Overcoming Fear And Worry Part 3

Biblical Answers Fear and Worry Doubt

Anxiety may stem from unconscious feelings, but worry is a conscious act of choosing an ineffective method of coping with life. According to Oswald Chambers, the great evangelist and author, all our fret and worry is caused by calculating without God. Here’s the big question: Does worry have any place in the life of the Christian?30 Is it a sin to worry or to feel anxiety?

As we’ve discussed, people who experience extreme states of anxiety may not be able to control them. They may feel that they are at the mercy of their feelings, because they can’t pin down exactly why they’re so anxious. Such individuals may have deep, hidden feelings or hurts that have lingered for years in the subconscious. In such cases, perhaps they need to face their problems, discover the roots of their feelings, and replace them with the healing power and resources offered through Jesus Christ and Scripture.

But freedom from worry is possible. The answer lies in tapping the resources of Scripture. Read each passage cited below before reading the paragraphs that follow it.

WORRY DOESN’T WORK, SO DON’T DO IT

Matthew 6:25–34 KJV 1900

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

From this passage we can discover several principles to help us overcome anxiety and worry.

First, note that Jesus did not say “Stop worrying when everything is going all right for you.” His command is not a suggestion.

He simply and directly said to stop worrying about your life. In a way, Jesus was saying we should learn to accept situations that can’t be altered at the present time. That doesn’t mean we’re to sit back and make no attempt to improve conditions around us. But we must face tough situations without worry and must learn to live with them while we work toward improvement.

Second, Jesus said you can’t add any length of time to your life by worrying.

Not only is this true, but the reverse is also true: The physical effects of worry can actually shorten your life span.

Third, the object of your worry may be a part of the difficulty.

It could be that your sense of values is distorted and that what you worry about should not be the center of your attention. The material items that seem so important to you should be secondary to spiritual values.

Fourth, Christ also tells you to live a day at a time.

You may be able to change some of the results of past behavior, but you cannot change some of the results of past behavior and you can’t predict or completely prepare for the future, so don’t inhibit its potential by worrying about it. Focus your energies on the opportunities of today!

Most of the future events that people worry about don’t happen anyway. Furthermore, the worrisome anticipation of certain inevitable events is usually more distressing than the actual experience itself. Anticipation is the magnifying glass of our emotions. And even if an event is as serious as we may anticipate, we as Christians can look forward to God’s supply of strength and stability at all times.

