What does anxiety do?

Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow or its sorrows, but only empties today of its strengths

–Charles Spurgeon

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Why worry when you can rejoice?

Randy Alcorn:

“Some believers become obsessed with everything that’s wrong with the world. We are continually bombarded by “news” (sometimes more sensational than informative) that dwells on the sufferings, tragedies and crises of life. It is easy for this unceasing avalanche of “bad news” to bury the Good News.

I do not favor living in a cave, denying suffering and trying to be “blissfully ignorant” of the world’s woes. Rather, Paul said, we are to focus our thoughts on the true eternal realities God affirms, that better empower us to rejoice.”

Randy shares 5 Reasons to Rejoice, Not Worry.  This was so helpful to me. I would encourage you, if you struggle with worry even a little bit (and who doesn’t) to spend 5 minutes of your day to learn these five reasons to rejoice!

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Some words for the anxious soul!

Here’s a post that offers some counsel to the anxious soul–which includes both those whose nerves are constantly frayed or those who struggle ewith worry on a more occasional basis.  Kevin explains how commands maxims don’t always help and offer hope to the anxious soul.  Rather using Scripture he shows our faithful actions and patient endurance is the path of wisdom we are to pursue.

Click on over and receive some biblical explanation from the Psalms, Jesus and Paul at Words for the Anxious Soul.

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Two inexpensive MacArthur Kindle books!

Anxious for Nothing by John MacArthur ($0.99);

Stress has become part of our daily lives. We worry about our jobs, our relationships, and our families. And while there’s no lack of remedies for anxiety, no solution seems to offer true peace of mind.

John MacArthur, Jr. believes that peace is not only possible, it’s a divine mandate. Drawing from a rich legacy of teaching and ministry, MacArthur puts aside cultural cures to uncover the source of our anxiety and stress. Based on solid Biblical insights, Anxious for Nothing shares how we can overcome uncertainty, defeat doubt, and be truly worry-free.

Alone with God by John MacArthur ($0.99).

We all know that spending time with God is essential to an intimate, growing relationship with Him. Yet many of us struggle to make prayer a consistent, dedicated part of our daily lives. Alone with God offers powerful encouragement for anyone longing for a deeper, richer time of prayer. Here John MacArthur turns to the perfect mentor on prayer, Jesus Christ, as he explores the profound insights found in the Lord’s Prayer.

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A question to ask when you are afraid

Ed Welch gives a bit of surprising answer to a common question.

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Joy or anxiety: your choice

 

Andree Seu in a helpful post on resolving to be joyful this year rather than anxious:

Is it possible to choose joy? May I go forth from this first day of the new year and decide to put off anxiety and choose joy? Or are we saying that we have a cooperative part in putting to death foul language, but have no cooperative part in putting to death anxiety?

When I look at my own existential experience, I see that anxiety is actually chosen. A person may have coddled anxiety for so many years that he will swear to me that it is not a choice but just the way he is, and that he can do nothing about it. But it was an epiphany to me that when I am full of anxiety, I have chosen to be anxious. This raises the obvious question: Why would anyone in his right mind choose anxiety over joy?

If you struggle with anxiety this post is worth the read.

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Several posts on conquering fear

Here are some resources that might be helpful to you in conquering the fears of your life:

• 5 Secrets to a Bolder Life
• An Update on Fear
• A prayer of faith when life seems out of control
• Still, my soul, be still!
• Quenching the darts of fear with the shield of faith
• 13 reasons you don’t have to fear
• The only thing we need to fear

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Fighting fear

Counselor Ed Welch:

A few months ago, I had a panic attack. Its appetite continues to be insatiable. More, more! Fears love to keep encroaching into everyday life. It’s as if a black hole lives inside of you. Life and even sleep are sucked into it.

Here are some things that have helped and some things I am learning.

Read about these helpful strategies and remember you aren’t alone.

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Worry is the act of imagining a future without God

This is good. . . really good. . .and so helpful from Stephen Altrogge:

Worry is the act of imagining a future without God.

When you strip it down to its bones that’s what it really is. I worry when I imagine a future devoid of God. I worry when I project my current feelings and discouragements and struggles into the future. I worry when I take God’s love and faithfulness out of the equation. When I imagine a stark and bleak future, a screaming void in which my faithful and loving Father does not exist or act on my behalf. Underneath all the anxiety and fear and confusing emotions worry is actually a form of atheism. It’s acting as if God does not exist.

Psalm 18:46 provides three words which destroy worry and fuel faith: “The Lord lives…”

Don’t pass over those words too quickly. The. Lord. Lives.

The rest is just as good so keep reading Three Words Which Absolutely Destroy Worry and maybe put those three words on your refrigerator, on your computer screen or in the flyleaf of your Bible!  The LORD lives!

 

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A strategy for battling worry: remember and pray

This is one of the most practical posts on worry I have read in awhile. It is written by a Christian woman primarily for mothers but with a word change or two it speaks to all worriers:

“Worry is a kind of “acceptable sin.” By that I mean worry is one of those sins that everyone does so we don’t often address it. Like gossip, worry is something we all know we aren’t supposed to do, but we often gloss over it and call it something else — something like stress. Especially for women, worry can be expected and in some situations to not worry would seem strange.

But deep down, we want to be freed from the chronic feeling of doom and the expectation of something bad lurking just around the corner. We know that the Bible tells us not to worry, but “what if?” thoughts seem like such a part of us that we don’t know how to stop.

What can we do?

Remember and Pray

Like oil and water, trust and worry do not mix. To expel worry from our heart, we need to grow deeper roots of trust in God. Time and again in the Psalms, when the writer’s heart was heavy, he turned to look back at all that God had done for him. As the psalmist looked back at God’s faithfulness and his sovereign care for him, he was able to trust God even in the midst of troubling circumstances.

When we look back in our own lives at God’s faithfulness to us, it gives us confidence and hope in his future faithfulness. We look back to our own story of salvation. We see that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that this is the demonstration of God’s love for us. When worries threaten to seize our heart, we need to remember and dwell on the truth of the gospel. Remembering the cross propels us in faith for what lies ahead.

And as we remember, we need to turn to God in prayer.”

Read all of Christina Fox’s A Prayer for the Worried Mom’s Heart

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