1 PETER 5:6-9 – “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”

THEME OF THE DAY: DEALING WITH THE SIN OF ANXIETY.   Before we get too far along in today’s nugget, we must establish the uncomfortable truth about its theme; anxiety is sin.  In Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, He gives a lengthy portion to the topic of anxiety.  It appears in chapter six, verses twenty-five through thirty-four.  He would give the command not to be anxious three times in ten verses . . .

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:25, 31, 34).

So, with that out of the way, let’s dive into how to deal with it starting with what are the causes of anxiety.  I don’t want to oversimplify this emotional pain, but here are two.

First, anxiety occurs because of unhealthy fear. We are facing a tough circumstance with potentially difficult consequences or a strained relationship that must be healed. Welcome fearful anxiety. Often, we want to run from them. We are afraid and such unhealthy fear produces anxiety.

A second cause of anxiety is the awakening or realization we cannot control or change difficult circumstances or challenging people.  And what this reveals is that anxiety is rooted in pride; a pride in self-sufficiency and the self-delusion we are in control when, in actuality, we control no one, or nothing.  The result is we get anxious or worry.   God will teach us this truth and unless we do what Peter commands in today’s scripture, anxiety will paralyze us!

What does Peter command us to do?  The opposite of pride . . .  “Humble yourself, therefore, under the might hand of God” (1 Peter 5:6a).  This humility is embracing the truth we control nothing or no one.  It is the submission that God alone is sovereign over our lives not us.   Then Peter exhorts us do something with the root of our pride – anxiety . . . “Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for us” (1 Peter 5:7).

In obeying this command, we are actually relinquishing or submitting to the Lord all those things we thought we could control or change.  As we do so, the anxious things are given to Him, right where they belong, and we are freed from the self-inflicted pain that comes from sinful anxiety.

So, dealing with the sin of anxiety.  We humble ourselves to realize our helplessness to control life, and we gladly submit everything to Him who is in control of our lives.  In doing both, the beast of anxiety will take flight and the peace of God rule our hearts instead.

 PRAYER:  Father, thank You that in Your Son and Your Word, I have all the resources needed to live anxious-free.

REFLECTION: We will never overcome anxiety until we see it as sin and incapable of defeating it ourselves.