Posts Tagged ‘stress’

Coronavirus: Anxiety & Fear

Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Christian Living, Scripture, tagged , , , on March 20, 2020| 3 Comments »

 

Dear Friends,

I have not been able to write any articles on here for a long time due to my husband’s health and my own.  I feel at this extraordinary time with the Coronavirus in our world I wanted to do something to help and felt the desire to give some comfort to my friends.

Are you worried?  Are you anxious?  It is no wonder with all the bad news we hear on the television and internet every day.  But, I’m here to tell you that we can overcome these feelings.

I have listed below a number of scriptures that help us in times of anxiety and fear.

Here are a couple of suggestions:

You can copy this list of scripture promises and put it somewhere handy. Then you can turn to it when you need to claim a promise from God’s word.

Copy the verses that are especially meaningful to you on 3 X 5 cards. Memorize them so that they become a part of you and you own them. Then you can call upon them whenever and wherever you need to.

Let God’s word become a part of you, to permeate your soul. The Word is your spiritual food and will enable you to grow into a strong Christian. The Word is also the sword of the Spirit and is valuable to fight your battles. Sometimes I sit quietly, go through my cards, and meditate on the meaning of each verse.

1.”…Never will I leave you; Never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)

2. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

3. “Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 (NIV)

4. “…greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world.” I John 4:4 (KJV)

5. “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” Isaiah 41:13 (KJV)

6. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” I Peter 5:7 (NIV)

7. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9 (NIV)

8. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

9. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” II Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

10. “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 (NIV)

11. “Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” II Peter 1:4 (NIV)

12. “But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 (KJV)

13. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13 (KJV)

14. “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten,…” Joel 2:25 (KJV)

15. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

16. “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.'” Romans 8:15 (NIV)

17. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Proverbs 1:7a (NIV)

18. “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)

19. “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,…I John 4:18

20. “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4 (KJV)

21. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you…Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27 (KJV)

22. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” II Corinthians 12:9(NIV)

23. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

24. “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 (NIV)

25. “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned…” Isaiah 43:1,2 (NIV)

26. “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4 (NIV)

27. “…whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” Proverbs 1:33 (NIV)

28. “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fail.” Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

29. “and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Hebrews 2:15 (NIV)

30. “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us.” Romans 8:31(KJV)

31. “I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.” Psalm 119:45 (NIV)

I pray these scripture verses will comfort you through these trying times.  I’m leaning on the Lord and His Word to get me through.  If you have any more favorite fear fighting scriptures or ideas to cope please share them in the comment section.

Blessings to all!

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More Right Thinking

Posted in Abolish Anxiety, Anxiety & Stress, Bible Study, Christian Living, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on May 5, 2017| 1 Comment »

colossians3_1-2

Colossians 3:2 (NIV) “Set your minds on things above, not on
earthly things.”

God tells us to think about things above. To me that means to think
about Heaven and what it is going to be like for us someday. Those are
good thoughts. In Heaven there will be no more tears, sorrow, death,
sickness, panic attacks, fear, anxiety, or diseases. We will have strong, healthy,
brand new bodies.

God doesn’t want us to dwell on our feelings. Do you know that your feelings
can’t hurt you? When we dwell on them we increase the amount of adrenaline
that is released in our bodies and other uncomfortable feelings crop up. God
doesn’t want us to go over and over again in our minds how someone has hurt
us. He doesn’t want us to worry about tomorrow and the things we will have to
face. He doesn’t even want us to be consumed with getting material possessions.
God knows that these things are not healthy for us to constantly think about.
Setting our thoughts on things above also means to think about Jesus, what
he is like and all about his life while he was here on earth.

Many times in the past when I could not go to sleep, I’d make myself think
about Jesus instead of concentrating on the noises outside. I’d start with his birth
and try to remember all I could about him; how he taught and healed people,
how he died and rose again. I never got through his whole life because
somewhere along the line I’d fall asleep.

You see, that was far better for me to think about then to fret over the next
day, or about myself and my feelings. Isn’t it wonderful how God helps us to
know how we should think?

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Panic Buster: Learn to Conquer Panic Attacks & Agoraphobia

Posted in Christian Living, Panic Attacks, tagged , , , , , , , on September 29, 2016| 1 Comment »

Panic Buster

Now you can read my book Panic Buster for free.  I would welcome any comments or questions you may have as you study through this helpful book. May God bless you as you do so.

This book is in the .pdf format.  You can read it with Adobe Reader.  Please click on the link below to read. Or, you can right click and download.

panicbusternew9-16

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Dread, Doubt, Discipline & Deliverance

Posted in Anxiety & Stress, devotional, Spirituality, tagged , , , , , , on February 7, 2015| 1 Comment »

Dread

Does the word dread ever enter your mind or conversation?  It does mine. Sometimes when I’m tired I dread having to go to the store for groceries, or I dread the housework facing me that day, or I dread an appointment; especially the dentist or doctor.  Sometimes I even dread having to get up and start my day. I thought to myself, “Why do I dread things?”  “What is dread anyway?”  So, I looked it up in the dictionary and here is what I found: Dread: “To be in terror of; fear greatly.  Fearful anticipation.”