FOCUS ON THE SOLUTION, NOT THE PROBLEM

FOCUS ON THE SOLUTION, NOT THE PROBLEM In this passage, we find the disciples in a boat as Jesus walked toward them on the water. When Peter began to walk toward Jesus on the water, he was fine until his attention was drawn away from Jesus to the storm. Then he became afraid and started to sink. If Peter had kept his attention upon Christ (the source of his strength and the solution to his problem), he would have been all right. But when he focused upon the wind and the waves (the problem and the negative aspect of his circumstances), he became overwhelmed by the problem, even though he could have made it safely to Jesus. Fear and worry are like that. We focus so hard on the problem that we take our eyes off the solution and thus create more difficulties of ourselves. We can be sustained in the midst of any difficulty by focusing our attention on the Lord and relying upon him: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” — MAKE A CHOICE NOT TO WORRY “Make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.” At the beginning of the verses from Luke is a phrase that is a command, but one that also implies that we have the capability of doing it. “Make up your mind” means we have a choice as to whether we choose to worry or choose not to worry. “Make up your mind” is translated from a Greek word that means “to premeditate.” You’ve probably heard this word used in criminal trials. If someone is accused of a premeditated crime, it means the accused thought through the crime beforehand. Choosing not to worry will take more effort and energy for some people than others, but change is possible. You and I live in an unstable world. Sometimes the stock market seems to drop several hundred points for no reason. This creates not only worry but also fear, anxiety, and panic in some people. But when we trust in the Lord (and not the stock market), we receive the blessing of stability in a fragmented world. We have the ability to be free from worry in a world where there is much to be anxious and fearful about. GIVE GOD YOUR WORRY IN ADVANCE Peter must have learned from his experience of walking on the water, because he later wrote: “Cast all your anxiety on [God] because he cares for you.” Cast means “to give up” or “to unload.” The tense of the verb here refers to a direct once-and-for-all committal to God of all anxiety or worry. We are to unload on God our tendency to worry, so that when problems arise, we will not worry about them. We can cast our worry on God with confidence, because he cares for us. He is not out to break us down but to strengthen us and to help us stand firm. He knows our limits, and “a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench” (, RSV). Isaiah rejoiced to the Lord, “You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You” (AMP). Whatever you choose to think about will either produce or dismiss feelings of anxiety and worry. Those people who suffer from fear and worry are choosing to center their minds on negative thoughts in this way. God has made the provision, but you must take the action. Freedom from fear and worry and anxiety is available, but you must lay hold of it. Center your thoughts on God, not on worry. REPLACE FRETTING WITH TRUST begins “Do not fret,” and those words are repeated later in the psalm. The dictionary defines fret as “to eat away, gnaw, gall, vex, worry, agitate, wear away.” Whenever I hear the word gnaw, I’m reminded of a scene I see each year when I hike along the Snake River in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming where colonies of beavers live along the riverbanks. Often I see trees at various stages of being gnawed to the ground by them. Other trees have several inches of bark eaten away, and some have already fallen on the ground, because the beavers have gnawed through the trunks. Worry has the same effect on us: It will gradually eat away at us until it destroys us. In addition to telling us not to fret, gives us positive substitutes for fear and worry. First, it says, “Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord” (verse 3 AMP). Trust is a matter of not attempting to live an independent life or to cope with difficulties alone. It means going to a greater source for strength. Second, verse 4 says, “Delight yourself also in the Lord” (AMP). To delight means to rejoice in God and what he has done for us, to let God supply the joy for our life. Third, verse 5 says, “Commit your way to the Lord” (AMP). Commitment is a definite act of the will, and it involves releasing our fears and worries and anxieties to the Lord. And fourth, we are to “rest in the Lord; wait for Him” (verse 7, AMP). This means to submit in silence to what he ordains, and to be ready and expectant for what he is going to do in our life. STOP WORRYING AND START PRAYING The passage in Philippians can be divided into three basic stages. We are given a premise: Stop worrying. We are given a practice: Start praying. And we are given a promise: Peace. The promise is there and available, but we must follow the first two steps in order for the third to occur. We must stop worrying and start praying if we are to begin receiving God’s peace. The results of prayer as a substitute for fear and worry can be vividly seen in a crisis in David’s life that prompted him to write (see also ). David had escaped death at the hands of the Philistines by pretending to be insane. He then fled to the cave of Adullam, along with 400 men who were described as distressed and discontented and in debt. In the midst of all this, David wrote a psalm of praise that begins: “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (, RSV). David did not say he would praise the Lord sometimes but at all times, even when his enemies were after him. How could David bless the Lord in the midst of his life-threatening experience? Because he stopped worrying and started praying: “I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears” (verse 4, RSV). David didn’t turn around and take his cares back after he had deposited them with the Lord. He gave them up. Too many people give their burdens to God with a rubber band attached. As soon as they stop praying, the problems bounce back. They pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” and as soon as they are through praying, they begin to worry where their next meal is going to come from. Another factor to notice is that God did not take David away from his problem in order to deliver him from his fears. When he wrote the , David was still hiding in the cave with 400 disgruntled men. God does not always take us out of problematic situations, but He gives us the peace we seek as we proceed prayerfully through each experience. It happened to David, and it happens today to those who pray, unload their cares on God, and leave them there. REMEMBER THAT