Rising Above Anxiety and Fear

RISING ABOVE ANXIETY AND FEAR Spring Valley Mennonite; November 13, 2022; Isaiah 41:9-14 It is not a common occurrence, but it happens to me more often than I care to admit: I wake up in the middle of the night, perhaps from a troubling dream, and unable to drift back to sleep, my mind begins to churn with anxious thoughts. For example, as I grow older, I have lapses in memory-is this an early sign of Alzheimer's? Will my grandchildren remain faithful to the Lord? Will a family member fall victim to the ever-increasing violence in society? Will our nation continue to grow more openly wicked, and will it survive at all? And the bad "what if's" continue to fill my mind if I don't find a way to stop such thoughts! Have you noticed how anxious thoughts can multiply in the middle of the night? I won't ask if you ever feel anxious or fearful, for I already know the answer! Of course, you do! God knows our anxious thoughts and gives us instruction on how to rise above our fears and anxieties, and that is our subject of the morning. Are you personally dealing with fears and anxieties the way God wants you to? Fear has existed from the Garden of Eden. Remember the first record of fear in the Bible? Adam and Eve, after eating the forbidden fruit, hid themselves from the presence of the LORD. Sin and fear are related, as there was no fear before sin entered the equation. Since the fall of man, our enemy uses fear as one of his most potent weapons against us. Since Satan has been given dominion over the earth (within the limits God has established), we find our lives are filled with a multitude of situations which give opportunity for fear. Fear is a beast which stalks every person, all the time. To those Israelites who survived the siege of Jerusalem and the forced 500-mile march to Babylon, the few who now found themselves slaves under the overwhelming might of the Babylonian Empire, to these seemingly without hope and severely oppressed, God delivers a message of comfort. Few of us have situations so bad. But to all of us who are fearful, have been fearful, or those who will be fearful, God speaks. If He is able to give comfort to those in such dreadful circumstances, He can give comfort and strength to us. Turn to Isaiah 41:9-14 (Read) In an uncertain and changing world, God instructs His people to rise above their fears. One very real danger of yielding to fear is that: I. FEAR CRIPPLES OUR WALK WITH GOD We all know what it is like to be in the vise-grip of panic-to be temporarily driven and controlled by fear. Every parent has heard his child scream and has instantly dropped whatever they are doing to run to their aid. Remember the feeling of panic and fear which filled your mind at such times? Remember the feeling of panic when the phone rings in the middle of the night, knowing that good news seldom comes at such times? This moment of panic soon passes, and then we are faced with a decision-"Do I yield to fear, or do I choose to trust?" Let me quickly add that of itself, fear is not wrong. A healthy amount of fear helps us avoid things that are dangerous: the edge of cliffs, rattlesnakes and grizzly bears. A whole other topic is how wise and godly people "fear" God. The fear of God, rightly understood, is the beginning of wisdom and understanding in life. The fear of God instructs us that our God is not to be trifled with. But when fear becomes a controller-to state it another way, when fear becomes our "Master", then it is wrong and must be handled like any other sin. When we find ourselves paralyzed and governed by fear rather than being guided by faith and trust in our good God, steps must be taken. For fear can make us do things that ordinarily we would not do. Every dictator who has ever ruled has used fear to manipulate people. Very few people are able to resist a gun to their head. Yet, even in such a situation, God will give us strength: I am constantly encouraged by the stories coming from the persecuted church around the world where God has given courage to believers to endure rather than yielding to fear and renouncing their faith. The evil one who would seek to manipulate our lives will use fear to cripple our walk with God. Consider how we all have feared the opinions of others to the extent that we have kept silent when we should have spoken out. Perhaps, fearing rejection or censure from our peers, we have gone along with the crowd and compromised our testimony. Fear of failure may cause us to work harder and harder, trying to be the perfect parent, the most productive employee, the perfect spouse-until we are so stressed that we give out. I wonder how often our unspoken fears and anxieties are a source of stress in our lives. To our fearful, stressed and anxious generation, God tells us: Fear not! II. FIVE REASONS WE CAN RISE ABOVE OUR FEARS God gives us five reasons we can rise above our fears in Isaiah 41:10, each related to the five occurrences of the pronoun "I" in this verse. God is the solution to our fears and anxieties. *The first reason is that GOD IS WITH US. Look at verses 8 and 9 (Read). God had chosen Israel for His people. He chooses to remain close with those He chooses. As believers in Jesus Christ, we know that we have been chosen by God, as proven by these verses: * John 15:16: You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to you." * 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy natin, a people for God's own possession , that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. * Ephesians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy