The Remedy For Anxiety

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, also believe in me. – John 14:1

The problem of anxiety

The topic of anxiety has unfortunately become such a huge issue in our generation. Many find themselves the victims of anxiety to varying degrees. God in his infinite wisdom knew that there is no human that is immune to some sort of anxiety, in fact, the words anxious/ anxiety are mentioned numerous times in the Bible (Phil 4:6, Isaiah 41:10, John 14:1, Matt 6:25-34). 

I used to be a very anxious person so much, and I didn’t even like going to church. I would have to remind myself that I was there for God to get myself out of the door and rush home once the Pastor had uttered his last word. I have found the Word of God to be such a beautiful remedy when things are overwhelming. God doesn’t want us to feel anxious. Anxiety is not from Him and He constantly tells us to cast this burden on Him. 

For God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power love and a sound mind.

Timothy 1:7

In this article, I want to share the remedy for anxiety from a spiritual lens. It is also useful to add that, anxiety is not always spiritual, sometimes it is what we are eating, a hormonal imbalance, too much time on social media etc.

Rest

Our fear of what life will bring can lead us into a state of anxiety. Healthline defines anxiety as “a feeling of fear or apprehension about what’s to come.” We worry about success, marriage, family and so much more but in the midst of hustle culture I put forward the idea of rest.  One of my favourite analogies for life is that the Holy Spirit is like a GPS so whenever you take a wrong turn, the Holy Spirit will re-route you to your destination (God’s will for your life). Terms and conditions apply though, you can’t turn off the phone and still expect to get to the right destination, the same way you can not turn away from the voice of the Holy Spirit and still hope to make it to God’s will. You are God’s child and His beloved child at that, access the free gift of rest God has made available to you. 

And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. 

Luke 12:7

Rest in God, don’t feel like you have to control everything instead surrender your life to God and let Him have His way. So if God has clothed the meadow with hay, which is here for such a short time and then dried up and burned, won’t he provide for you the clothes you need—you of little faith? (Matt 6:28-31) 

If you are going to pray don’t worry, if you are going to worry don’t pray. Learn how to rest in God. 

Worship

In the words of Pastor Mike Todd – Worship is our weapon. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal (2 Corinthians 10:4) Sometimes we have to let the mountain of anxiety know exactly who our God is. When it comes to anxiety it is time to fix your eyes on Jesus and let worship be our weapon. Taking your eyes off your problems and putting them on God allows you to acknowledge that you are not strong enough to handle your problems by yourself. You have someone so much stronger behind you to hold you up! Lean into that!

“What you seek is what you find” – HB Charles. Seek first the Kingdom of God and all other things will be added on to you (Matthew 6:33) and that includes peace of mind. H.B Charles eloquently said, “Don’t let legitimate concern, turn to sinful anxiety which then turns to you neglecting God.” Seek God ultimately and practically, let Him take His rightful place as God and the idol of fear and worry will fade away.

To conclude, I put forward two antidotes. Rest and Worship. Let God be God and Let God Be First.