“Do not be
anxious about
anything,
but in
everything, by
prayer and
petition, with
thanksgiving,
present your
requests to God.
And the peace of
God, which
transcends all
understanding,
will guard your
hearts and your
minds in Christ
Jesus”
(Philippians
4:6-7).
I have trouble
with this. I’m
anxious by the
nature due to my
chemical
imbalances in my
brain (bipolar,
major
depression, and
anxiety
disorders), my
brain is a mess.
I struggle
because since
I’m always
anxious, I’m a
worrywart of
sorts about
everything. Just
sitting here,
I’m anxious for
no apparent
reason, it’s
just me and
today I feel
extremely
anxious about
everything. I
get what this
verse means, and
understand what
it is saying;
yet I’m always
anxious about
even the prayers
I present to the
Lord.
I’m always
asking the Lord
to take my
anxiety and
worries away and
do so with
thanksgiving,
but for some
reason, that the
Lord only knows,
I am stuck in
the rut of
anxiety, which
brings fear and
worry to say the
least. I really
want the peace
of God that
comes from not
being anxious
about
everything.
Nonetheless I
can say that I
have felt that
peace before on
many occasions
and when that
peace of God is
present, I savor
it and try to
hold on to it
for as long as I
can. When I feel
peace, I’m so
much calmer in
my mind and
heart that I
feel reassured
in the Lord. For
me, it’s a tug
of war between
my anxiety and
the promises of
the Lord. I just
can’t get over
the anxiety I
feel.
I get most
anxious when I
read the news,
when I read
articles on
Rapture Ready
about the
Rapture, and
when I think of
my own
salvation. I
worry about the
things going on
in the world and
I worry that I
am doing is what
Jesus wants me
to do. I worry a
lot of my own
salvation: I
just worry.
“Humble
yourselves,
therefore, under
God’s mighty
hand, that he
may lift you up
in due time.
Cast all your
anxiety on him
because he cares
for you” (1
Peter 5:6-7).
I do my best to
give my
anxieties to the
Lord.
I do my
best to turn my
anxiety into a
positive
direction in my
quest for a
better
relationship
with Jesus and
in listening to
the Holy Spirit.
I use my anxiety
to pursue the
Lord with
greater zeal and
humbleness to
his Power and
Glory. What
Peter says helps
calm me and
reminds me that
God is there for
me and loves me:
“Therefore do
not worry about
tomorrow, for
tomorrow will
worry about
itself. Each day
has enough
trouble of its
own” (Matthew
6:34).
I sometimes feel
overwhelmed with
anxiety of what
tomorrow will
bring and what
will happen. I
cry out to the
Lord to take
some of that
anxiety away. My
greatest anxiety
is, as I think a
lot of us feel,
is the build-up
to the coming
Rapture of the
church. I get so
worried about
myself and more
so my family. I
just have this
feeling
something is
going to happen
soon. Is that a
real anxiety or
is it just my
anxious nature?
I don’t know,
but I pray for
relief all the
time from this
worry.
I believe that
the Lord has
allowed me to
feel anxious
because He
doesn’t want me
to get lax in my
studies and
seeking Him
always. I feel
that if I
weren’t so
anxious all the
time, then I
wouldn’t study
and pray as much
as I do now. I
find that
expressing my
thoughts in this
forum is very
therapeutic and
I believe others
feel the same as
I do and my
writing helps
them as much as
it helps me. I
find that by
researching
verses on
anxiety helps me
be less anxious
and gives me
more hope that
how I feel is
not a minor
concern, but is
addressed
throughout the
Scriptures.
“Then Jesus said
to his
disciples:
‘Therefore I
tell you, do not
worry about your
life, what you
will eat; or
about your body,
what you will
wear. Life is
more than food,
and the body
more than
clothes.
Consider the
ravens: They do
not sow or reap,
they have no
storeroom or
barn; yet God
feeds them. And
how much more
valuable you are
than birds! Who
of you by
worrying can add
a single hour to
his life? Since
you cannot do
this very little
thing, why do
you worry about
the rest?’”
(Luke 12:22-26)
That Jesus
addresses worry
and anxiety many
times in the
Bible and it
seems to me it
is not an
anomaly that I
have anxiety and
worry in my life
as well and that
Jesus consoles
us by letting us
know that we are
cared for and
watched over by
the Lord
Himself.
This
brings me
comfort to my
anxieties.
“And my God will
meet all your
needs according
to his glorious
riches in Christ
Jesus” (Philippians
4:19).
I need not to
worry about
things of this
life or what
will happen to
me, for the Lord
will meet all my
needs. I may not
get what I need
right away, but
in looking back
in retrospect, I
can attest, that
all my needs
that I had
worried about in
the past were
addressed and
taken care of by
my Lord and
Savior. Yet here
I am, still
anxious about
trivial and
major things
going on in my
life and the
world.
“Now may our
Lord Jesus
Christ Himself,
and our God and
Father, who has
loved us and
given us
everlasting
consolation and
good hope by
grace, comfort
your hearts and
establish you in
every good word
and work” (2
Thessalonians
2:16-17).
“Consolation and
good hope by
grace” is very
reassuring to me
and consoles my
heart when it
comes to my
anxiety of
everything I
worry about.
This is a
promise from the
Lord that I am
going to print
out and have in
front of me so
that when I get
stressed and
anxious, I can
be reminded that
the Lord is at
work in me and I
have nothing to
fear of worry
about.
If you feel as I
do, know that
you are not
alone. There are
others like me
out there. Use
your anxiety and
worry to bring
you closer to
Jesus, not to
separate you.
I believe
the enemy tries
to use anxiety
to separate me
from my Lord
Jesus, but I
thwart his
efforts by
turning my
anxiety into a
tool to grow in
my relationship
with Jesus. The
enemy will try
to turn anxiety
into opposition
to Jesus, but I
won’t let that
happen, for God
is greater and
his promises are
true.
If I allowed
Satan to use my
anxiety to
separate me from
the Lord, I know
I would be lost
and in a worse
spot. I know
that if I
allowed my
anxiety to move
me away from the
Lord, I would
fall to the side
and be on the
wrong path, away
from
righteousness.
This is why I
turn my anxiety
to lead me to
grow with Jesus
as my Lord and
Savior. I know
the Holy Spirit
is working in me
and uses my
anxiety and
worries to good,
not bad. I have
faith in this
and hold on to
the promises as
stated in the
verses cited in
this essay.
“An anxious
heart weighs a
man down, but a
kind word cheers
him up”
(Proverbs
12:25).
“I sought the
LORD, and he
heard me, and
delivered me
from all my
fears” (Psalm
34:4).
Well, my
friends, I feel
a lot better
about my
anxieties,
fears, and
worries now that
I have put them
into words. I
hope that with
this short
commentary and
my sharing my
thoughts with
you on this has
been helpful for
some of you out
there─feeling
the same way I
do.
“But blessed is
the one who
trusts in the
Lord,
whose confidence
is in him.
They will
be like a tree
planted by the
water
that sends out
its roots by the
stream.
It does not fear
when heat comes;
its leaves are
always green.
It has no
worries in a
year of drought
and never fails
to bear fruit” (Jeremiah
17:7-8).
“Commit your way
to the
Lord;
trust in him and
he will do this:
He will make
your righteous
reward shine
like the dawn,
your vindication
like the noonday
sun” (Psalm
37:5-6).
God bless,
John Lysaught
All verses are
from the NIV
version of the
Bible.
John_lysaught@yahoo.com.