The Word of God tells us in Philippians 4:6(NLT), “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” This verse is so simple and wonderful that many of us won’t let ourselves trust it. Our Heavenly Father tells us not to worry about ANYTHING! That includes relationships, or the lack thereof. It includes finances, health, or any stresses we might encounter. Even when it’s right down to the wire, and we don’t know how we’re going to make it another day, our Heavenly Father tells us to give it all to Him in prayer, and then thank Him and trust His faithfulness to His promises. This is the very least we can do to show God that we’re not just believing to get back to the place we used to be, we’re believing that He’ll take us even higher.
Anxiety affects our faith
2Corinthians 13:5 (NIV) tells us, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you–unless, of course, you fail the test?” Because of what our Lord and Savior accomplished on the Cross of Calvary; we have received all spiritual blessings, and one of those blessings is faith. When it comes to exercising our faith, it is not enough for a person to simply say they have faith. Our confession must be backed up with action. James 2:26 says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Just as positive actions and good works enforces our faith, worry and anxiety enforce our fear.
Anxiety is defined as our body’s natural response to the stresses of life. It is a feeling of fear about what might happen. By its very definition, we know that anxiety is on the opposite side of faith.
Accepting the gift of salvation requires that we make Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives. He’s the head, and this is a role that cannot be shared or divided; it must be fully occupied by the Lord Jesus Christ. He tells us as much in Matthew 6:24. In this verse, Jesus said no person can serve two masters, we will either hate one and love the other or vice versa. Jesus has given us a foundational truth about how God has created human beings. All of us will serve a master, and we each must make a choice about who and what will govern our lives. The ambivalence argument won’t hold water. There’s no in-between stuff with God. We’re either all in with Him through Christ or not. This is a choice all of us must make.
One of the ways that we demonstrate our faith in God through the Lord Jesus Christ is with our emotions. God has told us to take authority over our emotions through prayer, faith, and gratitude. Our Heavenly Father is very patient with us throughout our lives, and He loves us very much, and this is why our faith is so important to Him. Anxiety is a natural response to stressful situations. For a lot of us, it’s the go-to response, but God has commanded us to be governed by the Spirit of Christ within. This means that despite what our body is telling us to feel, we continue to confess our faith in the promises of God and choose to allow our actions to follow our faith and not our fear.
Going Higher
The place that God is leading us to is one where we are firmly anchored in the practice of walking in the authority of Jesus Christ. We’re learning to do this more each day! It is a spiritual lesson that cannot be skipped. If you look back over your life in recent years, I’m sure you will agree that you are not the person you used to be. You have grown as a person of faith. It is likely that the things that used to shake you to your core no longer affect you in the same way. This is because your experience in life has taught you that God will not leave you or forsake you. Sure, things were difficult, but He brought you through some of the toughest times of your life. He did it before, and He’ll continue to do it. Each time that we face a new challenge, it should be a signal to us that our faith is getting ready to grow and expand.
The goal is that anxiety and fear will have less and less of a hold on our mind and emotions as we mature in Christ. We cannot forget the lesson of gratitude that Philippians 4:6 teaches us. To pray to God in faith is to make a shift in our attitude. It is to switch off an attitude of stress and worry, and switch on an attitude of faith. This is us telling our emotions and feelings that Christ is in charge, not them. It’s taking authority over our flesh. Heavenly Father backs us when we take this posture and remain anchored in Him. He tells us in Hebrews 11:6 that He will reward our diligent effort to seek Him through faith.
Speak up and thank Him
Heavenly Father commands us straightforwardly to tell Him what we need. In many cases, anxiety can prevent us from being clear about what we need. Worry causes further stress on the body and on our minds, and it can hinder our ability to think clearly about a situation. Furthermore, anxiety can rob us of the opportunity to focus the brunt of our energy on giving God the thanks He so overwhelmingly deserves. We can’t be thankful and worry at the same time. We do ourselves a world of good to let the peace of God rest, rule, and abide in our hearts so that we are clear in our prayers and clear in our gratitude to Him.
Romans 8:28 NLT says ” And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Know this, you have been called for a divine purpose, and no matter what the source of your worry or anxiety this very moment, God has already factored it into the victory that will most assuredly be yours. You will be triumphant! You will be successful, and you will rise to a new place in Christ that will be nothing short of glorious. God is taking you higher!
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“He’s Taking You Higher”, written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.