GOD IS WITH YOU “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Through Isaiah, God tells us not to fear, and then he tells us why: “For I am with you.” There is no better reason to stop being fearful or worried than the one given here: God is with you. Dismayed here means “to gaze,” to look around in an anxious way. This word is used to describe a person who is looking around in amazement or bewilderment. It conveys the idea of being immobilized or paralyzed. You can’t make up your mind which way to turn. But once again there is a solution: God says, “I am your God.” He is with us not eight hours a day, not twelve or sixteen, but twenty-four hours each day. When he says “I will strengthen you,” he means he will make us be alert or be fortified with courage. When he says he will “help you,” the word help is used to mean “summon.” Imagine yourself surrounded by the loving arms of God. In fact each time you worry, say to yourself: I am surrounded by the loving arms of God, and see whether your fear or worry wants to stick around. The words “I will uphold you” in verse 10 mean that God will sustain us. In music, when the conductor tells singers “Sustain that note,” they keep singing it on and on until they’ve exhausted their air supply. But there is no exhaustion on God’s part in sustaining us.31 BREAK THE PATTERN Again and again the Scriptures give us the answer for fears and worries, but do you know how to break the fear and worry pattern in your own life? I’m talking about practical strategies by which you can apply the guidelines of Scripture to your specific worries. Let me share with you a few tips that others have used successfully over the years. Make a Value Judgment Let me illustrate this first suggestion for breaking the pattern by taking you into my counseling office. I was working with a man who had a roaring tendency to worry. We had talked through the reasons for his worry, and he had tried some of my suggestions for conquering his problem. But it seemed to me he was resistant to giving up his worry. (This isn’t unusual; many people have worried for so long that they have grown comfortable with their negative patterns of thinking. It’s actually all they know. They’re successful with it and are unsure they will be successful with the new style of thinking.) So one day I gave him an assignment that really caught him off guard: “It appears that worry is an integral part of your life and that you are determined to keep this tendency. But you only worry periodically throughout the day, with no real plan for worrying. So let’s set up a definite worry time for you each day, instead of spreading it out. “Tomorrow when you begin to worry about something, instead of worrying at that moment, write down what you’re worried about on an index card and keep the card in your pocket. Each time a worry pops up, write it on the card, but don’t worry about it yet. Then about 4:00 pm, go into a room where you can be alone. Sit down, take out the card, and worry about the items as intensely as you can for thirty minutes. Start the next day with a new blank card and do the same thing. What do you think about that idea?” He stared at me in silence for several moments. “That’s got to be one of the dumbest suggestions I’ve ever heard,” he finally answered. “I can’t believe I’m paying you to hear advice like that.” I smiled and said, “Is it really much different from what you’re doing already? Your behavior tells me you like to worry, so I’m just suggesting you put it into a different time frame.” As he thought about my comment, he realized I was right: He really wanted to worry. And until he decided he didn’t want to worry, there was nothing I could do to help him. This is very important: Unless you make a value judgment on your negative behavior, you will never change. The issue parallels the question Jesus asked the lame man at the pool of Bethesda: “Do you want to become well? [Are you really in earnest about getting well]?” — , AMP You must make some conscious, honest decisions about your fear or worry. Do you like it or dislike it? Is it to your advantage or disadvantage? Is your life better with it or without it? If you’re not sure, apply the techniques in this chapter and commit yourself not to worry for a period of just two weeks. Then, from your own experience, decide whether you prefer a life of worry or a life of freedom from worry. Tell Yourself to Stop During one session of a Sunday school class I was teaching on the subject of worry, I asked the participants to report on an exercise I had suggested the previous week for kicking the worry out of their lives. One woman said she began the experiment Monday morning, and by Friday she felt the worry pattern that had plagued her for years was finally broken. What accomplished this radical improvement? It was a simple method of applying God’s Word to her life in a new way. I have shared this method with hundreds of people in my counseling office and with thousands in classes and seminars. Take a blank index card and on one side write the word STOP in large, bold letters. On the other side write the complete text of . (I especially like the Amplified Bible translation that follows. No matter which translation you use, it’s interesting to note that Paul says that God will guard our heart, but we are to guard our mind.) Keep the card with you at all times. Whenever you’re alone and begin to worry, take the card out, hold the stop side in front of you, and say aloud “Stop!” twice with emphasis. Then turn the card over and read the Scripture passage aloud twice with emphasis. “Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]. Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and model your way of living on it, and the God of peace (of untroubled, undisturbed well-being) will be with you.” (AMP) Taking the card out interrupts your thought pattern of fear and worry. Saying “Stop!” further breaks your automatic habit pattern of worry. Then reading the Word of God aloud becomes the positive substitute for worry. If you are in a group of people and begin to worry, follow the same procedure, only do it silently. The woman who shared with the class her experience with this method said that on the first day of her experiment, she took out the card twenty times during the day. But on Friday she took it out only three times. She said, “For the first time in my life, I have the hope that my worrisome thinking can be chased out of my life.” Freedom from worry is possible! It requires that you practice the diligent application of God’s Word in your life. This means repetitive behavior. If you fail the first time, don’t give up. You may have practiced fear and worry for many years, and now you need to practice consistently the application of Scripture over a long period in order to completely establish a new, fear- and worry-free pattern.

