Freedom From Anxiety

Freedom From Anxiety

Matthew 6:31-34 NIV
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

We often hear this passage as the number one for those dealing with anxiety, fear, or worry. In simplicity, it is true that just like an earthly father who loves his children will work himself to death to provide his children with everything they need. Our heavenly Father, in the incarnation of the Son, died to provide us with all our spiritual needs, and through God’s will, He is a God of blessings within the physical realm of our lives (the world). It is ultimately God’s will as we are also foretold we will endure trials, tribulations, and suffering while on Earth. For example, below is the apostle Peter being told he would one day be bound and led to his death for proclaiming the Kingdom.

John 21:18 NIV
18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”

You would imagine that kind of message should have been alarming or even could stir up anxiety or fear. But there is no sign of fear or anxiety once Peter gains the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. What changed from the fear that came from Jesus's crucifixion?

We are told how to achieve this freedom from fear, anxiety, or worry in verse 33 but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

But first, seek His kingdom AND His righteousness.

Let us examine God’s kingdom and His righteousness.

John 18:36 ESV
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

Mark 1:15 ESV
And saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Romans 14:17 ESV
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 25:34 ESV
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

John 3:3 ESV
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Okay, to sum these scriptures up, the kingdom of God is connected to both salvation and a literal kingdom to come.

1. His kingdom is not of this world

2. To gain citizenship of this kingdom, we must repent, believe the gospel, and be born again or made new in Christ Jesus. (Christ means anointed one, Jesus meaning Lord of salvation. Jesus Christ is the anointed Lord of our salvation)

3. The kingdom is not a matter of legalism (works-based salvation) but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

4. It is a literal kingdom to come that the saints (believers) will inherit.

Seek first the kingdom is understood as the 4 points above. In seeking the Kingdom, we are always led to the King. It is through Jesus Christ that we are seen as righteous.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Romans 5:1- 2 ESV
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Out of initially hearing the gospel that stirs up repentance, the belief in the gospel message leads to faith. We then are seen as justified, righteous saints who, through grace, are now citizens of this kingdom to come.

Ephesians 2:19 NIV
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,

We are now children of God, royalty, and fellow citizens with God’s people. This, in contrast, makes us on Earth foreigners as we now become exiles in the kingdom of Satan, who is currently the ruler of this world.

1 Peter 2:11 NIV
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.

Philippians 3:20 ESV
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

1 John 5:19 ESV
We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

We, as exiles, are now behind enemy lines. The kingdom of the world will now wage war against your soul. Your armor is of God, and your shield is of faith, your sword is the Word of God, your crest is the stamp or seal of the Holy Spirit that proclaims you belong to the kingdom of God.

We are not defenseless without going into detail about spiritual warfare but not only are we given armor and a sword, but we have everything we need to mentally be equipped to handle the worries or fears of this life.

To defeat anxiety, we must not let the worries or distractions of this world take our eyes off of our destination. The King of our hearts needs to be the Holy Spirit that will guide us on the journey to the Heavenly Kingdom. This guidance will be the mind of God, the Word of God, which is the life of Jesus.

In Christ, we do not wander aimlessly, we are not those without hope, we do not worry about what the people of the world worry about, we are in a war that is already won, and all we must do is rest in the promises of God.

The closer we get to Jesus, the less we fear the world. Amen

Thread title --------Freedom From Anxiety ------

Having freedom form anxiety is not an easy task ------even for Born Again people ------Satan is still the God of this world and we can have the Holy Spirit indwelling in us and still feel anxiety which comes from fear -----

The post above states that God has provided for us a way of escape of feeling anxious and that is true but unless one has matured from their Carnal man state which means you still have one foot in this world and one foot in God's world --you are very susceptible to Satan's Attacks ---so casting out anxious thoughts and replacing them with God's thoughts takes much practice and endurance ------

Maturing in your walk with Christ is essential to keep Satan at bay from creating thoughts of fear and anxiety -----We have to know and Trust God's word and practice what it says to keep our thought life always focused on that peace that goes beyond all human understanding -------

