About 2 years ago, it seemed like every book I was picking up was about anxiety or depression. What I soon came to realize is that I was dealing with some of those issues in my own life. No matter how much I was trying to hide it, those closest to me either saw it or were the recipients of my actions because of it.
One of the most powerful books I read during that season, was a book called “Attacking Anxiety” by Shawn Johnson. Shawn is the pastor of a large church in Denver, Colorado called Red Rocks Church. He wrote the book by the leading of the Holy Spirit to share his experiences with anxiety and depression. A battle that almost caused him to not just walk away from ministry, but to end it all.
What I got out of that book in that season of my life, is that I personally can be guilty of some of the same issues that he was dealing with. That although I try to put on a mask of confidence and having it together, I too struggle with having my down moments and allowing the issues of the day to take over at times. We can all admit that we don’t have it together all the time.
Romans 15:13 (ESV) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Hope is powerful word and one that is all throughout our bibles. The word HOPE appears 130 times in the bible. In contrast, hell is only mentioned 66 times in the entire bible. That should give us some clue about how important hope is to your life.
Paul is declaring in this scripture that we serve a God of Hope. He has the ability to fill your life with all joy and peace that comes from belief. Through the Holy Spirit we can abound in hope.
In reality, our hope is found in freedom. A freedom that comes from a relationship with God. I am not talking about saying the one prayer that makes you saved. We are talking a relationship built on spending time with the God of Hope. We find rest and peace when we are with him.
Psalm 23 tells us that the God of Hope is our shepherd and because of that, we will have want. That He leads us to places of refreshment, peace, provision for my life. Even if I’m in a place where death abounds, I should fear no evil, because the God of Hope is with us.
Anxiety is a tool of the enemy that is all about stealing your hope. Once your hope is gone, peace and joy go with it. It will lead you to a place of darkness. That is the goal of the enemy.
John 10:10 (ESV) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
The enemy of your soul wants to steal your joy and peace, but it takes away your hope and puts you into bondage. But the God of Hope brings us life! He gives us that life and hope through freedom!
Galatians 5:1 (ESV) For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
This freedom that has set us free has power to change your life. But you also have responsibility in this freedom. That is to stand firm and resist the bondage again.
A few years back, there was a national story that was turned into a Netflix series. The series was called “The Making of a Murderer.” It was all about a man named Steve Avery that had been falsely accused of assaulting a woman. He was imprisoned for 18 years for this crime. Later it was proven he didn’t commit it. So he was released. Yet in just 2 short years later, he would find himself back in prison. This time for murder.
The problem with Steven Avery was that although he had set free from incarceration, he didn’t know how to live free.
You and I have been set free as children of God, but that doesn’t mean that we know how to live free. That happens to so many of us in our lives. It's not about what we want to do, but when those moments of anxiety come, and they will come, how we react in them. It's about the voices and the direction our minds want to take us in.
Christian freedom is costly. It cost God something and it will cost you something as well. But too often we surrender this freedom by stepping into religious ways that are just works of righteousness. Our lives start to become about the approval of others more than the approval of God.
When we do that, we put ourselves into a slavery mindset. We become slaves to religion once again. That slavery is having a form of Godliness but at the same time denying the very power of God.
God’s word has promised us that we are saved, forgiven, made perfect in God’s sight. It's not about our works or our perfection that set us free. We cannot do enough to be free. You and I were set free so that we can experience freedom. You are set free so that you can live free! We are set free eternally so that you can live in freedom in the here and now!
Why is it difficult to live in freedom? The truth is that sometimes the fact that we have Jesus in our lives and still feel messed up, makes it worse for us. We can’t understand why we're not further along in our journey.
In that bondage, we will begin self-medicate. I learned a few years ago, that pain killers don't actually kill pain. They just send different signals to our brain to confuse it so you don't notice the pain. That’s what happens for us mentally at time, we do things to mask the pain of bondage until healing take place. The problem is that we become addicted to the pain killer. This happens both spiritually and physically.
God wants you to experience real peace, joy, purpose, confidence, protection and victory in your life…not just a placebo or fake alternative for those things. You need to understand that God wants you to truly live free. He didn’t send his son to die only to give you a get a jail free card. He son died on the cross so you could be more and live life to it’s fullest.
