This world is full of uncertainty. 2020 was a lesson in that. Everything we hold dear can be canceled or suspended in a matter of days. We learned quickly that everyday essentials we take for granted can become short in supply and high in demand almost overnight. It was quite terrifying to walk in a grocery store and see shelf after shelf completely bare.
Our lives were greatly affected by the constant fear, anxiety, and turmoil... even our spiritual place of strength (the church) was shut down. We were isolated from other people. The mainstream media bombarded us with constant updates along with a lot of scary statistics/photos. We were completely and utterly assaulted on every side with fear and anxiety.
You could hear it in the grocery aisle, you could hear it at the gas station (wherever you were still able to go, that is. lol 😂) People were afraid! There was so many unknowns! A normally friendly neighborhood suddenly became suspicious of each other. Was this one infected? Did they carry the virus? Would they spread it to others?
I know I sure felt the anxiety. Just going in a store was sweat inducing, stomach churning experience. I got to where I almost couldn’t even go in Walmart without getting deathly sick. The pressure of the anxiety and fear was almost smothering. I have asthma so I was very afraid of getting sick. There was so much sickness and deaths (especially those with underlying conditions) being published in the news.
Month after month, fear and anxiety seemed to govern our nation. Even after returning to church finally, there was still such reluctance in people to participate in the services. It wasn’t that we didn’t want to “get in”, but the fear and anxiety we had been fed for months seemed to choke it out.
Yes, I do realize there were people that got very sick. I know it is real. I know people passed away due to the virus. I don’t discount anyone’s suffering! But I also know that God doesn’t want us to live in constant fear!! The more we are filled with anxiety, the less we are filled with God’s Word and His Spirit.
It is a fact—We do live in fear and anxiety inducing times. Like I said, the news is full of troubling things to worry about. And that’s not even accounting for the fears that happen inside our own heads…the fear of not being good enough, fear of failure, etc. Thankfully, God has a lot to say about fear and anxiety in His Word and how we should deal with it!
2 Timothy 1:7 - For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Isaiah 41:10 - Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Psalms 56:3 - What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
Deuteronomy 31:6 - Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee
1 Peter 5:7 - Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1 John 4:18 - There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
Isaiah 35:4 - Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Psalms 23:4 - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Matthew 6:34 - Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Psalms 27:1 - (A Psalm of David.) The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Philippians 4:19 - But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Isaiah 26:3 - Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Philippians 4:7 - And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus
God realized we as humans are very vulnerable to our emotions. It’s our nature to worry and fret. If our confidence in ourself, it’s no wonder that we become fretful and anxious. There is alot of stuff that is just out of our control. We aren’t capable of handling all of life’s problems alone.
Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered in anything short of God and His will for us. —Billy Graham
When Billy Graham wrote those words in 1965, no one knew how true they would be even 56 years later.
At its best, fear and anxiety distracts us from our relationship with God and the truth that He is “Lord of heaven and earth” (Matthew 11:25).
At its worst, anxiety is a debilitating disease, that will take over our minds and plunge our thoughts into darkness and despair.
God himself is THE ONLY ONE who can truly quiet our fears. You and I sometimes fool ourselves into thinking we have things under control (until it all collapses !)
But God actually IS in control for real!
God wants so much more for us than to walk through life full of fear, worry, and anxiety.
“Be careful for nothing...” the Bible tells us in the book of Philippians, chapter 4, “but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Our directive doesn’t stop there. The chapter goes on to tell us believers exactly what we should focus on. And it’s not fear, worry, a worldwide pandemic, death or evil.
Philippians 4:8 instructs us to focus on good things: we must keep our mind on positive things that are wholesome and uplifting.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8,9
In this world, things can look (and BE) so scary. From Satan’s influences, to the consequences of elections, laws enacted, and now the pandemic, it’s all too easy to let anxiety and fear set in. The devil would like nothing more than for us to be so consumed with fear, that we forget that Almighty God is still in control!
We are reminded yet again from these verses below, that God is a GOOD GOD. He is full of love and compassion for His people. Yes, we may experience struggles in this world, but God hasn’t forgotten us—quite the contrary! He cares about us! He cares about what bothers us! Christ loved us so much that He gave His life to redeem us (while we were yet sinners!!) ! If He cared that much to save our souls, don’t you think He cares about our fears and what troubles us as well??
John 14:27- Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Romans 8:28 —And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Romans 5:8 — But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Sometimes, when we are so anxious and fearful, it becomes difficult to trust God. Bad things do happen in life and if our trust is in ourself, and our focus is “of this world”—we begin to question God’s goodness and His plan. We begin to doubt that He will take care of us. We become anxious and fearful.