Matthew 14:22–33 KJV 1900

22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. 24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. 33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

In this passage, we find the disciples in a boat as Jesus walked toward them on the water. When Peter began to walk toward Jesus on the water, he was fine until his attention was drawn away from Jesus to the storm. Then he became afraid and started to sink.

If Peter had kept his attention upon Christ (the source of his strength and the solution to his problem), he would have been all right. But when he focused upon the wind and the waves (the problem and the negative aspect of his circumstances), he became overwhelmed by the problem, even though he could have made it safely to Jesus.

Fear and worry are like that. We focus so hard on the problem that we take our eyes off the solution and thus create more difficulties of ourselves.

We can be sustained in the midst of any difficulty by focusing our attention on the Lord and relying upon him:

—

Jeremiah 17:7–10 KJV 1900

7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” — MAKE A CHOICE NOT TO WORRY “Make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.” At the beginning of the verses from Luke is a phrase that is a command, but one that also implies that we have the capability of doing it. “Make up your mind” means we have a choice as to whether we choose to worry or choose not to worry. “Make up your mind” is translated from a Greek word that means “to premeditate.” You’ve probably heard this word used in criminal trials. If someone is accused of a premeditated crime, it means the accused thought through the crime beforehand. Choosing not to worry will take more effort and energy for some people than others, but change is possible. You and I live in an unstable world. Sometimes the stock market seems to drop several hundred points for no reason. This creates not only worry but also fear, anxiety, and panic in some people. But when we trust in the Lord (and not the stock market), we receive the blessing of stability in a fragmented world. We have the ability to be free from worry in a world where there is much to be anxious and fearful about. GIVE GOD YOUR WORRY IN ADVANCE Peter must have learned from his experience of walking on the water, because he later wrote: “Cast all your anxiety on [God] because he cares for you.” Cast means “to give up” or “to unload.” The tense of the verb here refers to a direct once-and-for-all committal to God of all anxiety or worry. We are to unload on God our tendency to worry, so that when problems arise, we will not worry about them. We can cast our worry on God with confidence, because he cares for us. He is not out to break us down but to strengthen us and to help us stand firm. He knows our limits, and “a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench” (, RSV). Isaiah rejoiced to the Lord, “You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You” (AMP). Whatever you choose to think about will either produce or dismiss feelings of anxiety and worry. Those people who suffer from fear and worry are choosing to center their minds on negative thoughts in this way. God has made the provision, but you must take the action. Freedom from fear and worry and anxiety is available, but you must lay hold of it. Center your thoughts on God, not on worry. REPLACE FRETTING WITH TRUST begins “Do not fret,” and those words are repeated later in the psalm. The dictionary defines fret as “to eat away, gnaw, gall, vex, worry, agitate, wear away.” Whenever I hear the word gnaw, I’m reminded of a scene I see each year when I hike along the Snake River in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming where colonies of beavers live along the riverbanks. Often I see trees at various stages of being gnawed to the ground by them. Other trees have several inches of bark eaten away, and some have already fallen on the ground, because the beavers have gnawed through the trunks. Worry has the same effect on us: It will gradually eat away at us until it destroys us. In addition to telling us not to fret, gives us positive substitutes for fear and worry. First, it says, “Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord” (verse 3 AMP). Trust is a matter of not attempting to live an independent life or to cope with difficulties alone. It means going to a greater source for strength. Second, verse 4 says, “Delight yourself also in the Lord” (AMP). To delight means to rejoice in God and what he has done for us, to let God supply the joy for our life. Third, verse 5 says, “Commit your way to the Lord” (AMP). Commitment is a definite act of the will, and it involves releasing our fears and worries and anxieties to the Lord. And fourth, we are to “rest in the Lord; wait for Him” (verse 7, AMP). This means to submit in silence to what he ordains, and to be ready and expectant for what he is going to do in our life. STOP WORRYING AND START PRAYING The passage in Philippians can be divided into three basic stages. We are given a premise: Stop worrying. We are given a practice: Start praying. And we are given a promise: Peace. The promise is there and available, but we must follow the first two steps in order for the third to occur. We must stop worrying and start praying if we are to begin receiving God’s peace. The results of prayer as a substitute for fear and worry can be vividly seen in a crisis in David’s life that prompted him to write (see also ). David had escaped death at the hands of the Philistines by pretending to be insane. He then fled to the cave of Adullam, along with 400 men who were described as distressed and discontented and in debt. In the midst of all this, David wrote a psalm of praise that begins: “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (, RSV). David did not say he would praise the Lord sometimes but at all times, even when his enemies were after him. How could David bless the Lord in the midst of his life-threatening experience? Because he stopped worrying and started praying: “I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears” (verse 4, RSV). David didn’t turn around and take his cares back after he had deposited them with the Lord. He gave them up. Too many people give their burdens to God with a rubber band attached. As soon as they stop praying, the problems bounce back. They pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” and as soon as they are through praying, they begin to worry where their next meal is going to come from. Another factor to notice is that God did not take David away from his problem in order to deliver him from his fears. When he wrote the , David was still hiding in the cave with 400 disgruntled men. God does not always take us out of problematic situations, but He gives us the peace we seek as we proceed prayerfully through each experience. It happened to David, and it happens today to