Wait a minute!  Fearful anticipation!  What?  I thought fear was out of my life.  I didn’t know that dreading something was being fearful.  So, is it sinful to dread things?  I don’t want to sin against God!

I looked up “fear.”  Here are some synonyms for fear:  anxiety, dread, panic, trepidation, worry, stress.  Oh no!  I’m not liking what I’m reading! What does the Bible say about anxiety?

matthew6_27

Mat 6:25-34 MKJV Therefore I say to you, Do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (26) Behold the birds of the air; for they sow not, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them; are you not much better than they are? (27) Which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his stature? (28) And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not toil, nor do they spin, (29) but I say to you that even Solomon in his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (30) Therefore if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much rather clothe you, little-faiths? (31) Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, With what shall we be clothed? (32) For the nations seek after all these things. For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. (33) But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. (34) Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow; for tomorrow shall be anxious for its own things. Sufficient to the day is the evil of it. (Emphasis mine)

In these verses I count the phrase “do not be anxious,” three times.  Just think about it, these words came out of the lips of Jesus himself!  Amazing!  And, when He says something we can take it to the bank.  This is a command!  Do not be anxious!  There is no other way to look at this than anxiety (and all those other terms we use, like dread, and fear) is  sin.  In these verses Jesus Christ has told us not to be anxious about anything:  our life, our immediate needs, and our future.  If I dread things then I am also being anxious, and anxiety is definitely sin.  I need to confess to God that I have sinned and repent of it.  Repent means to turn away from.  I need to turn away from any dreadful thoughts and turn them over to God.

Doubt

Doubt and dread are first cousins. What is doubt?  Doubt is to be unsure, or distrust, or something uncertainexodus6_30 or unsettled.  Yes, when we are uncertain and unsettled in our minds about something than that thing becomes bigger than us and we begin to dread it.  Our minds go over the situation time and again, and sometimes we blow it out of proportion. We doubt that we can do the thing that lies before us, or we feel it will make us feel uncomfortable, and we dread it more and more until we are paralyzed.

Jas 1:6 MKJV But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. (Emphasis mine)

Picture the waves of the sea crashing upon the seashore.  The wind drives the waves against the shore and then back out to sea again to be driven in again.  We are like a tiny boat on that sea and when doubt enters our minds we are tossed all about not being able to make decisions or function.  We need an anchor.  The Bible is our anchor and we can find our answers there.  Don’t be tossed about by everything you hear or think.  The mind is the devil’s playground, and dread and doubt can keep us from doing the work God has called us to. Satan is happy when we are full of worry and stress.  Are you experiencing this?  Is there something you know God wants you to do but you are full of dread when you think of doing it?  Cheer up!  There is an answer.2 Timothy 1;7

Discipline

So, what is the antidote for dread and doubt?  It is another word that starts with “d.”  It’s discipline. According to the dictionary discipline is, “training that develops self-control.”  That’s it!  We need to discipline or train our minds in order to be in control of our thoughts.  “How do we do that?” you may ask. Let’s look to our anchor the Bible for the way out of the storm. Do you know that God loves us so much that He told us what to even think about? It’s true!

Php 4:8 NASB Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. (Emphasis mine)

It’s right there in the Bible.  We have to discipline our thought life.  Think about what you think about! Examine your thoughts according to Philippians 4:8.  Are you thinking rightly? Or, are your thoughts anxious?  If you catch yourself thinking about something you truly dread, or perhaps a doctor’s report you are about to receive, then check out your thoughts.  Are you blowing them out of proportion? Are they true?  Or, are you jumping ahead to the “what ifs,” or “what might be.” These words are also a picture of Jesus.  He is all of these things.  Set you mind on things above.

Col 3:2 NASB Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

Our minds can be renewed.  As we study, read the Word and pray God will renew our minds and it will change us.  We don’t have to be the way we used to be.  We don’t have to think all those awful thoughts that drag us down.

Rom 12:2 MKJV And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you what is that good and pleasing and perfect will of God.

Deliverance

Deliverance is to “set free.”  I like those words.  If I can just get my mind to be rid of any fearful, dreadful, anxious thoughts, than I would not feel stressed and I’d be free!psalm3_8

2Co 10:5 MKJV pulling down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ; (Emphasis mine)

Let’s not be captives of our thoughts!  Let’s be free! Who is in charge?  You or your mind? Take control and set yourself free.  God says in the above verse that we can take captive every thought.  If He says we can than we can!  With God’s help, prayer and keeping in the Word we can be disciplined and overcome dread and doubt.

How do we do this?  Here’s how.

