Fear, Anxiety, and Panic (Part 14) - Overcoming Anxiety (Part D)

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Fear, Anxiety, and Panic (Part 14) - Overcoming Anxiety (Part D) 7. Cast your care upon the Lord (1Pe 5:7). A. Cast v. – I. The simple action. To throw. 1. a. trans. To project (anything) with a force of the nature of a jerk, from the hand, the arms, a vessel, or the like; to THROW (which is now the ordinary equivalent); to fling, hurl, pitch, toss. V. To put, or place, with haste, violence, force, or power, so that the effect resembles throwing. 31. a. To lay, place, put, with an action of force, decisiveness, or haste. (Now usually throw.) b. fig. Of care, blame, or the like. B. Care n. – 1. a. Mental suffering, sorrow, grief, trouble. 2. Burdened state of mind arising from fear, doubt, or concern about anything; solicitude, anxiety, mental perturbation; also in pl. anxieties, solicitudes. C. The Lord cares for His children. i. God's cares for us in the sense of being concerned about us, compassionate and pitiful towards us, and providing for us (Luk 10:33-35; Deut 11:10-12; Joh 10:11-13). ii. Like a father pities his children, God pities us who fear Him (Psa 103:13; Jam 5:11). iii. Pity n. – I. 1. The quality of being pitiful; the disposition to mercy or compassion; clemency, mercy, mildness, tenderness. Obs. (or merged in next.) 2. a. A feeling or emotion of tenderness aroused by the suffering, distress, or misfortune of another, and prompting a desire for its relief; compassion, sympathy. iv. Pity v. – 1. trans. To feel pity for; to compassionate, commiserate. v. God is grieved when we are in misery (Jdg 10:16; Isa 63:9). vi. God considers our trouble and knows our souls in adversities (Psa 31:7). vii. God not only cares, but He has the power to deliver us from our fear and anxiety. D. 1Pe 5:6-11 gives us a good formula for overcoming anxiety. i. Step 1: humble yourself (1Pe 5:6). a. Humbling yourself includes admitting that you are struggling with fear and anxiety. b. Humbling yourself includes admitting that you need help from God or others to overcome your anxiety. c. When we humble ourselves, God will exalt us in due time and lift us up (Jam 4:10). d. In due time indicates that we may have to suffer and humble ourselves for a while before God will lift us out of our affliction. ii. Step 2: cast your care upon God (1Pe 5:7). a. Casting your care upon God is taking your anxiety and worry and giving it to God for Him to bear and deal with. b. Once you give it to God, when you are tempted to worry about it again, remind yourself that God is going to deal with it. c. Imagine that you had a problem that you were very worried about. (i) Now imagine that you knew a person that could fix your problem. (ii) Imagine that you had absolute confidence in his ability to take care of your problem. 1. In that situation, do you think you would continue to have severe anxiety? 2. You would not because you would be certain that the person who promised to fix your problem would do what he promised. (iii) God is able to deliver you from any trouble you face. 1. There is nothing too hard for God (Gen 18:14; Jer 32:17, 27). 2. There is nothing impossible with God (Mar 10:27; Mar 14:36; Luk 1:37). 3. God can fix any problem you have, no matter how insurmountable it may seem. 4. Therefore, cast your care upon God and trust Him to take care of your trouble. 5. If you are later tempted to worry or be anxious about it, remind yourself that if you would have absolute confidence in a man who you were certain could solve your problem, how much more so should you trust God and stop worrying about it. iii. Step 3: be sober and vigilant (1Pe 5:8). a. Be serious about your Christian life and walk. b. Be wise, walk in wisdom, and be watchful for the snares and traps of the devil (Eph 5:14-17). c. Recognize that your anxiety attacks may be coming from the devil who as a roaring lion loves to use fear to afflict the saints. iv. Step 4: resist the attacks of the devil in the faith, knowing that your brethren have suffered similar afflictions (1Pe 5:9). a. Resisting the devil in the faith is done by answering his attacks with the word of God like Jesus did (Mat 4:1-11). (i) When you feel fearful, repeat the following verses to yourself and Satan. 1. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2Ti 1:7) 2. “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them…” (Deut 31:6) 3. “Be strong and of a good courage…” (Jos 1:6) 4. “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (Jos 1:9) 5. “…Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.” (1Ch 28:20) 6. “…Fear not; I will help thee…” (Isa 41:13) 7. “…Fear not: for I am with thee…” (Isa 43:5) 8. “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” (Psa 56:3) 9. “In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.” (Psa 56:4) (ii) When you feel anxious, repeat the following verses to yourself and Satan. 1. “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Php 4:6-7) 2. “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (1Pe 5:7) 3. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Mat 6:33-34) b. When you resist Satan’s temptations to fear with the word of God, he will flee from you for a time (Jam 4:7 c/w 1Jo 2:14 c/w Luk 4:13). c. Take comfort knowing that saints in the Bible, and down to the present day, have suffered with fear and anxiety just like you are. v. Step 5: remember that after God has allowed you to suffer for a while He will make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, and settle you (1Pe 5:10). a. God’s purpose in allowing us to suffer with anxiety and other afflictions is to do us good in our latter end (Deut 8:16; Psa 66:10-12). b. His purpose is to make us into mature Christians through these sufferings (Jam 1:3-4). vi. Step 6: praise God and give Him the glory for saving you eternally and delivering and sustaining you through your trials (1Pe 5:10-11). a. Always remember to glorify God in all that we do (1Co 10:31), even in suffering (1Pe 4:16). b. We should praise God for delivering us from our affliction (Act 3:8) and for delivering us from the wrath to come.