those who pray, unload their cares on God, and leave them there. REMEMBER THAT GOD IS WITH YOU “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Through Isaiah, God tells us not to fear, and then he tells us why: “For I am with you.” There is no better reason to stop being fearful or worried than the one given here: God is with you. Dismayed here means “to gaze,” to look around in an anxious way. This word is used to describe a person who is looking around in amazement or bewilderment. It conveys the idea of being immobilized or paralyzed. You can’t make up your mind which way to turn. But once again there is a solution: God says, “I am your God.” He is with us not eight hours a day, not twelve or sixteen, but twenty-four hours each day. When he says “I will strengthen you,” he means he will make us be alert or be fortified with courage. When he says he will “help you,” the word help is used to mean “summon.” Imagine yourself surrounded by the loving arms of God. In fact each time you worry, say to yourself: I am surrounded by the loving arms of God, and see whether your fear or worry wants to stick around. The words “I will uphold you” in verse 10 mean that God will sustain us. In music, when the conductor tells singers “Sustain that note,” they keep singing it on and on until they’ve exhausted their air supply. But there is no exhaustion on God’s part in sustaining us.31 BREAK THE PATTERN Again and again the Scriptures give us the answer for fears and worries, but do you know how to break the fear and worry pattern in your own life? I’m talking about practical strategies by which you can apply the guidelines of Scripture to your specific worries. Let me share with you a few tips that others have used successfully over the years. Make a Value Judgment Let me illustrate this first suggestion for breaking the pattern by taking you into my counseling office. I was working with a man who had a roaring tendency to worry. We had talked through the reasons for his worry, and he had tried some of my suggestions for conquering his problem. But it seemed to me he was resistant to giving up his worry. (This isn’t unusual; many people have worried for so long that they have grown comfortable with their negative patterns of thinking. It’s actually all they know. They’re successful with it and are unsure they will be successful with the new style of thinking.) So one day I gave him an assignment that really caught him off guard: “It appears that worry is an integral part of your life and that you are determined to keep this tendency. But you only worry periodically throughout the day, with no real plan for worrying. So let’s set up a definite worry time for you each day, instead of spreading it out. “Tomorrow when you begin to worry about something, instead of worrying at that moment, write down what you’re worried about on an index card and keep the card in your pocket. Each time a worry pops up, write it on the card, but don’t worry about it yet. Then about 4:00 pm, go into a room where you can be alone. Sit down, take out the card, and worry about the items as intensely as you can for thirty minutes. Start the next day with a new blank card and do the same thing. What do you think about that idea?” He stared at me in silence for several moments. “That’s got to be one of the dumbest suggestions I’ve ever heard,” he finally answered. “I can’t believe I’m paying you to hear advice like that.” I smiled and said, “Is it really much different from what you’re doing already? Your behavior tells me you like to worry, so I’m just suggesting you put it into a different time frame.” As he thought about my comment, he realized I was right: He really wanted to worry. And until he decided he didn’t want to worry, there was nothing I could do to help him. This is very important: Unless you make a value judgment on your negative behavior, you will never change. The issue parallels the question Jesus asked the lame man at the pool of Bethesda: “Do you want to become well? [Are you really in earnest about getting well]?” — , AMP You must make some conscious, honest decisions about your fear or worry. Do you like it or dislike it? Is it to your advantage or disadvantage? Is your life better with it or without it? If you’re not sure, apply the techniques in this chapter and commit yourself not to worry for a period of just two weeks. Then, from your own experience, decide whether you prefer a life of worry or a life of freedom from worry. Tell Yourself to Stop During one session of a Sunday school class I was teaching on the subject of worry, I asked the participants to report on an exercise I had suggested the previous week for kicking the worry out of their lives. One woman said she began the experiment Monday morning, and by Friday she felt the worry pattern that had plagued her for years was finally broken. What accomplished this radical improvement? It was a simple method of applying God’s Word to her life in a new way. I have shared this method with hundreds of people in my counseling office and with thousands in classes and seminars. Take a blank index card and on one side write the word STOP in large, bold letters. On the other side write the complete text of . (I especially like the Amplified Bible translation that follows. No matter which translation you use, it’s interesting to note that Paul says that God will guard our heart, but we are to guard our mind.) Keep the card with you at all times. Whenever you’re alone and begin to worry, take the card out, hold the stop side in front of you, and say aloud “Stop!” twice with emphasis. Then turn the card over and read the Scripture passage aloud twice with emphasis. “Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]. Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and model your way of living on it, and the God of peace (of untroubled, undisturbed well-being) will be with you.” (AMP) Taking the card out interrupts your thought pattern of fear and worry. Saying “Stop!” further breaks your automatic habit pattern of worry. Then reading the Word of God aloud becomes the positive substitute for worry. If you are in a group of people and begin to worry, follow the same procedure, only do it silently. The woman who shared with the class her experience with this method said that on the first day of her experiment, she took out the card twenty times during the day. But on Friday she took it out only three times. She said, “For the first time in my life, I have the hope that my worrisome thinking can be chased out of my life.” Freedom from worry is possible! It requires that you practice the diligent application of God’s Word in your life. This means repetitive behavior. If you fail the first time, don’t give up. You may have practiced fear and worry for many years, and now you need to practice consistently the application of Scripture over a long period in order to completely establish a new, fear- and worry-free pattern.

