Anyone who has ever suffered from anxiety can actually
feel it momentarily just hearing the word...
Anxiety.
You hear it and something inside your core remembers and feels that sinking, painful, fearful and worrisome feeling deep down inside. When I hear it, the first thing that comes to mind is suffering. Suffering in my mind, and in my thoughts... heart pounding restlessness. It happens when circumstances are completely out of our control. We are doing everything we can humanly do to change or improve our situation and it is not enough. Things aren't looking too good. As Christians, we have a choice to make in this moment. Will we choose to get distant and angry with God for not stepping in and changing things yet? Or will we submit to his authority anyway? Not only submit to his authority... but will we stand upon his promises? You see, we have been given great and precious promises from the Almighty God himself. We are not supposed to just merely exist somehow... we are meant to overcome. In this world we will have trouble, but we can take heart in the fact that... our savior has already overcome this world. If we are not spending time in his word, we are unaware of his great and precious promises and we lose the power that he has already given us. We lose the power to use his very own words in our prayers so that they are powerful and effective to create change.
This morning I was extremely exhausted. I have had a hard week at work. I have worked and worked as hard as I could and hardly sold a thing. In sales, this is a seriously bad thing. You see, the month is halfway over already and I am running out of time. I need to perform. If I do not perform, I am of no use to my employer. That is just how it is. That is the business world. This is usually where my anxiety creeps in. This is when I would normally get sleepless nights, my mind racing full of thoughts about what I could have done differently, or what more I can do to change what is happening right now. How will we pay our bills if I don't perform?
So back to this morning... I was exhausted. I had a back ache, a head ache and my whole body felt as if I had been hit by a mack truck. But guess who wasn't tired?
My little ball of energy, Mikayla.
"Mommy, you need to wake up! Who's gonna feed me breakfast Mommy? Papi is not home yet, you need to feed me breakfast, I'm starving!!!" O.k. seriously, she ate dinner last night, she is being a little dramatic. Nonetheless, like a zombie, I walked to the kitchen and poured her a bowl of cereal just to get her to stop bothering me!!! I drank my coffee and watched her eat and remembered a bible story I had just read the day before...
"Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” -Luke 11:5-13
What if all of the energy we wasted worrying and
being anxious about our problems was spent
bothering God about them with shameless audacity instead?
I know it sounds crazy to say, "bothering God". He is not bothered by our prayers, in fact he actually yearns for us to seek him in every situation. My point is... instead of looking to ourselves and not finding the answer... we could project our fears and worries to the only one who does have the power and authority to save us.
David did that very thing many times throughout the Psalms...
Psalm 22
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.[b]
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.[b]
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.[c]
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
you are the one Israel praises.[c]
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce[e] my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce[e] my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.
19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you[f] I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
before those who fear you[f] I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
David was in the regular habit of pouring his heart out to God. He did not hold back his frustrations and concerns from his prayer life. He was not praising God with fake and empty "Hallelujahs" while inside really feeling forgotten, bitter and full of pain. No, he went to God with his pain and his concerns. He brought everything to the table, then he praised him anyway. He asked God "Why?" Basically, "Why are you letting all hell break loose in my life?" But then he resolved that no matter what, he served a God who was holy and just and sovereign, who deserved praise whether we understand the "why" or not. At the end of this psalm, he proclaims the victory that God will have when he does come through.
Don't you think God wants us to be real with him? Have you ever met someone who was always doing "great thanks and how are you?" I mean literally, every time you ask them how they are doing, that is the answer? I bet all they are to you is an aquantance right? They would have to be, because a true close friend, when they are suffering, you can look at their face and know that something is wrong. When you ask them what is wrong, there is a certain sensetivity that they have towards you, because you are their friend, they might even cry just because they know you can see the hurt and they know that they cannot hide it from you. Maybe it is the fact that they know you actually care about what their answer will be. You actually want to listen and be there for them. Your friend knows you are not seeking a "great thanks, how about you" kind of an answer.
God does not enjoy watching us suffer through the week, then go to church on Sunday with all our pain inside of us, singing the words of the worship songs without feeling them inside of our hearts. He wants the real us. He wants to be intimate with us, not our aquantance. He is not looking for us to say, "I'm great God, thanks for asking, I could sing of your love forever, Lord you are good and your mercy endures forever, I lift my hands in the sanctuary, I am a friend of God." Then get back in our car and drive back into our real, true life of burdens, pain and anxiety. Are we only a Christian on the surface? Or are we allowing God to come all the way in and touch every aspect of our lives?
One of my long time favorite scriptures...
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 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
Stop demanding your requests of yourself! Present them to God! Don't hold them back from him! You don't need to do him any favors. He does not need your help. It is not glorifying him to do it on your own. What is it that we have such a hard time understanding about the fact that he actually wants to help us? He wants the credit for our success. Then, after we have the victory over the situation, we will point our finger up to heaven and declare, "It was the Lord who did this for me."
He wants to hear how we are feeling because he loves us. He cares about our situation enough to want to listen. This verse says, "by prayer and petition". When I hear the word petition, I think of those people who stand outside of stores holding a clipboard and a pen. They bother everyone going inside and out. "Help support this initiative..." or "Help stop this from happening." It can be annoying right? But they are so persistent! On our way into the store we might tell them we don't have time, but then on our way out of the store, you can bet they will be asking again.
That is the kind of persistence God is looking for. Don't just pretend to present your requests to God... really do it! Really expect him to help you and he will. Bother Him with shameless audacity. "God, remember yesterday when I told you I need your help? I still need it God! I'm still waiting, I am desperate for your help and I know I will not accomplish any good thing without you!"
"...And the peace of God, which transends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Ahhh... the peace of God. This is what has caused Christians all over the world from generation to generation to shout out praises to God from the depths of their souls. They can remember a time where peace didn't make sense... All hell was breaking loose in their life. But they called upon the name of the Lord. They presented their requests to God and they experienced a supernature peace that just didn't make any sense whatsoever. The peace of God, brought to you by none other than the Holy Spirit. This peace causes anxiety to flee from you, even if you are still in the midst of your storm. His peace says to you, "you are safe in my hands" even though you are unsure of what the outcome of your struggle is going to be. This peace causes non-beleivers to look at you and think, hmmmm.... maybe, just maybe there is something to this Jesus she is always talking about.
"I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth."
-Psalm 121:1-2
"...And the peace of God, which transends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Ahhh... the peace of God. This is what has caused Christians all over the world from generation to generation to shout out praises to God from the depths of their souls. They can remember a time where peace didn't make sense... All hell was breaking loose in their life. But they called upon the name of the Lord. They presented their requests to God and they experienced a supernature peace that just didn't make any sense whatsoever. The peace of God, brought to you by none other than the Holy Spirit. This peace causes anxiety to flee from you, even if you are still in the midst of your storm. His peace says to you, "you are safe in my hands" even though you are unsure of what the outcome of your struggle is going to be. This peace causes non-beleivers to look at you and think, hmmmm.... maybe, just maybe there is something to this Jesus she is always talking about.
"I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth."
-Psalm 121:1-2
