GOD’S PRESCRIPTION FOR ANXIETY

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools detest turning from evil

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.

All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Proverbs 12:25, 13:12, 13:19, 14:30, 15:13, 15:15, 17:22

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I don’t think I need to tell you that life brings stress and anxiety. It seems like we live it and breathe it sometimes. Other times, we feel we can’t breathe under the pressure of it. Maybe you can relate.

In a class I once attended while in the military, I learned about what the medical people refer to as a Stress Continuum, a scale with which stress is measured. It had four levels, each with an associated color. Green was the perfect zone to be in, a zone where one had no stress and could breathe easy in the midst of their circumstances. When a little stress or anxiety would come, then one would transition into the yellow zone. This is the zone where most people operate in and I learned that this was where I spent most of my time. As the instructor spoke about this zone, I learned that some stress and anxiety is normal and actually good for you. And as I pondered it and assessed how I function best, I found out that I actually function better when I am pressurized a little bit, that being in the green zone for too long was actually counterproductive.

So what happens when stress and anxiety mount and a person doesn’t find an outlet to relieve it? Well, they transition from the yellow zone to the orange one. In that zone, stress and anxiety begins to dominate a person’s life physically and mentally. One begins to start having panic attacks, experiencing difficulty sleeping, feel shame or guilt or shame, and loss of body or mind functionality. When a person enters this zone, they need to start seeking help to get back into the yellow zone again. If not, then they risk falling into the last area, the red zone where the most severe damage occurs.

In the red zone, stress and anxiety is debilitating and disabling. People who fall into the red zone have typically been afflicted with heavy stress or anxiety for sustained periods. A person’s ability to cope goes away and they fall into paralyzing depression and despair which can lead to substance abuse. And if a person dwells in this zone, they cannot escape without treatment of some kind to repair them mentally, emotionally, and physically.

So where are you today when it comes to the matter of stress and anxiety? Are you in a place where you need help?

One thing is certain. We need to keep our finger on the pulse of stress and anxiety in our lives.

Well, as we look at the scriptures, we find that God seemed to think addressing stress and anxiety was important. Why? Check out these words in the proverbs:

Anxiety weighs down the heart. Proverbs 12:25a

Hope deferred makes the heart sick. Proverbs 13:12a

Heartache crushes the spirit (Proverbs 15:13b) and a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22b)

All the days of the oppressed are wretched. Proverbs 15:15a

Nothing good comes from stress and anxiety that goes unchecked and enters the orange and red danger zones. The heart becomes weighed down and a person’s hope sinks with it into the depths of despondency. One’s spirit becomes crushed and the weight of stress and anxiety’s oppressive pressure negatively impact the days of the afflicted, so much so that sometimes a person can wonder if life is even worth living anymore.

That’s how bad it can get, so bad that life itself loses its value in the eyes of the one trying to cope with life’s pressures and circumstances.

With this, it’s little wonder why God sent words to help and heal and restore, words that form a prescription for dealing with stress and anxiety, written to ensure we always stay healthy when the trials and hardships of life come upon us. My prayer is that you will write this prescription on your hearts as I have and ensure that you will never fall into a place where you approach those dangerous and damaging orange and red zones. Here it is:

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

It’s so simple but so immensely powerful, far more powerful than any stress, anxiety, worry, or fear we might experience. The key here is to remember that God is God, the One who can do all things, and He is in control.

In His prescription, God is saying to us:

“Why try and handle your stress, anxiety, worry, and fear on your own? Do you not remember I am with you and are working all things for your good? Go back to the very beginning of creation when I made everything with my hands. I would go on to continuously display my power throughout mankind. I have worked greater miracles than helping you through your current circumstances so just trust me. Give me all your problems, lay them at the foot of my throne, and let me handle them. I want to bring you a peace like you have never ever experienced before, a peace the world does not know or have. Just let me help you.”

Friends, there is nothing we’re going through that God can’t handle. We only need to come before Him in prayer and present our requests to Him, giving Him all the burdens that are weighing us down. When we do this, then we experience the peace and relief that comes in having the weight of the world off our shoulders, a peace that is beyond understanding, a peace that cannot come from anyone else but the Prince of peace.

When we experience this kind of peace, the peace of God, then we will be in a place where we can relate to these parts of our proverbs for today. We will discover that:

1. A heart at peace gives life to the body. Proverbs 14:30a

When our burdens are removed, we find a new sense of life, now relieved from the pressures we were under. Instead of hardship and distress, we find ourselves immersed in joy and cheerfulness, leading to point 2.

2. The cheerful heart has a continual feast (Proverbs 15:15b) and is good medicine (Proverbs 17:22a).

Under immense stress and anxiety, we can feel like things will never get better but oh the joy when we allow the Lord to help us and he removes the burdens from us! We cannot help but be brought to a continuous spirit of cheer, a cheer that is the very medicine to our hearts, minds, and souls that the Lord prescribed for healing.

3. A longing fulfilled is a tree of life and sweet to the soul. Proverbs 13:12b and 13:19a

Finally, finding our way out from under the burden of stress and anxiety answers our prayers and longings for the day when we would no longer be weighed down by our troubles. This longing fulfilled which led us to a peace beyond understanding becomes a tree of life for us, a new life where we are liberated once again to live and love and learn under God’s care and tutelage.

Friends, we all have stress and anxiety. We also all have God who has prescribed a way to ensure we live life to the full in a way where we are free to serve Him and others free of any pressures of life that would disable our ability to carry out His will and way.

Thanks be to God for His holy word and His promises, prescribed like the passage from Philippians to preserve us and sustain us in the midst of life’s challenges and difficulties.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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