MAKE A CHOICE NOT TO WORRY

Luke 21:14–15 KJV 1900

14 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: 15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

At the beginning of the verses from Luke is a phrase that is a command, but one that also implies that we have the capability of doing it. “Make up your mind” means we have a choice as to whether we choose to worry or choose not to worry. “Make up your mind” is translated from a Greek word that means “to premeditate.” You’ve probably heard this word used in criminal trials. If someone is accused of a premeditated crime, it means the accused thought through the crime beforehand. Choosing not to worry will take more effort and energy for some people than others, but change is possible.

You and I live in an unstable world. Sometimes the stock market seems to drop several hundred points for no reason. This creates not only worry but also fear, anxiety, and panic in some people. But when we trust in the Lord (and not the stock market), we receive the blessing of stability in a fragmented world. We have the ability to be free from worry in a world where there is much to be anxious and fearful about.

GIVE GOD YOUR WORRY IN ADVANCE

1 Peter 5:7 KJV 1900

7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Peter must have learned from his experience of walking on the water, because he later wrote: “Cast all your anxiety on [God] because he cares for you.” Cast means “to give up” or “to unload.” The tense of the verb here refers to a direct once-and-for-all committal to God of all anxiety or worry. We are to unload on God our tendency to worry, so that when problems arise, we will not worry about them. We can cast our worry on God with confidence, because he cares for us. He is not out to break us down but to strengthen us and to help us stand firm. He knows our limits, and “a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench” (, ).

Isaiah 42:3 KJV 1900

3 A bruised reed shall he not break, And the smoking flax shall he not quench: He shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

Isaiah rejoiced to the Lord, “You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You” (AMP). Whatever you choose to think about will either produce or dismiss feelings of anxiety and worry. Those people who suffer from fear and worry are choosing to center their minds on negative thoughts in this way. God has made the provision, but you must take the action. Freedom from fear and worry and anxiety is available, but you must lay hold of it. Center your thoughts on God, not on worry.

REPLACE FRETTING WITH TRUST

Psalm 37:1–40 KJV 1900

1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, Neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; Trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, And thy judgment as the noonday. 7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off: But those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. 10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. 11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 12 The wicked plotteth against the just, And gnasheth upon him with his teeth. 13 The Lord shall laugh at him: For he seeth that his day is coming. 14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, And to slay such as be of upright conversation. 15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, And their bows shall be broken. 16 A little that a righteous man hath Is better than the riches of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: But the Lord upholdeth the righteous. 18 The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: And their inheritance shall be for ever. 19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20 But the wicked shall perish, And the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: They shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. 21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: But the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth. 22 For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; And they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. 23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: And he delighteth in his way. 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: For the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his seed begging bread. 26 He is ever merciful, and lendeth; And his seed is blessed. 27 Depart from evil, and do good; And dwell for evermore. 28 For the Lord loveth judgment, And forsaketh not his saints; They are preserved for ever: But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell therein for ever. 30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, And his tongue talketh of judgment. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide. 32 The wicked watcheth the righteous, And seeketh to slay him. 33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand, Nor condemn him when he is judged. 34 Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, And he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. 35 I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself like a green bay tree. 36 Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. 37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: For the end of that man is peace. 38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: The end of the wicked shall be cut off. 39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: He is their strength in the time of trouble. 40 And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, because they trust in him.

begins “Do not fret,” and those words are repeated later in the psalm. The dictionary defines fret as “to eat away, gnaw, gall, vex, worry, agitate, wear away.” Whenever I hear the word gnaw, I’m reminded of a scene I see each year when I hike along the Snake River in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming where colonies of beavers live along the riverbanks. Often I see trees at various stages of being gnawed to the ground by them. Other trees have several inches of bark eaten away, and some have already fallen on the ground, because the beavers have gnawed through the trunks. Worry has the same effect on us: It will gradually eat away at us until it destroys us.

In addition to telling us not to fret, gives us positive substitutes for fear and worry.

Psalm 37:1–7 KJV 1900

1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, Neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; Trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, And thy judgment as the noonday. 7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

First, it says,

“Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord” (verse 3 AMP). Trust is a matter of not attempting to live an independent life or to cope with difficulties alone. It means going to a greater source for strength.