ad blameless before Him... God does not "unchoose" His own. He tells us in Hebrews 13:5, I will never leave you nor forsake you. In John 6:37, Jesus promises us "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. Does the small child fear the darkness when safely held in the arms of his loving parent? Do you fear getting wet from the rain when safely within your house? Do you fear your creditors after the bill has been settled. Why not? You are confident in your resources. Friend, God is the ultimate resource! He promises He will always be there for you. You can take it to the bank! Remember the majesty and power of God shown in Chapter 40 of Isaiah-that magnificent and all-powerful God is Immanuel, God with us. Jesus Christ lives within, a very present help in fearful times. *Secondly, "Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God." There is a helpful distinction between fear and anxiety: fear has a definite object. Worry or anxiety is about something uncertain or unknown. Let's examine anxiety first: We become anxious about whether we will catch a virus, of whether the car will make it to our destination. What if McDonalds is robbed while I am sitting there? What if a drunk driver crosses the center line into my path? That is anxiety or worry-it deals with the "What ifs" of life. To our anxieties, God tells us in Philippians 4:6, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. God speaks in this verse to our anxieties-the "What ifs." When you wake up in the middle of the night and begin feeling anxious over what might happen, pray. Place those scary "What ifs" in the very capable hands of Jesus. Another word for being anxious is "worry." Worry is like a rocking chair, it gives you the feeling of movement, but it takes you nowhere. To our fears-those definite things which face us, God tells us "I am with you." He will protect us. He is standing right there beside us in His awesome mighty power. To our anxious thoughts, God tells us to replace them with thoughts of who God is. For present danger, we have "I am with you." For abstract worries in anxieties, God tells us "I am your God." Please note that God pledges to defend His own. If you are not a child of God; if you have not been born again, then you have no such assurance. The world is indeed a fearful place for the unsaved. *The third reason we can rise above our fears is the promise of His strength. So very often we forget that in ourselves we are weak and helpless. Does this strike you wrong, that you are weak and helpless? Does that thought make you sort of "bristle?" "Now, wait a minute," we say. "I have a mind to figure things out; I have resources to apply to problems; God expects me to do my part-after all, 'God helps those who help themselves.'" Let me remind you that this phrase comes not from Holy Scripture, but rather was penned by Ben Franklin in "Poor Richard's Almanac." The fact that we are weak and helpless is difficult for many people, perhaps you! To admit we are weak or incapable really wounds our pride. I may have told you the story of my friend Bob Phalen. Bob fit the definition of a self-made man. Never having finished high school, and coming from a dysfunctional family, he left home at age 16, worked hard and made something of himself. We can say "he pulled himself up by his own bootstraps." A master machinist with an inventive mind, he came up with the idea for a quick-release hydraulic fitting. Beginning in his garage, he perfected this fitting and some other inventions, and out of this beginning, he built a multi-million-dollar business. His fittings were so superior that they were used on the Space Shuttle. Although his wife was a dedicated Christian, for many years, Bob resisted coming to faith in the Lord Jesus. He was strong. He had the highest standards in his work; in fact, one of his greatest obstacles in coming to Christ was that he feared becoming compassionate to his workers and having to lower his production standards! The pride of life says we are self-sufficient. I am strong. I can overcome any obstacle, climb any mountain, cross any sea. I can do anything I set my mind on. Yet we don't live very long before we come face to face with situations we cannot control. We cannot determine or change the outcome. We find ourselves helpless. This is when fear threatens to overwhelm even the most self-sufficient among us. Cancer strikes you or a loved one. A family member lies dying. The company where you are employed is bought and in the consolidation your job is lost. A hailstorm destroys your crops. We realize that we are helpless-weak-frail. For Bob Phalen it was imminent heart failure. No longer could he control the situation. In his weakness, he cried out to God, and he was gloriously saved. God had been available to Bob all along offering His strength, as Psalm 28:6 describes: Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplication. The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him and I am helped... Bob committed his life to the Lord, came through his heart operation, and fell in love with His Lord Jesus and became a powerful witness for Christ. True wisdom and maturity make us realize how little strength we really possess. Oh, in the trivial things of life we have strength, but how quickly even that can disappear. We must realize that it is God who provides strength. It is in Him that we live and breathe and having our being. The unbeliever gets by only because of the common grace of God extended to every