Midweek: Healing Anxiety Through Repentance

Two weeks ago, I wrote a post about anxiety. In it I mentioned the boundaries God has established through His commandments, boundaries which keep us safe. Easy to see how a child needs to be protected from the dangers of the world (Children, Chainsaws, and Anxiety), but adults rarely like admitting they are ill-equipped or under-equipped for life. We're adults! We're supposed to know these things, right? Not to mention, who's gonna tell us? We're grown! That's why children have a much better reception rate when it comes to the gospel than adults: we don't like to be told what to do and we certainly don't believe there's anyone out there qualified to do so.

Last week's post about anxiety focused on time, one of the elements of life that seems to stimulate anxiety in Americans, especially. Deadlines, waiting, too little time or too much seems to set our hearts to racing and our palms to sweating. Have you ever seen anyone get apoplectic over a tape measure or a set of measuring spoons? Of course not! It's understood those are just devices for quantifying things. Time is no different. There is, however, a big difference in using a clock and being ruled by it.

biblehub.com says of "The Nature of Anxiety in Scripture":

Anxiety involves an inner sense of fear, pressure, or unease, often triggered by uncertainty about life’s circumstances, the future, or personal well-being. In Scripture, this experience is not ignored or trivialized; rather, it is addressed compassionately and directly. Whether one looks at the Old Testament or the New, the Bible consistently teaches that anxiety can be overcome by renewed trust in God’s character and promises.

The Bible acknowledges the problem of anxiety! Psalm 38:18 (AMP) says, 

For I do confess my guilt and iniquity; I am filled with anxiety because of my sin.

Filled with anxiety! Why? Because of sin. Because the guilt of it is weighing me down. Because it is not providing the relief I expected. Because my own sin has turned on me and made matters worse. Because it has become a habit I cannot sustain. Because it has become an addiction I cannot kick. Anxiety will take its pound of flesh and then some, but we permit it to do so when we entertain and conceal sin. Philippians 4:6, 7 command us to not be anxious. Instead, it says, talk to God, give thanks, ask for His help, and receive His peace. Matthew 6:25-34 tells us to stop worrying about things like food and clothing. Our Heavenly Father knows the needs of His children. Our objective each and every day is to obey; to serve Him, bring Him glory, abide in Christ; putting Him first, seeking Him most.

Psalm 32:1-5 remind us of the consequences of sin in our bodies and the freedom we can know when we confess what God already knows:

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,

And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

When I kept silent, my bones grew old

Through my groaning all the day long.

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;

My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah

I acknowledged my sin to You,

And my iniquity I have not hidden.

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

I would encourage you, if you are struggling with anxiety to submit your thoughts, your words, your behaviors past and present to the Lord for examination. He is a just judge, He knows us intimately, and He loves us enough to give His life for us. As sins of commission or omission are revealed, I would encourage you to ask His forgiveness and repent of those things. Anxiety has no foothold in the presence of the Prince of Peace.