The Antidote To Anxiety

Anxiety is real and we don't want to rub it in when someone suffers it as if they're not doing something right or the solution is easy. But we must learn to avoid anxiety disorders or when we are consumed within and don't believe there is a cure. Whatever the illness there is a cure.   For every problem, Christ is the answer--He is the ultimate Answerer! Don't just evade the issue and claim or promise you'll pray for them!   We are only going to have confidence if we learn to trust God in these trying times we are facing.  Sometimes we are let down by our own high expectations and see the solution as simplistic and not real.  But never lose faith in God:  Expect great things from Him and attempt great things for Him, as William Carey said.

We all must come to the place of humbling ourselves before the feet of Jesus and realize we don't know it all.  We must stop trying to save ourselves.  That is to say, that truth is the proper antidote to all errors and the Holy Spirit will convict us of our error and help us to get off the vicious cycle of anxiety due to lack of a proper or spiritual mindset. There is a peace that is beyond our understanding and surpasses knowledge in Christ if we know Him.  But we must be oriented to reality and truth is what corresponds to reality and that ultimate reality is God and to know Him in truth, for He is the God of truth.  Ignorance is not bliss!  We can attribute most anxiety to willful ignorance and people not seeking the truth in Jesus.

The goal of the peace of God is to have peace with God first and that means to see life from His perspective and will, not in ours.  The whole church has the duty of seeing the light and teaching the truth to the flock and truth is the enemy of anxiety because we get properly oriented.  We have one offensive weapon against anxiety--the Word of God.  But God wants our prayers and wants us to seek His will. Sometimes that's all it takes, is to take it to the Lord in prayer and to make our requests known!  We are to worry about nothing, pray about anything, and thank God for everything!

Jesus said that the truth shall set us free and He meant that also from our own anxieties and hangups, especially free from the bondage of our own sins.  We are our own worst enemies and are enslaved by the power we choose to obey--by whatever defeats us!  We can live in the defeat of our own emotions or be set free from their power, for if we walk by the Spirit we are not under the power of the flesh! Joy is the ultimate panacea to anxiety (it's all a matter of our mindset and attitude which we can choose) and this is by the fruit of the Spirit and if we are walking with God we cannot not be joyful--it's automatic, a given!   But remember, gifts are given but fruits are grown; i.e., we must learn to cultivate joy and the fruit of the Spirit by obedience to the Lord--obedience is the only test of our walk by faith--not ecstasies or experiences.

Knowing the fundamentals of basic doctrine is vital to our victorious life in the Spirit because we need a right and peaceful mindset controlled by the Spirit--"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus."  The mind of the flesh is at enmity against God and is easily led astray and becomes prey to divers false and strange teachings. Such as are those who have an itching ear to hear what they want to hear and false prophets preying on their curiosities and natural inclinations.  In other words, if you have your thinking straightened out, you are less likely to be fooled by Satan's schemes and deceptions, being led astray by his wiles and schemes.  We are exhorted to be "renewed in the spirit of our minds" and to "hold captive all our thoughts to the obedience of Christ."  This is where the body of Christ comes to our rescue to save us from the captivity to our own wrong and sinful thinking.   Soli Deo Gloria!