Anxiety: Anything & Everything

I attended the Sovereign Grace Church in Apex, NC, this Sunday. Mickey Conolly spoke on Anxiety from Philippians 4:6-7.

…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

As he began to read the text, I laughed to myself. God was setting me up, this was a message I needed to hear. I need to listen to this sermon 20 more times. There is so much to glean from the many points that Mickey taught on. However, there were a couple of things that did stand out to me.

“Anxiety is a mild case of atheism. It denies that God will care from me.” Ouch. When I’m anxious (i.e. fret, worry, etc.) I am simply telling God that He does not care and that He is not in control. I can worry about anything and everything. Sadly, I worry much more than I realize. Every time I have an anxious thought I am practically denying the existence of God. I am charging God with not caring and not being God. Because God is either in control of all things or in control of nothing. If He is in control of nothing, He cannot be God.

The remedy to anxiety is prayer and thanksgiving. “In everything we haven an invitation to come to God in prayer.” In every situation, every circumstance we should lay our burdens at God’s feet. We should come to God with everything. (Heb. 4:16, 1 Peter 5:7, Ro. 8:32) Mickey made a couple of statements that I really liked:

“Prayer does not mean passivity.”

“You cannot do more than pray before you pray, but not after you pray.”

“God has authored these circumstances. We give thanks because it reminds us that God is at work.”

I was also struck by the end of verse 7. GOD will guard your hearts and minds.
So often I think that I’m responsible for guarding my heart and mind (which I am, but in His strength). But, this passage says that if I am bringing all worry to God in prayer and if I am thanking Him and remembering His past faithfulness that I will receive His peace. And that peace is what guards my hear and mind. It is God’s working, His power, His faithfulness. It’s not pulling myself up by my bootstraps. It’s once again sitting at His feet and trusting Him. I find that so hard to do. But, I’m slowly learning that it is the most wonderful place to be. Letting my soul rest in Him does bring a peace that passes all understanding. Resting in His sovereignty and omniscience. Not fretting about my future or things I do not understand. But focusing my heart and mind on Him. That is the best place to be!

You can download Mickey’s sermon HERE.(As of 9:30am, it is not online yet, but I’m sure it will be soon.)

 

“The root of anxiety is inadequate faith in our Father’s future grace.” John Piper