Episode Details

The Anxiety Cycle

• Anxiety
• Avoidance/Obsession
• Short-Term Relief
• Long-term Anxiety Growth
• Over and Over….

  This happens whether you are a Christian or Not

• But we should think of anxiety differently than the rest of the world

  The Bible Has a lot to say about Anxiety and how we should face it   Some people struggle more than others

• We have patience and sympathy for those who do struggle
• Make sure you see a professional if your anxiety goes to far

  Let’s start by looking at anxiety as an ACTION

• It’s something we do
• But the answer isn’t “JUST STOP WORRYING ALL THE TIME”

  To STOP the action of anxiety, we must START another action 3 Counter actions to stop the Cycle of Anxiety   Counteraction #1 1: Throwing When You Want To Hold  

 

Some of us are “ANXIETY HOARDERS”

• We stockpile things to worry about

  This is an effort to CONTROL

• They are YOUR anxieties
• They are YOUR worries

  What does Scripture say 1 Peter 5 6 Humble yourselves….   6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.   Casting means throwing

• For how much we hate our anxieties, we love to hold on to them…
• We love to HOARD them

  You can’t throw if you…

• Want to keep it
• Want to hold onto it
• Want to fix it
• Want to manipulate it
• Want to control it

  Where did Peter get that idea…

• It’s been around for a LONG time
• From David…

  Psalms 55:22 Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

• Who are the righteous?
• Those who live under God’s right rule

  The lie we believe is that controlling our anxieties equals freedom. However, true freedom lies in entrusting them to God.   Practical Application: When having a worried/anxious thought, we CHOOSE to take it to GOD because it belongs on His shoulders and not in our mind

• Healthy, Active Prayer life
• Cast your care immediately to Him

  Counteraction #2 2: Thanking When You Want To Worry   For years, I did not value the practice of thankfulness

• Did it out of obligations (was supposed to)
• Not I do it because I see its true value

  “During active appreciation, the threatening messages from your amygdala [fear center of the brain] and the anxious instincts of your brainstem are cut off, suddenly and surely, from access to your brain’s neocortex, where they can fester, replicate themselves, and turn your stream of thoughts into a cold river of dread. It is a fact of neurology that the brain cannot be in a state of appreciation and a state of fear at the same time. The two states may alternate but are mutually exclusive.” ~ Dan Baker, What Happy People Know   The Bible has said this long before modern phycology Philippians 4:6 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.   Thankfulness is the secret ingredient in prayer

• It shifts your…
  • Outlook
  • Your faith
  • Your determination
  • View of God

  Gratitude is the practice that can change your life like no other

• Why do you think atheists and others keep gratitude journals?
• Because God made us to be grateful, not worrisome

  Being thankful is a LEARNED SKILL

• You get better the more you do it

  Learn to be thankful for MORE THAN just the OBVIOUS things

• The seasons
• The lessons
• The people
• The small miracles

  Pract