Second, verse 4 says,

“Delight yourself also in the Lord” (AMP). To delight means to rejoice in God and what he has done for us, to let God supply the joy for our life.

Third, verse 5 says,

“Commit your way to the Lord” (AMP). Commitment is a definite act of the will, and it involves releasing our fears and worries and anxieties to the Lord. And

fourth, we are to

“rest in the Lord; wait for Him” (verse 7, AMP). This means to submit in silence to what he ordains, and to be ready and expectant for what he is going to do in our life.

STOP WORRYING AND START PRAYING

Philippians 4:6–9 KJV 1900

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

The passage in Philippians can be divided into three basic stages.

We are given a premise: Stop worrying.

We are given a practice: Start praying.

And we are given a promise: Peace.

The promise is there and available, but we must follow the first two steps in order for the third to occur. We must stop worrying and start praying if we are to begin receiving God’s peace.

Psalm 34:1–4 KJV 1900

1 I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. 3 O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the Lord, and he heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.

The results of prayer as a substitute for fear and worry can be vividly seen in a crisis in David’s life that prompted him to write (see also ). David had escaped death at the hands of the Philistines by pretending to be insane. He then fled to the cave of Adullam, along with 400 men who were described as distressed and discontented and in debt. In the midst of all this, David wrote a psalm of praise that begins: “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (, RSV). David did not say he would praise the Lord sometimes but at all times, even when his enemies were after him.

1 Samuel 21:10–22:2 KJV 1900

10 And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 12 And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. 14 Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me? 15 Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house? 1 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him. 2 And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

Psalm 34:1 KJV 1900

1 I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

How could David bless the Lord in the midst of his life-threatening experience? Because he stopped worrying and started praying: “I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears” (verse 4, RSV). David didn’t turn around and take his cares back after he had deposited them with the Lord. He gave them up. Too many people give their burdens to God with a rubber band attached. As soon as they stop praying, the problems bounce back. They pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” and as soon as they are through praying, they begin to worry where their next meal is going to come from.

Another factor to notice is that God did not take David away from his problem in order to deliver him from his fears. When he wrote the , David was still hiding in the cave with 400 disgruntled men. God does not always take us out of problematic situations, but He gives us the peace we seek as we proceed prayerfully through each experience. It happened to David, and it happens today to those who pray, unload their cares on God, and leave them there.

REMEMBER THAT GOD IS WITH YOU

Isaiah 41:10 KJV 1900

10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: Be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Through Isaiah, God tells us not to fear, and then he tells us why: “For I am with you.” There is no better reason to stop being fearful or worried than the one given here: God is with you. Dismayed here means “to gaze,” to look around in an anxious way. This word is used to describe a person who is looking around in amazement or bewilderment. It conveys the idea of being immobilized or paralyzed. You can’t make up your mind which way to turn.

But once again there is a solution: God says, “I am your God.” He is with us not eight hours a day, not twelve or sixteen, but twenty-four hours each day. When he says “I will strengthen you,” he means he will make us be alert or be fortified with courage. When he says he will “help you,” the word help is used to mean “summon.” Imagine yourself surrounded by the loving arms of God. In fact each time you worry, say to yourself: I am surrounded by the loving arms of God, and see whether your fear or worry wants to stick around.

The words “I will uphold you” in verse 10 mean that God will sustain us. In music, when the conductor tells singers “Sustain that note,” they keep singing it on and on until they’ve exhausted their air supply. But there is no exhaustion on God’s part in sustaining us.

BREAK THE PATTERN

Again and again the Scriptures give us the answer for fears and worries, but do you know how to break the fear and worry pattern in your own life? I’m talking about practical strategies by which you can apply the guidelines of Scripture to your specific worries. Let me share with you a few tips that others have used successfully over the years.

Make a Value Judgment

Let me illustrate this first suggestion for breaking the pattern by taking you into my counseling office.

I was working with a man who had a roaring tendency to worry. We had talked through the reasons for his worry, and he had tried some of my suggestions for conquering his problem. But it seemed to me he was resistant to giving up his worry. (This isn’t unusual; many people have worried for so long that they have grown comfortable with their negative patterns of thinking. It’s actually all they know. They’re successful with it and are unsure they will be successful with the new style of thinking.)

So one day I gave him an assignment that really caught him off guard: “It appears that worry is an integral part of your life and that you are determined to keep this tendency. But you only worry periodically throughout the day, with no real plan for worrying. So let’s set up a definite worry time for you each day, instead of spreading it out.