person. But wisdom leads us to confess our own pride, and humbly bow before our Maker in full dependence. When we are full of pride, there is no room for God's blessings. He only can pour the full measure of blessing into an empty vessel. Listen to verse 14 (READ): God is not insulting Israel, but rather emphasizing this same point: until we understand that our strength is like a worm; that our ability to stand against the "Babylon experiences" in our lives is as effective as that of a worm; until we humble ourselves God will not answer our cry for help. *The fourth "I phrase" "Surely, I will help you" is the assurance of God's help. How many times have we had a task to do, someone promises to help you, but when the time came for doing the task, an excuse was made, and they never showed up? Some people are like that, are untrustworthy. God is not like that. He promises our help-when? He is our helper whenever we need it. He is like a strong father standing right by his child, available at the first sign of trouble. The 121st Psalm poses the question, "From whence shall my help come?" The answer: "My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep." We can rise above all fears knowing that God never misses a thing. He never gets distracted or fails to show up. Notice the word "Surely": This translates a strong emphasis-"I really will! Count on it! Don't doubt it!" God will always keep His promise. He WILL help us as we call on Him. *And the fifth "I statement"-God will "uphold us with His righteous right hand." The right hand was seen as the hand of strength and skill, as most people were right-handed. Psalm 73:23 "Yet I am always with you; You hold me by my right hand." Understand the picture: God is standing, and He holds our right hands-our strong arm. He is promising to fight our battles, for His right arm is free to hold the sword of our defense! I don't have to fight; God does our fighting for us. See why we don't have to be afraid of that big, ugly, threating "whatever?" God holds His mighty sword ready to fight our battles for us. Look at verses 12 and 13: The Lord fights our battles so effectively that our enemies disappear. We try and find them, and they have melted away like snow in July. The reason for fear no longer exists. III. CONQUERING OUR FEARS AND ANXIETIES What would you say is the opposite of fear? Some might say "trust" but I think this minimizes fear too much, implying that if we only trust enough we will have no fear. I think it is more accurate to say trusting is one of two choices we can make when we face certain danger. We can either trust God, or we can yield to fear and allow it to immobilize us. We've all heard the expression "frozen in fear." I think the opposite of fear is assurance or security. Perhaps it will help you when faced with a fear (something definite confronting you) or anxiety (the possibility of something bad that might happen) to visualize whatever is threating you as something tiny and insignificant like a cotton ball. Then think of God as something huge, like a mountain. The mountain is too big and mighty to be affected by any situation. God is able. The danger is about as significant to God in the long run as a cotton ball thrown at a mountain. Like so many things in the Christian life, having courage and feeling secure is a matter of perspective. When fear is allowed to take over, in our minds it grows bigger than life, bigger than God's ability to handle it. God is telling Judah that Babylon is not their biggest problem. Oh, they thought it was, but their biggest problem was really their hard hearts. God allowed Babylon to conquer them as a consequence of their sin. God was demonstrating His faithfulness to His Word. He had promised blessing if they followed His commandments and cursing if they rejected Him and His ways. Cause and effect. When sinners realize that they are their own worst enemy and confess their sin, then God will bless. Isaiah is telling the people that God can take care of the mighty Babylonians (as He did very soon.) As Judah confessed their sin and waited patiently on God, He would renew them spiritually, they would mount up on wings like eagles. He would be their strong right arm of defense. Often the dangerous situation has been allowed in our lives to bring us back to God. God's reasons and methods are often beyond our understanding, but He desires to bring glory to Himself in every situation. When we choose to trust Him rather than to worry or fear, He receives the glory. If we find ourselves controlled by fear, understand that "whatever is not of faith is sin." Confess the sin of letting fear or anxiety control you, and then God is able to give you the strength and help from His strong right arm. I certainly don't want to minimize the dangers we often face. The enemy of our souls is real. We are constantly locked in spiritual warfare. The situations we face cause real distress, real suffering and real pain. The Jew's situation as a slave in Babylon was indeed grievous. The causes of our fears are real. Suffering, pain, grief, and sorrow are part of life in a fallen world. But fear and anxiety do not have to control us; we can rise above our fears. One additional thought: we must recognize that our feelings may not agree with our reasoning. As we lean on the Lord, our fears become manageable. They no longer paralyze us into inactivity. While our enemies may be powerful, they cannot prevail over the power and protection of God. Jesus tells us in John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." 2