Anxiety and Worry

Anxiety and Worry are both attacks on the mind intended to distract us from serving the Lord. The enemy also uses both of these torments to press our faith down, so it cannot rise up and help us live in victory. Some people have such a problem with worry that it might even be an addiction. If they do not have something of their own to worry about, they'll worry over someone else's situation. If you constantly worry about something, you'll never enjoy the peace that Jesus died for you to have. It is absolutely impossible to worry and live in peace at the same time. Peace is not something that can be put on a person; it is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), and fruit is the result of abiding in the vine (John 15:4). Abiding relates to entering the "rest of God" spoken of in Hebrews 4 as well as other places in the bible. There are several words in the Bible that refer to worry, depending on what translation you are reading: words like "fret not", "take no thought", "be careful for nothing", "cast all your cares"..etc. Webster's dictionary defines worry as: to feel uneasy or troubled, to cause to feel anxious, distressed, a source of nagging concern, to torment oneself with disturbing thoughts. One definition that really hit home for me: to seize by the throat with teeth and shake or mangle, as one animal does another, or to harass by repeated biting and snapping!!! Now, this is definitely an attack from Satan upon the mind. There are certain things the believer is instructed to do with the mind, and the enemy wants to make sure that they are never done. So the intention is to keep the mental arena busy enough with the wrong kinds of thinking so that the mind never gets around to being used for the purpose for which God designed it. Worry certainly never makes anything better, so why not give it up? When worry comes, speak the Word of God out of your mouth. It is a two-edged sword that must be wielded against the enemy (Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 6:17). God has given us His word, use it! Counter the enemy's attacks with the same weapon that Jesus used: THE WORD!