“Tomorrow when you begin to worry about something, instead of worrying at that moment, write down what you’re worried about on an index card and keep the card in your pocket. Each time a worry pops up, write it on the card, but don’t worry about it yet. Then about 4:00 pm, go into a room where you can be alone. Sit down, take out the card, and worry about the items as intensely as you can for thirty minutes. Start the next day with a new blank card and do the same thing. What do you think about that idea?

” He stared at me in silence for several moments. “That’s got to be one of the dumbest suggestions I’ve ever heard,” he finally answered. “I can’t believe I’m paying you to hear advice like that.”

I smiled and said, “Is it really much different from what you’re doing already? Your behavior tells me you like to worry, so I’m just suggesting you put it into a different time frame.” As he thought about my comment, he realized I was right: He really wanted to worry. And until he decided he didn’t want to worry, there was nothing I could do to help him.

This is very important: Unless you make a value judgment on your negative behavior, you will never change.

The issue parallels the question Jesus asked the lame man at the pool of Bethesda:

— ,

John 5:6 KJV 1900

6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

You must make some conscious, honest decisions about your fear or worry. Do you like it or dislike it? Is it to your advantage or disadvantage? Is your life better with it or without it? If you’re not sure, apply the techniques in this chapter and commit yourself not to worry for a period of just two weeks. Then, from your own experience, decide whether you prefer a life of worry or a life of freedom from worry.

Tell Yourself to Stop

During one session of a Sunday school class I was teaching on the subject of worry, I asked the participants to report on an exercise I had suggested the previous week for kicking the worry out of their lives. One woman said she began the experiment Monday morning, and by Friday she felt the worry pattern that had plagued her for years was finally broken.

What accomplished this radical improvement? It was a simple method of applying God’s Word to her life in a new way. I have shared this method with hundreds of people in my counseling office and with thousands in classes and seminars.

Take a blank index card and on one side write the word STOP in large, bold letters.

On the other side write the complete text of . (I especially like the Amplified Bible translation that follows. No matter which translation you use, it’s interesting to note that Paul says that God will guard our heart, but we are to guard our mind.) Keep the card with you at all times. Whenever you’re alone and begin to worry, take the card out, hold the stop side in front of you, and say aloud “Stop!” twice with emphasis.

Philippians 4:6–9 KJV 1900

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Then turn the card over and read the Scripture passage aloud twice with emphasis.

Taking the card out interrupts your thought pattern of fear and worry.

Saying “Stop!” further breaks your automatic habit pattern of worry.

Then reading the Word of God aloud becomes the positive substitute for worry.

If you are in a group of people and begin to worry, follow the same procedure, only do it silently.

The woman who shared with the class her experience with this method said that on the first day of her experiment, she took out the card twenty times during the day. But on Friday she took it out only three times. She said, “For the first time in my life, I have the hope that my worrisome thinking can be chased out of my life.”

Freedom from worry is possible!

It requires that you practice the diligent application of God’s Word in your life.

This means repetitive behavior. If you fail the first time, don’t give up.

You may have practiced fear and worry for many years, and now you need to practice consistently the application of Scripture over a long period in order to completely establish a new, fear- and worry-free pattern.

Psalm 37:1–40 KJV 1900

1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, Neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; Trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, And thy judgment as the noonday. 7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off: But those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. 10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. 11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 12 The wicked plotteth against the just, And gnasheth upon him with his teeth. 13 The Lord shall laugh at him: For he seeth that his day is coming. 14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, And to slay such as be of upright conversation. 15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, And their bows shall be broken. 16 A little that a righteous man hath Is better than the riches of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: But the Lord upholdeth the righteous. 18 The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: And their inheritance shall be for ever. 19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20 But the wicked shall perish, And the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: They shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. 21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: But the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth. 22 For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; And they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. 23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: And he delighteth in his way. 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: For the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his seed begging bread. 26 He is ever merciful, and lendeth; And his seed is blessed. 27 Depart from evil, and do good; And dwell for evermore. 28 For the Lord loveth judgment, And forsaketh not his saints; They are preserved for ever: But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell therein for ever. 30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, And his tongue talketh of judgment. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide. 32 The wicked watcheth the righteous, And seeketh to slay him. 33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand, Nor condemn him when he is judged. 34 Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, And he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. 35 I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself like a green bay tree. 36 Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. 37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: For the end of that man is peace. 38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: The end of the wicked shall be cut off. 39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: He is their strength in the time of trouble. 40 And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, because they trust in him.

Wright, H. Norman. Overcoming Fear And Worry (pp. 89-112). Aspire Press. Kindle Edition.