ANXIETY & WORRY
Anxiety and worry are debilitating. They stop us in our tracks emotionally and often physically. They are like being in complete darkness and believing you are at the edge of a cliff and moving forward would cause you to fall into the abyss. They are rooted in not knowing what is going to happen; what tomorrow brings; what the future is for a circumstance, an occurrence, a situation. They are rooted with an end in mind of unknown, not in control, and our worse fears. An end of mind where we write a narrative in our mind in the present based on a future that we do not control or is unknown to us. We write a narrative that is a horror script that triggers our emotions that are intertwined with anxiety and worry.
The theme of our narrative changes dramatically when we start with Jesus as the end in mind. An end of mind that is hope. That is of someone who is fully in control and does know all outcomes. It gives us the courage to move forward even if it is with caution and with concern. Each step validating the narrative He encourages of faith, hope, and love. Principals that He provides to us through the written Word (Bible), His promises, and even the past trials of our life as foundational in faith, hope and love. All three provided to us in what He has done for you, what He is doing for you, and what He is going to do for you. It gives us the basis to have a mindset of discipline and self-restraint for the long-game and not buy into a narrative that is an emotional kneejerk that leads to anxiety and worry. Anxiety and worry are not actionable and do not make things better. Anxiety and worry is like being a skater spinning and not having a fixed point to look at to keep from spinning out of control and falling. Faith, hope, and love are actionable, and they are profound in their ability to move us through our storms. Not for what they stand for but on who they stand on - Jesus. Jesus is that fixed point that keeps us from spinning out of control.
Anxiety and worry are the language spoken by the Evil One for his deceitfulness and his concocted plans for us filled with lies. His plan is to thwart us in our forward movement (with God) by having us stop and/or give up in that progress. Anxiety and worry are the spiritual missiles that the Evil One uses to accomplish that.
Start each thought, each day, each moment with God in mind (as our end goal/destination) and we will start on the right foot. Fight each moment of anxiety and worry by embracing the principals that Jesus shows us as counter to the ways of the Evil One. Speak God's truth to yourself to feed your emotional bank account and not the lies of the Enemy which robs our emotional bank account. Celebrate each step forward in your thought life, in your words, and in your actions as proof point of God being with You, His truth being the only truth, and His Way being the only way. Surrender each occurrence of anxiety and worry to Jesus and accept in place of the surrender that the outcomes are in His control. Turn anxiety and worry into fuel that is burned in our forward motion in getting closer to God; pursuing His Will; and growing in and through Christ. Start with God as an end in mind and everything else will become integrated elements of the plans He has for You in this life and the guaranteed delivery of a life eternal with Him. Everything else is distant second.
· Word to not worry > https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206%3A25-34&version=NIV
· Word to have hope > https://www.biblestudytools.com/gnt/hebrews/11.html
· Word to surrender anxiety > https://www.biblestudytools.com/esv/philippians/passage/?q=philippians+4:6-9
