Grief & Anxiety: Cause and Effect
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Song:
Angry waves splashing everywhere
He’s asleep in the boat, does He even care
We’re all so afraid, He just keeps lying there
That’s Him!
Then He raised His hands above His head,
Said “Peace be still”, and the water fled.
A wave tapped the wind on the shoulder and said,
That’s Him....
Ever feel like you were sinking?
You feel as if everything around you is caving in and there’s no way out
Like fighting sinking sand, the more you fight and work, the further down you go?
3Long-term effects of stress and anxiety can cause:
Heart disease
Obesity
Intimacy disorders
Hair loss
ulcers
emotional distress
blurred eyesight
fatigue
Sleep deprivation
Difficulty breathing
Panic attacks
Change is mandatory, stress is manageable, but misery is optional!
Unknown
Text of Series:
To the chief Musician upon Neginah, A Psalm of David.
1 Hear my cry, O God;
Attend unto my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed:
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For thou hast been a shelter for me,
And a strong tower from the enemy.
4 I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever:
I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.
5 For thou, O God, hast heard my vows:
Thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.
6 Thou wilt prolong the king’s life:
And his years as many generations.
7 He shall abide before God for ever:
O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.
8 So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever,
That I may daily perform my vows.
412 Anxiety is the interest paid on trouble before it is due.
William Ralph Inge (Dean of St Paul’s)
Anxiety is the poison of human life.
Hugh Blair
Anxiety never strengthens you for tomorrow; it only weakens you for today.
John Blanchard
According to the anxiety and depression association of America, anxiety is the # 1 mental health illness plaguing Americans. Over 40 million Americans struggle with anxiety…
MW Definition of anxiety: concern or solicitude respecting some event, future or uncertain, which disturbs the mind, and keeps it in a state of painful uneasiness. it expresses more than uneasiness or disturbance, and even more than trouble or solicitude.
MW Definition of Grief: The pain of mind produced by loss, misfortune, injury or evils of any kind; sorrow; regret.
1. Sometimes grief and anxiety stem as a result of sin
1. Sometimes grief and anxiety stem as a result of sin
Psalm 31:9–10 (KJV 1900)
9 Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble:
Mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.
10 For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing:
My strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.
Vs. 12 he says “I am like a broken vessel…”
What does a broken vessel do?
It leaks
Loses purpose
Doesn’t accomplish the intended purpose of the potter
David’s Words:
I am in trouble…
Mine eye is consumed with grief…
My life is spent with grief
My years with sighing
My strength faileth
My bones are consumed
David felt overwhelmed and completely consumed with his grief because of his sin…
Psalm 38:4–8 “4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: As an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. 5 My wounds stink and are corrupt Because of my foolishness. 6 I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. 7 For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: And there is no soundness in my flesh. 8 I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.”
Isaiah 57:20–21 “20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”
The cause is sin:
The effect is:
Trouble 9 Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble:
Grief “…Mine eye is consumed with grief” 10 For my life is spent with grief…”
Failed strength “…My strength faileth…”
Consumed bones “…my bones are consumed.”
No rest “20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest…”
No peace “21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”
The answer:
Repentance
2. Sometimes grief and anxiety stem as a result of a heavy burden
2. Sometimes grief and anxiety stem as a result of a heavy burden
Mark 14:33–39 “33 And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; 34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. 35 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. 37 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? 38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. 39 And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words.”
Luke 22:44 “44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
Jesus was very heavy…
His soul was exceeding sorrowful unto death…
The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of faith is the end of anxiety.
—George Mueller
George Mueller
The answer? Submit and yield to God’s plan and strength…
The path of submission is the way to peace.
Herbert Carson
Submission is an act of faith.
Warren W. Wiersbe
Isaiah 53:3 “3 He is despised and rejected of men; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: And we hid as it were our faces from him; He was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
Acquainted: Being familiar with or having personal knowledge of
As Jesus trusted in God’s big-picture plan, so must we. Our burdens can be heavy, tiresome and often times feel like a crushing weight on top of us… We must not move away from the Rock, but draw closer to the Rock that is higher than I…
What are your burdens?
A loss of a loved one?
Chronic illness or injury?
Financial instability? Debt?
Concern for a wayward child or drifting loved one?
Career pressure?
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
22 Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee:
He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: 9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
3. Sometimes grief and anxiety stem as a result of an attack from satan
3. Sometimes grief and anxiety stem as a result of an attack from satan
What Job lost:
- Job had a wife, 7 sons and 3 daughters
He had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 she asses, and a very great household
Numerous servants
Painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head
A wife who told him to “curse God and die.”
“Friends” who gave poor counsel
Job lost everything.
Chapter 3 is all Job explaining why he wishes he wasn’t born or that his birth never happened…
Job 3:20–22 “20 Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, And life unto the bitter in soul; 21 Which long for death, but it cometh not; And dig for it more than for hid treasures; 22 Which rejoice exceedingly, And are glad, when they can find the grave?”
He longs for death he is in so much anguish and grief…
Job 7:11 “11 Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.”
The problem: God allowed Satan to afflict Job proving Job would not curse God…
God told Satan “…all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand…”
Job did good and Satan’s response 2:4 “Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.”
Satan then attacked Job’s health…
Satan took it as far as God would allow him…
James 4:7 “7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Whether your grief is caused by:
Sin
A Heavy Burden
Attacks from Satan
You can:
Repent of your sin
Yield and submit to God’s plan
Resist the devil