If you and I are going to learn to walk in freedom, we have to learn to fight back! Remember Galatians 5:1 said to STAND FIRM. Fighting takes effort.
In the Old Testament, the children of Israel were given the promised land, but that didn’t mean that there would not be battles. I think that the lie of the enemy to us as Christians is that somehow when we face difficulties it is a result of us not being enough.
Joshua 1:3 (ESV) Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.
They were given a promise, but they would fight 31 different battles to take the land that was given to them. You and I have to start this battle of fighting against anxiety by understanding that if we resist the enemy, he will flee, but resistance is a fight. It’s not just passive resistance. It will mean going to battle at times for peace.
God will give you promises in your life. But the way He does it many time is that He will equip us for the battle and then expect us to go fight for the thing that He has given us.
To attack anxiety, we need understand that attacking has meaning. Attacking defined means:
launching or engaging in a military or violent attack
make a forceful attempt to score or gain advantage
One thing that I have learned in a lot of the reading and study I have done for my life is that anxiety is real. It has physical and mental ramifications. You can’t escape the damage that it will do to your life over time.
“As long as you keep secrets and suppress information-you are fundamentally at war with yourself…the critical issue is allowing yourself to know what you know. That takes an enormous amount of courage.” (The Body Keeps Score, Van Der Kolk)
You need to know today that you are not broken just because you have had bouts with anxiety and depression. But to move forward, you have to admit that you are battling with it. If not, the consequences will begin to mount up in your life.
The CDC says that nearly 50% of all Americans will be diagnosed with mental health disorder or issues in their lifetime. And that mental illnesses, such as depression, is the 3rd most common cause of hospitalization in the United States for people between the ages of 18-44.
You know what that means? It means that everywhere you go, you will encounter someone that is struggling in these areas of their life.
There are three things that you need to KNOW when it comes to attacking the anxiety you may be dealing with.
They are:
You are not crazy
You are not alone
This will end, will not last forever
For the remember of this blog post, we will deal with the first thing you need to know...
YOU NEED TO KNOW YOU ARE NOT CRAZY!
Anxiety is real and all of us deal with it. Anxiety comes from various sources. I want to hear me out today…YOU CAN AND WILL MAKE IT THROUGH THIS SEASON!
Your are not crazy, anxiety comes to us all . And there are real things that cause it in our lives. Anxiety can come from:
Past Abuse (when you been through something, it doesn’t much to trigger a response in your body and mind)
Current Pressures can trigger anxiety…these pressures can be both good and bad (Not all anxiety is destructive)
Self-Inflected pressures
Chemical Imbalance (there can be physical issues that cause you to be anxious)
It's important to acknowledge what you are feeling in the moment if you are going to conquer it. We can’t act like it doesn’t exist or it only happens to other people. You are not crazy to have those feelings!
But you need to understand that you have been given the tools to win! The book of revelation tells us about those that would overcome the enemy in the end times, and it has a important bit of information that even applies for us today.
Revelation 12:11 (ESV) And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
The 2 tools that helped them overcome, is the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. The blood of the lamb is what brings the remission of sin in your life. It has bought your forgiveness and set you free. You are no longer under the bondage of sin!
But it goes one step further...the word of their testimony. This is the declaration of what God has done in your life. By remembering what He has done in your life, it will sustain you and strengthen you as the bad moments come.
When you feel those moments of anxiety coming up in your life, don’t write it off as something to be ashamed of or times to recluse. It is time to attack back. To go on the offensive. You have two choices in your life when it comes to the battles that you will face. You can play to win, or you can play not to lose. They are two different mindsets.
Hebrews 4:16 (ESV) Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
You have a tool at your disposal in times of need. You have the ability to draw near the throne of grace. That means that you can come to God. He will give you exactly what you need in your time of need.
You're not crazy. Anxiety and depression are real. But when you admit that there is problem, it gives you the opportunity to access the power of God to help you in the moment.
We have a resource! We just have to be willing to turn to it in our times of need.
(To be continued)