Fear, Worry, and Anxiety
Spiders, heights, elevators, flying, public speaking, darkness and death…all of these things are common fears inherent in many human beings. Whether it’s that eerie feeling that someone is watching you from behind the bushes or the adrenaline that pumps through your veins when you get the instinctual need to either fight or flee, fear affects everyone in some way and it is hardly ever a pleasant experience.
For some people fear is an everyday feeling: Fear of not making enough money to pay the bills, fear of having an accident in your car, fear of losing your job, fear of losing your significant other to another person. All are legitimate fears, but what does fear do for us? We can be afraid of dying, but if that fear does not help you live life in a better way, then what good does it do? Should we fear at all?
John 14:27
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.Acts of the Apostles 18:9
9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid…”
God tells us to not be afraid. I think one could agree that this action is easier said than done. But it is clear that fear is not necessary in the life of a Christian. God does not want us to fear.
In the few examples I used, fear can be interchanged with worry or feelings of anxiety… You worry about not making enough money to pay bills, losing your job, losing your significant other to infidelity, losing your house to foreclosure, or losing your belongings to thieves. But what does that worry do for you? Does anxiousness for these matters help you to deal with them better? Sure you can lock your door to keep the thieves at bay and cut back on spending to keep creditors in their place, but should you lock your wife in the closet? Will fear, worry, or anxiety add any value to your life?
Matthew 6:25-27
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
Here Jesus is talking about the blessings given to the animals and inquiring if they are better than humans, meaning humans would not get the things necessary for life as the animals do. Surely, this is not true. Jesus hits the issue on its head. What gain will come from anxiety, worry, or fear? None. But now we have run into a problem. Why do we feel fear, worry, and anxiety anyway?
Matthew 6:30
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?Mark 4:40
40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”Luke 8:25
25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
The people being questioned by Jesus do not have the amount of faith necessary in order to trust in the Lord, and live without fear. We must have faith in God for our lives. Do not have fear, worry, or anxiety about your life, because your faith will comfort you, and God will provide for His faithful ones.
Now that we know we need faith in order to extinguish fear, worry, and anxiety, then how do we get the faith powerful enough to do so? Even the Apostles at times did not demonstrate the faith necessary to walk on water, to survive the raging seas, or to cast out demons. How can we gain the faith?
Matthew 6:33
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
There’s the answer! Seek the kingdom of God and His Righteousness first among all other things, and the faith will granted to you! Do not fear the coming of night, do not worry about the things that will come tomorrow, and have no anxiety over your money problems, because faith in God will bring His providing hands to you, and care for your life. You can live a better life not by fear, worry, or anxiety. You can live a better life by having faith in the Lord your God, for all things will be provided by Him!
Buzz
