May 14, 2011 - Anxiety: Freedom from Fear - Anxiety can waste our time and energy and keep us from doing things we want and need to do. Yet Jesus tells us to “be anxious for nothing”. So why do some of us find this so hard to do? How can we help those “in the anxiety trap”? Come hear about ways God can set you and those you care about free from anxiety. To download a brochure with registration form click here Anxiety: Freedom from Fear or for more information contact Marlene in our office by calling 603-642-6700 or Emailing her at nchcevents@yahoo.com
My name is Kristen Smith and I have dealt with every possible anxiety symptom there is. From the time I was five I have battled anxiety and depression. Sometimes the two are very closely linked. Some just deal with depression, but I have found for me that depression is a product of the anxiety itself. Now, while I realize many deal with depression, I am mostly going to focus on the concerns of anxiety. Stress is also a very close cousin of anxiety and I will be dealing with that also. Now, like most disorders, anxiety has many forms and no two people are exactly alike. Everyone deals with it differently. We all have different backgrounds, causes, triggers, coping measures and symptoms. But the healing process is the same.
I n my journey toward healing, I have tried many methods. I have read books, taken classes, seen therapists, taken medications, prayed, meditated on scripture, researched, seen doctors etc. everything. I did everything I knew to do and was willing to try anything to get better. I bet I’ve used at least 100 sources in my quest. I remember telling someone I would be willing to cut off my right arm to never deal with this again. But God gave me my right arm and wasn’t going to let me spare it. Then I couldn’t teach this class or write or wash my left arm. And we know that God equips the called, not always calling the equipped. Amen?
One of the most upsetting struggles in my walk was the lack of understanding in the Christian community. In a perfect world God is all we need, and He is. His Word should be enough to heal every ailment. Faith should be enough to calm your every storm. While I knew this to true, it was not enough to help me. Usually, the spiritual solution left me feeling defeated. My faith wasn’t strong enough, I didn’t believe enough, I didn’t read enough, and I wasn’t a good enough Christian. I will never overcome because I am defective. Now, I know in my heart these thoughts are not true, but when you are in a constant state of anxiety you cannot see the truth. You cannot feel the truth. Confusion reigns supreme for the sufferer.
God showed me one day, through a program, Attacking Anxiety and Depression by Lucinda Bassett and the Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety, that there was practical and medical knowledge I desperately needed if I was to overcome this disorder. It was a 15 week study and it gave me tools I use to this day. The course has been invaluable. I believe that the Lord lead me to that program. I also read Joyce Meyer’s Be Anxious for Nothing and In Pursuit of Peace 21 Ways to Conquer Anxiety, Fear and Discontentment. These programs have workbooks and CD’s and DVD’s. I filled my mind with all the truth I could get, and strengthened with the practical, I found a new way of living and thinking. Everyone deals with feelings of anxiety at some point in their lives. Whether getting married, starting a new job, having a baby, or buying a house. Anxiety can just seem like worry or stress. Your life can be overwhelming at times. You feel you cannot handle the situation your in. Anxiety is different. It is a disorder (not a mental illness) where the worry is persistent and habitual. You feel you have no control over it. Your thoughts become unrealistic and hyper focused. You obsess. The anxiety interferes with every area of your life and hinders you from functioning normally. Anxiety disorders can involve physical symptoms, panic attacks, insomnia, and a whole list of uncomfortable conditions. Many of these thoughts and reactions are habits. Habits can be broken and replaced with new coping skills and new ways of thinking. How we think is a direct cause of most of all anxiety.
The Bible says a lot about worry, anxiety and fear. Jesus knew this would be one of man’s greatest struggles. We know that this is not what God meant for His people. Anxiety is not a normal condition for the believer. In 2 Timothy 1:7 it says- “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but He has given us a spirit of power, and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.”
We’ve heard many scriptures in the Word about fear and anxiety, but haven’t learned “how” to apply this to our lives. In that last verse it talks about self-control. Self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. God knew that we would need self-control to overcoming anxiety, because we have to learn to control our thoughts, our vain imaginations and strongholds that exalt themselves above the knowledge of Christ. This class will hopefully show you how to do that and learn new skills in helping you have that “mind of Christ” the Word speaks of.
When Jesus left, He said,
“Peace I leave with you; My own peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled neither let them be afraid. Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.”
Jesus left His peace. He didn’t say He left us money, or super powers, or perfect minds and bodies-He left His peace. Peace can govern your heart so that you are able to do all that God has called you to do. Peace is the opposite of anxiety. Peace is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit and so we know it can be cultivated in us. We know as long as we are in the world we will have trials, but we also know “He has overcome the world”, John 16:33. We can have the “peace that passes understanding”, because the Bible says so.
I’m here to teach you how to you that. I myself, am not perfected, but some of the skills I have learned are life long. The new habits I have enable me to know I will not be overcome. You too can overcome anxiety and walk in peace. You should be proud of yourself for taking this first step toward healing. In the weeks to come you will be on a journey that may be hard at times, but well worth it. So, let’s get to getting’.
butterfly photos by Kristen Smith
butterfly photos by Kristen Smith