Php 4:6 MKJV Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. (Emphasis mine)

Checking your thoughts and then prayer.  Ask God for help, and be thankful.  Tell Him things that you are thankful for.  He is waiting.  He is right there all the time ready to help us if we will only call on Him.

psalm34_4

If you change what you think about do you know what will happen?

Php 4:7 MKJV And the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Isn’t that wonderful?  We can have a peace which we cannot even describe.  I know this is possible because I’ve had this peace.  I still have to be careful every day and monitor my thoughts according to Philippians 4:8.  I can’t let them get away from me.  It is very easy to fall back into the bad thought habits that were once an everyday part of me.  I must be on guard.

In summary we see:

Dread: It keeps us from doing God’s will in our lives.

Doubt: When we doubt we are not trusting.  It is Satan’s tool to trip us up.

Discipline: Be aware. We need to break old bad thinking habits and acquire new ones according to the Word.

Deliverance: Depend on God to set us free.

If you have trouble in this area I would suggest you take a 3×5 card and write out Philippians 4:8. Put it where it is easy for you to see or get too.  You could place it on your desk, in your purse, on your visor in the car; wherever it is handy for you. It would also be a great scripture verse to memorize so you wouldn’t have to depend on finding your card.  Also memorize Philippians 4:6-7

philippians4_6-7

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Our Father Overcomes Our Anxiety, Part 1

Posted in Christianity, Faith, Panic Disorder Support, Religion, tagged , , , , , on November 27, 2012|

Wow!  As I read this post, by John MacArthur,  I thought about how much our God really does love us.  He has made promises to us and He tells us in the Bible what He expects from us. If only we would listen, our lives would be so much easier.  If He takes care of the birds, we can rest asured the He will take care of us too.  Often I forget that I’m a child of the King and that I don’t have to live like unbelievers. Isn’t that wonderful?

One of the most hopeless aspects of unrepentant sinners’ lives is that they have no answer for anxiety. They’re forced to put their hopes in flimsy, fallible plans and institutions. They aren’t able to rest firmly in the unchanging promises of God—they have to ride out every wave of calamity, every unexpected disaster.

Click on the link below to read the rest of this post.

Our Father Overcomes Our Anxiety, Part 1.

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What Did Jesus Say About Worry?

Posted in Panic Attacks, Religion, Scripture, tagged , , , , , on November 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I have to admit I sometimes get my mind too much on the temporary things of this world. I wonder what might happen if our economy gets worse.  We are retired so I don’t have to worry if we’d get laid off, but I am concerned about our income. We’re on a fixed income and the future isn’t very bright right now.  I’m looking forward to reading the rest of these posts by John MacArthur as he helps us see what is really important and why worry is not part of who we are as Christians.  I hope you read them and learn along with me.

You probably remember the “What Would Jesus Do?” trend from the late ’90s. It seemed everywhere you looked, plastered across T-shirts, hats, jewelry, and all kinds of other merchandise, the WWJD slogan was a blithe, shallow reminder to live up to Christ’s moral code..

Click on the link below to read the rest of this article.

What Did Jesus Say About Worry?.

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Observing God’s Care

Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Christianity, Panic Disorder Support, tagged , , , , , , on November 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Are you a worrier?  I was for a long time.  It wasn’t until I became a Christian and got into the Word that I discovered that it was not God’s will that I should worry.  When He tells us something we need to sit up and take notice.  And, Jesus plainly tells us that He will take care of us and that we do not need to be anxious about anything.  It took me some time to break the worry habit, but I did with His help and so can you.  In this article John MacArthur continues to teach us about God’s view of worry.

English: Sherlock Holmes (r) and Dr. John B. W...Sherlock Holmes (r) and Dr. John H. Watson. Illustration by Sidney Paget from the Sherlock Holmes story The Greek Interpreter.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary detective, Sherlock Holmes, is one of the most intriguing creations of literary fiction. He is, quite simply, extraordinary. His famous cohort, Dr. John Watson, is ordinary, at least by comparison. Watson has often been erroneously portrayed as a bumbling fool, but that flies in the face of Doyle’s attempt to make the average reader relate to Watson.

Click on the link below to read the rest of this article by John MacArthur.

Observing God’s Care.

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John MacArthur on Anxiety and God’s Sovereignty

Posted in Anxiety & Stress, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Here is another wonderful post on anxiety by John MacArthur.  He is doing a series of them and I want to share them with you.  There is a very good short video clip in this one that you MUST listen too.  I think it is the key to victory.  When you get a hold of that teaching, it really makes all the difference.

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It should be clear by now that unchecked anxiety isn’t good for you. It’s a sin expressly forbidden by the Lord, so there is the spiritual cost to consider. But it’s also harmful to your health, your productivity, and your relationships. It wreaks havoc throughout your life, and as we saw yesterday, it strangles your mind.

Click on the link below to continue reading this article:

John MacArthur on Anxiety and God’s Sovereignty.

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