In 2 Timothy 1:7 it is written:
Are you attacked by anxiety? Did you know that it is totally opposite of God’s Word? Anxiety starts from fear, and then begins to spread like a virus. It works the same way. It starts with a thought, then begins to nag at you, then it begins to spread.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.
So if we examine this verse .. two things jump out
- Fear is a spirit
- Fear does not come from God
The verse then tells us what God has given us to conquer it.
- God has given us power, which is the Holy Spirit, who lives in all of us who are born again and have made Jesus Lord is our lives.
2. God is love, and He has given us Jesus
3. A sound mind, so you we can understand God’s word
So fear can start from a random thought, for example, oh no, what if I get sick? How can I go to work, how can I pay my bills? Just thinking about it causes fear to grow. That is why the Word tells us to take every thought captive that is contrary to the Word of God. (2 Corinthians 10:5)
If we don’t take those thoughts captive, the next thing we do is to start talking about it. Well, now it draws strength and starts to grow. Now the anxiety starts to build until it is totally out of control.
Now God doesn’t want us to have anxiety and fear, He wants to take care of us. Let’s look at what the Bible says.
1 Peter v 5-7
God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble, therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in good time, casting all your care upon Him, for he cares for you.
Now if we dig into this verse, what is it telling us? God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. He is not going to jump in and help us if we believe we can do it all on our own! But if we humble ourselves and ask Him for help, he is going to give us grace in our time of need! I don’t know when you think you need grace, but I want it in everything!
So can I make a suggestion? Stop claiming anxiety! I hear it all the time! Can you please pray for me, my anxiety is totally out of control. Can you please pray for Sally’s anxiety, it is really bad today. Do you really want to own it? I know Satan wants you to. When we own it, we are giving it a home, making it harder for us to get rid of. It’s moving in, taking up space, starting to spread. Like rust, mold, dirt. That’s how evil spreads. Just like cancer. When I was diagnosed with cancer, my Doctor said, your cancer is in your cervix. It wasn’t MY Cancer! I didn’t put it there, I didn’t ask for it to be there, and I certainly didn’t want it there!
Same thing here. Stop claiming the anxiety. It’s not yours, do you want it? Cast it on God and tell it to go.
1 Peter 5 v 8
Be sober, be viligant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Do you think the devil delights in your anxiety? You better believe he does! He wants to take your focus off God, then he can get in.
Verse 9 and 10 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered awhile, perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you.
So we are not alone. Many suffer from anxiety, but if we ask, grace will be given in our time of need .