Secrets Your Anxiety Doesn't Want You to Know

I’ll never forget the day I walked into our executive director’s office and officially announced that I would be resigning from my role as teaching pastor, and relocating to Jos, Nigeria to become a missionary and train pastors.

It had been months in the making and both him and my senior pastor were aware of my pending decision and affirming of my decision. Yet, it suddenly got real. As I walked out of his office into mine, the reality of no longer having a secure job, a secure income, and a trusted network of friends hit me square in the face. I didn’t know it at the time, but an anxiety attack was in the works.

I worked till the end of the day and packed up around 5:45pm to head home. 15 minutes into my drive, I began to feel a strange tension in my neck, then it spread to my chest. I suddenly felt like I couldn’t breathe and my car began to feel like a cave. Fearful that I was experiencing a heart attack, I quickly pulled over on the side of the road, dialled 911 and called my boss to let him know where they could find my dead body incase I didn’t make it.

Within 10 minutes, ambulances and cop cars pulled up beside me, checked my vitals, and loaded me up in an ambulance. I’ll never forget the kind EMT lady’s response when I asked what my blood pressure was and if I was having a heart attack. She said, “Considering all the flashing lights and emergency personnel around you, your numbers look pretty good.”

Eventually, after getting to the hospital and being poked by nurses and doctors every which way, a super-relaxed doctor came in and announced that I was fine and could go home. I asked him the same question I’d asked the EMT lady earlier and he insisted I was fine, but then paused and asked, “Have you made any major life changing decisions lately?”

He chuckled when I told him I’d just resigned from my job and was moving my family to a part of Nigeria that had in the past been the epicenter of religious, ethnic, and terrorist violence. Then he politely expressed, “Brother, I think you just had a panic attack.” I resisted the urge to tell him black people don’t have panic attacks.

It’s been almost 3 years since that experience and by God’s grace, I haven’t had any episodes similar to that night. Yet, living in Nigeria, especially being in the city of Jos is to live in a constant state of anxiety as you never know when the next ethnic or terrorist attack will happen.

I’m curious. How many of you clicked on this post because you too have been feeling anxious lately or overwhelmed with worry? Perhaps you have been worrying about an upcoming decision you will have to make, or one that is being made on your behalf? Or maybe, your worry stems from a decision you’ve already made or has been made on your behalf, and you are concerned about its’s impact on your future?

If you fit any of those categories, welcome home.

Now, the biblical antidote for worry is Philippians 4:6 which says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Buut… if we are being honest, sometimes, even after you have prayed and presented your petitions to God with thanksgiving, you may find that your anxiety still hasn’t left, it just took a short vacation and has come back.

So, in this blog post and from these two passages in Philippians 4:6 and 1 Kings 18, here is a thought I want to plant in your mind that has served me well in my time here in Nigeria. It’s in the form of two questions and a statement:

• Is it possible that you have been or are being anxious for nothing?

• Is it also possible that the thing you fear the most (and are most worried about) will never materialize because God is with you has already gone ahead of you to prepare your way?

• And thirdly, even if what you’re worried about comes to pass, it is possible that it won’t be as bad as you expected, and even if it is, it won’t for one minute threaten or throw off God’s plans for your life?  

These questions and thoughts have served me well because in the time my family and I have been here, not a single one of my greatest worries and fears have seen the light of day. In fact, quite the opposite has happened as the LORD has not only protected us every step of the way, but also provided for us in amazing and unexpected way.

So, I’d like you to tuck those questions and statement away somewhere while we journey together through an Old Testament story in 1 Kings 18:16-46 about a prophet named, Elijah, and a menacing queen named, Jezebel. This story is going to serve as a base from which we will learn how to apply through three questions and statements I posed to you.

In this story, the prophet Elijah has just experienced the greatest victory of his lifetime. The story goes that there were 450 prophets of the demonic gods, Baal and Asherah who were misleading God’s people. Elijah challenges them to a fiery showdown to prove that Jehovah/YAHWEH is the One true God. Both groups set up two altars with dead animals as sacrifices and agree that whichever person’s God sends down fire from heaven to burn up the sacrifice, is the One true God.

Let’s read. 1 Kings 18:25, “Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. 27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.”

Now, it was Elijah’s turn. But rather than start by praying to God, Elijah decides to make it even more dramatic.

Verse 33 says, “33 [Elijah] arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.” [they do this three times so that the altar is drenching wet]. And then, Elijah prays, and as soon as he says his amen, verse 38 says, “Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

Pretty huge win, right? This had to be the highlight of His life.

