessary for survival.
So what will God do about it? He became flesh, and dwelt among us. On Earth, He called people to come follow Him. These people worked each day for the day’s food. They lived under the reign of fear and worry. Would earthly fear prevent them from coming to Him? His answer; “do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
I wonder, is it that He doesn’t want me to feel fear, or that He wants me to trust Him in spite of the fear? To take the fear from it’s place ruling my behaviour, and put God into that place. Then I can experience the ‘peace of Christ which surpasses all understanding’ (Phil 4:6b).
John 14:27 (NIV) “ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”. These words were spoken by Jesus at the Last Supper, shortly before His crucifixion, and His first words when He appeared to His disciples on the Sunday evening following His resurrection were, “Peace be with you”(John 20:19 NIV).
The peace which comes from God has nothing to do with the circumstances we may find ourselves in, for in John 16:33 Jesus said to His disciples. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” The peace which Jesus gave to His disciples is an inward peace, quite unaffected by the troubles they were about to face. In Isaiah 9:6 Jesus is referred to in prophecy, as the “Prince of Peace”, and in Romans 10:15, the gospel is referred to as the “gospel of peace”. It is not surprising therefore that Peter, in I Peter 3:9-11 when encouraging the saints to repay evil with blessing, quotes from Psalm 34:
Whoever would love life and see good days Must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech They must turn from evil and do good; they
must seek peace and pursue it.
Living in God’s Perfect Peace (excerpt from Joyce Meyer)
Peace I leave with you; My peace I now give and
bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give
to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither
let them be afraid. (Stop allowing yourselves to
be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit
yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and
cowardly and unsettled). John 14:27
I believe that every Christian can have a new
Christ-centred, positive, joy-filled, peacerestoring
“life-attitude”. An attitude that
understands we are more than conquerors in
Christ Jesus (Rom 8:37). An attitude that
confidently proclaims: I’m going to enjoy the
journey, fulfil my destiny, finish my course and
receive everything Jesus died for me to have! But
in order to have this life attitude, we must deal
with the enemies of fear and worry. It’s
impossible to live with peace when fear and
worry have taken up residence in your life. Fear
and worry are negative and discouraging. They
cause us to assume the worst is going to happen,
to make poor choices and to give up on what God
has called us to do. Fear and worry cause us to
say things like, “There is no way I can do that”, or
“I’ve got a bad feeling about today”. But with
God’s help, we can stop living in fear and begin
to realise that God is for us! He will give us the
strength and wisdom to overcome any trial or
tribulation if we will put our faith in him.
Fear is the opposite of faith. Whatever you may
be facing or experiencing in your life right now, I
want to encourage you to stay positive and refuse
to give up. God is with you.
Contributed by Gaylene Morgan
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