But dear sisters, we must keep our eyes are on the Cross and what Jesus did on Calvary. We must be convinced that the very nature of God is absolutely good. He is for us and not against us. God has proven time and again, that He cares for us, and that He is trustworthy. Not only did He provide a way for our sins to be forgiven, and for us to have peace and joy here on earth, but He has also prepared a glorious future for us in eternity! We can safely trust Him with our fears, anxiety and our troubles.
Because through Calvary, God gave us direct access to Him. We don’t face to wait until Atonement Day once a year to intreat the Lord. We don’t have to have a priest be our go-between. That veil that stood between God and man was torn asunder! 🙌🏻😭 The God of all Glory made a way for us to communicate with Him. (Mark 15:38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.)
Go read the book of Romans. It is plumb full of references to how Christ’s sacrifice restored fellowship between God and man.
Hebrews 4:16 - Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
God wanted us to run to Him when we are assaulted by fear and anxiety. He is our Rock!!
He is our strong tower!!
Psalm 61:2 —From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 🙌🏻
Proverbs 18:10 —The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
Psalm 17:8—Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
Psalm 57:1–Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
There is so many verses in the Bible dealing with fear, anxiety, and feeling overwhelmed. There is no way I could possible give you a complete comprehensive guide to them all. He knows our frame —that we are dust! (Psalm 103:14—For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.) He knows us better than we know ourselves. He understood that there will be times when fear, anxiety, and despair will try to creep into our hearts and our minds.
If we will run to Him, instead of running away from Him, He can take fear and replace it with faith. He can fill our hearts with His perfect love. He can take anxiety and replace it with His peace. He can take feelings of being overwhelmed and bombarded on every side and turn it around to having a spirit of calmness and possessing a sound mind. He can give us joy for the journey! We don’t have to fret and worry about tomorrow! We serve a God who is all powerful!!! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever! He doesn’t change!!
So how are we supposed to deal with fear/anxiety? :
We must realize God by nature is good.
We must believe that God loves us.
We must trust that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts.
We must trust His plan and His wisdom.
He knows better than we do.
We must commit our ways to Him and allow Him to have full control. We got to trust Him.
We must cultivate an atmosphere for Him to dwell in. We can’t allow the news or whatever is bringing you despair to overshadow your faith. Sometimes, we may have to take a break from the news or whatever source that is bring us anxiety. Instead, we should read the Bible ! We must saturate ourselves in His Word! Memorize verses! Hide that Word in our hearts! It’s our ammunition to fight with.
Listen to good, Godly, Gospel music.
(like I mentioned in a previous post,
Holiness Voices Radio App is a good,
Godly, uplifting source I like to utilize)
Keep our minds on the Lord continually... Mediate on His Goodness!!
We must cry out to Him. (God is always with us!!)
Prayer is a powerful weapon!
We must use it though,
in order for it to work!
We must recognize that He is in control. and remind ourself, if necessary, that the devil isn’t more powerful than God.
We must replace fear with faith—we can’t allow those bad thoughts/fears/anxiety to dwell in our minds.. we must allow the Soirit to renew our minds— bringing every thought into the captivity of Christ !!
So, women of God, don’t despair! Don’t allow fear, anxiety, and worry to cloud your mind and rob you of your peace and the joy of your salvation!!
In a world full of fear, anxiety, despair, depression, uncertainty, and sorrow- let me encourage you —
dear saints, for the believer, there is
“Hope on the Horizon”!!!!
Look up!!
This old world is not our home!! We are pilgrims just passing through!!
We don’t want our roots too deep in this world.
We have a bright future !!
We don’t have to fret and worry about the state of this world.
We can be sure that our redemption is drawing nigh!!
We must remain watching and praying!!
It just may be today that we get that Heavenly summons to come up higher!! Oh what a day that will be !! 🎶
In a moment —
No more fear! No more worry!
No more anxiety!! No more sickness!
No more death!! No more sorrow!
No more troubles! No more heartache!!
Just to be forever with our Lord!! 🙌🏻😭
🎶🎶Heaven will be worth the Journey when we get there... oh that city will be so wonderfu, bright and fair...🎶🎶
So, just keep your eyes on the prize! Don’t allow the Devil to have place in your mind. Keep your focus on the Lord! He promised that He will keep that which is committed to Him !!
-Tiphanie ❤️