We are living in a fallen world surrounded by darkness all around, filled with disease, lack and evil and the Sovereign God is the only One who can preserve us for His kingdom.
Overcoming Anxiety
The spread of Corona virus and large number of deaths in some countries is a
cause of great anxiety for personal safety and well being of our near and dear
ones. But are believers, who are blessed with power from God, are also helpless
in this situation? We are filled with grace and power from God to be able to
take on the trials and tribulations that we face in our daily living and we
must learn to use that to overcome the anxiety of present day crisis also.
What is our responsibility in such a situation? – Lord Jesus
described the believers as ‘salt of the earth’ and ‘light of the world’ and
this defines our role in times of distress and fear all around (Matthew
5:13-14). Apostle Paul founded the Philippians church while facing great opposition,
their clothes were torn on the orders of the magistrate and he and Silas were
beaten with rods, put into inner prison and their feet put in stocks. But at
midnight, they were found ‘praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners
were listening to them’ (Acts 16:6-40). The salt preserves and the light
dispels darkness. The prisoners must have wondered, what sort of men are these
that even after suffering so much, they were praising God in the deep darkness
of the inner prison chambers. Their faith demonstrated in this manner resulted
in their chains being removed and all doors opened. The chains of every
prisoner were removed not only these two but no one moved out and the jailor
and his family were baptized and many others were saved.
The believers in the Philippians church must have wondered about their future
and financial security because of such opposition from others and likelihood of
political and religious persecution. Some who were faint hearted might have
returned to their previous life styles. Apostle Paul first himself set an
example for everyone and then advised them, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always. Again
I will say rejoice’. It is not about good times only and then he commands us,
‘Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand’. Let your light,
the light of the Gospel within you, shine on others so that they also yearn to
know about this source of peace within you (Philippians 4:4-6). Job reacted to
his wife’s reaction, ‘Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not
accept adversity?’ (Job 2:10). Does adversity come upon us only because of our
sinful living? No, Job did not sin but was tested for his faith and emerged
victorious to receive double of everything that he had before.
Apostle Paul advises the church, ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but
in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known to God’ (Philippians 4:6). Let nothing worry you and Greek word used
here means ‘distract or divided’. So we must not let this turn us away from
God. God promises to protect and His ‘truth shall be your shield and buckler’
and no pestilence of day or night will affect you though ‘a thousand may fall
at your side and ten thousand at your right hand’ (Psalm 91:4-7). Apostle
Paul’s advice to the church goes further, ‘in everything’ good or difficult
circumstances ‘by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests
known to God’. Supplication as per Greek word ‘deesis’ is a ‘heartfelt
petition’, thus implying that your prayers must be specific and from deep
within the heart, not only for yourself but also for others. We must express
gratitude to God in our prayers for hearing us and answering us in the best way
for us.
Moses told the Israelites to diligently heed the voice of the LORD your
God and none of the diseases which were brought on the Egyptians will affect
you for ‘I am the LORD who heals you’ (Exodus 15:26). Apostle Paul similarly
assured the Philippians church that God’s promise will then come true and peace
of God which is beyond our understanding will ‘guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus’. Lord Jesus has promised ‘Peace I leave with
you, My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not
your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid’ (John 14:27). When we move in
His peace we become light and salt of the world in true sense by helping others
find peace through our words of love and prayers.
Why does anxiety/fear affect us? – Was Apostle Paul right when he wrote his
letter to the Philippians to be ‘anxious for nothing’? Believers are as much
affected by fear and anxiety as anyone else and we are left wondering about
this. God is well aware of fear ruling our hearts for this is the first emotion
after commission of sin of disobedience by Adam and Eve. The first affect of
fear is that it isolates us from others for we are unable to share our fears
with others for various reasons. Adam’s answer to God was ‘I heard, I was
afraid’ while Eve was also with him and he was not alone. Apostle Paul’s words
to the Philippians are not about being done and forgotten but in the present
active tense meaning to say, ‘Do not let anything in life leave you perpetually
breathless and buried in anxiety’. Presence of anxiety and prison of anxiety
are different, do not be imprisoned for the Lord has set us free by the
abundance of His grace.
The
Scriptural commands to fight fear – The most repeated commands in the
Scripture and their purpose must be understood for us and what does God expect
from us through these and these are more needed in times of fear and anxiety.
First, ‘Praise the Lord’ and it is not about shouting aloud – The Lord said,
‘Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their
lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me’ (Isaiah 29:13). God wants us
to know Him through what He has revealed to us about Himself and then find some
particular aspect of His love and glory that produces awe filled automatic
praise. Such delight filled praise not only pleases God but will also point
others to the same glory and delight.
Second,
‘Do not fear’ and in this God wants us to meditate on some promise He
has made in the Scripture until the fear melts away and courage rises. Apostle
Paul’s words of praise are that God is ‘Father of mercies and God of all
comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to
comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves
are comforted by God’ (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). So as we receive, we give to
others.
Third, ‘Rejoice’ – God is telling us to be happy, for nothing
can separate us from His love for is in His Son and that He will work all
things for our good (Romans 8:38-39 & 28). Further, that He will rescue us
from every evil work and preserve us for His kingdom while we must rest in His
Sovereign control (2 Timothy 4:18).
Four,
‘Give Thanks’ – God wants us to look beyond our frustrations, anger,
grief, discouragement and depressions ( all these are types of the same emotion
only) and look towards His grace (2 Corinthians 9:8). When we see this, our
focus shifts to be grateful for what He has done and we are filled with renewed
hope in Him.
