Getting Victory over Anxiety – Part 1

Anxiety. Most of us have felt it at one time or another: the fear of future events that may or may not come to pass. We’re nervous. We’re anxious. We worry.

Jesus spoke about anxiety in his sermon on the mount. Six times he used the word anxious. Each time he encouraged us to trust our heavenly Father (Matt. 6:25-34)

Three other Biblical passages are very helpful when developing a plan to battle anxiety (1 Peter 5:7; Philippians 4:6; Psalm 37: 1-5).

Peter wrote to a group of people who were suffering. They were being persecuted for their faith – even to the point of death. They had every human reason imaginable to be anxious.

Yet, in less than a dozen words he reminds them what to do with their anxiety.

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7)

If you like to fish, the word casting brings an image to mind. You feel the weight of the lure bouncing at the end of the rod. You make the cast, and begin retrieving the lure. That may work for fishing, but it is ineffective with anxiety. You’re not to retrieve the anxiety once you cast it. The Biblical word means to cast away. You’re supposed to give it to the Lord with no strings attached. You don’t retrieve those anxious thoughts so that you may start to worry over them again (I’ll talk about what you should do tomorrow).

There is a principle tucked in this verse that we have a tendency to forget. When it comes to anxiety we need to believe God’s Word over our feelings. When you experience difficulties that lead to anxiety, you might feel like God doesn’t care. Those feelings may be intense. You might feel confused: unable to understand how you can suffer if God really cares.

Yet, God’s unchanging Word stands opposed to what we feel at the time. It explicitly states: “God cares for you.” This isn’t blind faith that cast one’s anxieties on an invisible God; rather, it is reasonable faith to place one’s confidence in the unchanging Word of God instead of one’s ever-changing emotions.

So when feelings of anxiety begin to consume your thinking, learn to cast those anxieties upon the Lord. Remember, he wouldn’t have said it if he didn’t mean it…God cares for you.