There are 3 types of man -----Natural Man ------totally relies on this worldly system ----human Faith
Carnal Man ----Born Again but has 2 minds ----worldly and Spiritual ---wavering Faith ------Spiritual Man ----has one mind with God and trusts God and His Word fully ---with no doubt or wavering Faith ---

1 Cor 2:14: But the natural man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him: and he is not able to understand them, because they are spiritually discerned

1 Cor 3:1-2: And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

1 Cor 3:3-5: For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

1 Cor 2:15-16: the spiritual man judges all things, and he is himself is judged by no man. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

I have had generalized anxiety all of my life. Periods have been bearable and others chaotic. I have prayed that the Lord take this from me, but I also have realized that it’s also a part of me. God has His purpose for such, and with the knowledge that He is aware of every aspect of my being gives me comfort. Fear of what I know I cannot control has given me a freedom it, although at times fear does creep its detrimental head.

I agree fully.

Interesting enough is that the words do not fear appear over 300 times in the Bible. 365 if I remember correctly which is every day of the year.

Maybe God has to remind us that everything is in His hands. I know that I need to be reminded of that from time to time.

This is the answer to the post in a nutshell. We live in the kingdom of the world but we are not part of it, our true home kingdom is with the Lord. We pray daily "our kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven". We do the best we can in the earth, but it is only temporary. We listen to the Lord as the Lord tells us of our true home.

Aerials1978 ----You state here this -------I have prayed that the Lord take this from me, but I also have realized that it’s also a part of me.

I say -----Well here is the thing --If you are a Born Again person ------God has already given you a way out of this anxiety ----anxiety comes from Fear ---God is not the cause of fear Satan is the cause of fear ----and your anxiety is not a part of you in the way that it is in your make up -------Your allowing anxiety to dominate you ------it takes control of you ----Jesus defeated Satan on the cross ---so your anxiety causer has been defeated ----so you don't have to have anxiety ------your allowing anxiety into your life

Why would you pray for God to take something away from you that He has taken away already ----God will not answer prayers that His Son has already accomplished for us -----We are given the tools in scripture to act on to keep anxiety ----stress ----etc out of our lives ----it is your job to put your faith in God and His Word into action to help yourself break the chains of anxiety in your life -----

Faith without action is dead faith ------

You seem like you want an easy way out --but there is no easy way --it takes much work and practice to defeat this anxiety by keeping your mind closed to it -----

If your not a Born Again person then you are under the Curse of the law still and that means Satan still has full reign over you -----so he will continue to keep you in bondage to your anxiety through fear ----

Your human and becoming a Christian doesn't remove your human nature of emotions, thoughts, pain, or remove you from the environment you are in.

I struggled with anxiety and panic attacks severely for years but as I began to apply the knowledge above in the OP I began to achieve the peace that surpassed all understanding. But it isn't a one time thing. I can bring myself back into bondage if I want to by allowing anxiety to trap me.

It truly is a battle of the mind and which voice you will listen to. The voice of destruction or voice of life.

We do our best as our best is in the Lord otherwise we are a mess. Thank you for your input.

Recently I did some discussing with a man I see more of as a mentor due to our age difference and his experienced walk in the faith.

I want to share some things that came out of our discussion.

The scripture calls for us to seek the Kingdom and His righteousness.

Most on this site have already done this as it boils down to having our faith in Jesus. This is how we receive the Kingdom and His righteousness—explained in more detail above.

But what I found to be inspiring as it isn't a matter of how close we are or want to be to God.

As believers, we have God's Spirit within us. We are of the Heavenly Kingdom where we stand. In many ways, we are messengers of this Kingdom, ambassadors for the King.

We are as close as anyone could be with God's indwelling in us. We must become more aware of His presence, His urges, His Words, and His movement around us.

This awareness can be so easily faded as distractions can disrupt a clear message and turn it to static. So we purposely, or in ignorance, place ourselves in the static zones of life.

Realign, Regain, Remove, and Receive

Realign and center yourself in Christ (focus on how God speaks to us)

Regain the spiritual connection and perception to remain in alignment with God.

Remove the dead zones, areas of static, distractions, as communication can be the difference between life and death. Life abundant in fruit or a life of decay.

Receive the Word clearly and use the intel to apply a wise and guided response to life's struggles, fears, or the forces of evil.