When we look at God through these changed eyes, we are filled with hope and joy
and we cry out, ‘Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be
acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer’ (Psalm 19:14).
It is because our focus is generally on the depth of the water that we are
walking on and the storms that surround us rather than on God whose hand helps
us do all this that we start drowning. In times of anxiety and fear, when
people are hiding behind masks which in any case are of no use in checking spread
of the virus except in the case of the ones who are infected, our role is to
get closer to God, especially when Sunday Church service has also been
curtailed. Joshua believed God and could then overcome his fear to lead his
people into the Promised Land and God honored every request that he made. He
could then declare that ‘as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD’
(Joshua 24:15).
Are we willing to make such commitment to God and not look at the present
circumstances so that we can then receive and continue in all the blessings
that God has promised. We are given to understand that a believers life would
be filled with joy but that is not so. When we join God’s family in faith we
need to be prepared to be used in the same way that He used His only Begotten
Son. The first disciples understood this and lived, suffered extreme situations
and died in faith.
What should be our priorities in the present circumstances? – Almost midway
in His ministry, many followers left Lord Jesus. On being asked whether they
also want to leave, Apostle Peter’s reply has to be our reply also, ‘Lord, to
whom shall we go. You have the words of eternal life’ (John 6:66-69). The
isolation caused due to Corona Virus is a time for us to rework on our
priorities in life. In His Son God says yes to us through His promises
and in the Lord we say our yes to God the Father through our prayers.
The
first aspect is about prayer in following the footsteps of our Savior
Lord who ‘having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed
to a solitary place, and there He prayed’ (Mark 1:35). The Church services have
been suspended and this is the time to strengthen our personal relationship
with God. Lord Jesus often prayed alone, ‘He Himself often withdrew into the
wilderness and prayed’ (Luke 5:16). Apostle Paul immediately after his
encounter with the Savior Lord, went into Arabia, probably to pray and meditate
on the word of God in the Old testament to receive guidance from the Holy
Spirit (Galatians 1:17). The Son of God prayed all night (Luke 6:12); He prayed
with others, Apostle Peter, John and James, quite often (Luke 9:28); He prayed
for others (John 17:9); He prayed according to the will of His Father (Matthew
26:39) and He taught us specifically that we, ‘should always pray and not lose
heart’ (Luke 18:1). Worship and prayer with the whole family is the answer in
such difficult times.
Second, strengthen family bonds that had been reduced to Hi and Bye due to
our busy schedules. Praying together as a family has many benefits; it helps in
easing tensions, develops relational closeness while bringing a sense of a unit
together, it heals and helps in overcoming past hurts, protects and strengthens
communication between members and develops intimacy through sharing of fears
and anxieties. However, being together for long periods can also cause
unnecessary friction through the sense of being stuck and needs to be handled
with care.
Third,
solitude and withdrawing into retreat to be alone with God – Lord
Jesus would ‘often slip away to the wilderness to pray’ (Luke 5:16). This was a
period of communing with God to give rest to the body and soul for He would
take His disciples to ‘a deserted place to rest a while’ (Mark 6:31). We should
also follow the Lord’s example to find solitude while being together with
others.
Four, meditation by focusing on specific verses of Scripture, nature or an event
in life and seek God’s guidance through it. Scripture call for us is to
‘meditate on God’s Word day and night (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2). King David told
God, ‘When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the watches of the
night’ (Psalm 63:6). Take time to listen to Your Father
Corrie ten Boom noted, ‘If you look at the world, you will be distressed. If
you look within, you will be depressed, but if you look at Christ, you will be
at rest’. Remain focused on Lord Jesus and what He has done in the past
in your life, what He is ready to do now and develop a faith and hope filled
future in the Lord.
Periods of fear, anxiety and suffering will always change you, for better or
for worse, according to what you decide to do. Apostle Paul’s advice to
believers is, ‘we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces
endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and
hope does not put us to shame, because the love of God is poured out in our
hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us’ (Romans 5:3-5).
But
how do we find hope in suffering? – I must not be tied to a specific
outcome and I must remember that all things work out for the good of those who
love God, though what is God’s good may not be as per my request ((Romans
8:28). Being burdened by suffering up to the point of despairing for life
itself can strengthen our faith to depend on God and not on ourselves (2
Corinthians 1:8-9).
We must necessarily take some definite measures to overcome
anxiety. First, recognize how little worry can help you; second, recognize
the harm that worry can and will cause; third, differentiate between worry and
concern for concern motivates for action while worry keeps us stuck in the
problem; four, identify the triggers of worry in your life, understand and
guard against that; five, decide your best option for how you respond to a
situation depends on you – seek God’s intervention through prayer; six, trust
God to deal with your situation, confess your worries to God and ask Him for
faith, healing and strength; seven, deal with your anxieties and change them
through guidance of the Holy Spirit; eight, develop healthy lifestyle habits –
eat balanced meals, do not smoke or drink alcohol but drink lot of water and
exercise regularly; nine, look beyond your circumstances to God who is in
control and ready to help those who seek His help; ten, remember the Lord’s
words, (Mark 9:23) ‘all things are possible for him who believes’; eleven, live
in the moment and be happy while ‘thanking God in all circumstances’
Remember that our fight is not against ‘flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,
against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places’ and only God and
His weapons of warfare can work (Ephesians 6:12). When we cannot understand
anything about the situation prevailing around us, whether affecting us
directly or not, we are likely to be anxious. But when we surrender to our
fears and anxieties we are likely to attract the evil to us for ‘the devil is
on the lookout’ and he will pounce on the fearful first. Surrender to God and
seek His help for ‘He cares for His people’!