From this point on, it would seem that no one and nothing could stand up to Elijah because of how powerfully God had just shown up on his behalf, right? Once again, nothing and no one should be able to make this mighty prophet of God anxious, right?

WRONG.

If you turn your Bible one page over to the 2nd verse of the very next chapter (1 Kings 19), you’ll quickly find that Elijah has gone from mighty fire-from- heaven-prophet to a scarred little Sunday school boy who is afraid for his life.

What or who in the world could have caused this?

Meet JEZEBEL.

Jezebel was the queen of Israel in Elijah’s day, and she was married to a man named, Ahab whom she pretty much controlled. What you need to know about Jezebel is that she was the epitome of idolatry, wickedness, murder and sensuality. It’s for good reason that you’ve never met any parent who names their daughter, Jezebel (because she’s awful!)

The 450 priests of Baal whom Elijah embarrassed and who were later sentenced to death for misleading God’s people belong to jezebel! And she is aaannnngrrryyyy!

1 Kings 19:1 tells us what happens next, “When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the (450) prophets of Baal.2 So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.” 3 Elijah was afraid and fled for his life.”

Scary lady.

I must be honest though. It seems a little odd that Elijah would be this afraid of lady, Jezebel. I mean, here was a man who had just called down fire from heaven. In fact, he does again twice in 2 Kings. Not only that, but in previous chapters, God used Elijah to raise a young boy from the dead. In another instance, Elijah parts the Jordan river into two simply by touching it with his robe (2 Kings 2:8). Here was a man who had access to God’s power at his fingertips, yet, when Jezebel threatens his life, it sends the mighty prophet of God into to an anxiety- overdrive!

So, what’s happening here? Well, for the purposes of this message, I’m going to use Jezebel to represent everything that has caused you worry and anxiety in the last few months, or possibly years. Take a moment and think through and write down the things that have recently caused you great fear and anxiety, the things that have made your heart flutter with trepidation, hesitation, worry or sleepless nights. Let’s put them all in a scary horror-movie-style box called, Jezebel.

The problem with that Jezebel box is that it has a bad habit of making us myopic. Myopic means we are so laser-focused on what is in front of us that we lose sight of anything in the distance or around us. When you are anxious and worried, all that you tend to focus on and ruminate on is that big Jezebel-box in front of you because it looks so huge and even unpredictable.

It's this scary box that sends Elijah scurrying for his life and hiding in a cave, until God shows at the mouth of the cave in 1 Kings 19:9 and asks him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

God obviously knew what Elijah was doing. So, the real question God was asking was, “Who or what has troubled you so much, and has you convinced that I’m not more powerful than it/them?” “Elijah, what is it that you are so anxious about that has completely blinded you to the fact that I am the same God who just showed up a few days earlier in a pillar of fire to prove that I AM GOD??”

Who or what has got YOU shook?

To prove to Elijah that He (God) was still in control, even though Elijah felt like his world was falling apart, God gave Elijah an object lesson. In 1 Kings 19:11-13, God tells Elijah to go stand by the entrance of the cave so Elijah could experience God’s presence as He passed by.

While standing there, God sends was a powerful storm that shakes and rips up parts of the mountain, but the Bible says, God was not in the storm. Next, God sends earthquake that shook the mountain, but the Bible says, God was also not in the earthquake. Thirdly, God sends fire past the mountain (which in my mind is the scariest), but God was not in the fire.

1 Kings 19:12 then tells us that soon after all the chaos comes a gentle and quiet whisper in the wind, and God spoke once again, asking Elijah the same question from earlier, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

I find it so fascinatingly encouraging that God chose not to speak till after there was a gentle wind (v.12). I love this quote from Pastor Craig Groeschel of LIFE CHURCH in a sermon about anxiety. He says, “The devil will often yell accusations and doubts at us that stir up our worries and fears, but God often whispers to our hearts because HE IS NEAR!”

So, hear me on this. If you’ve been feeling anxious and worried because it feels like God is far from your, take comfort and shake off your anxiety because it may simply mean He is closer than you will ever know. God doesn’t need to yell when He is nearby, so lean in and listen closely to what God is saying to you today from His word

“[I Myself will go]… before you and will be with you [I] will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:38; Hebrews 13:5).

You know what I think was most interesting about Elijah’s life? It’s the fact that his greatest fear and anxiety in the world was Jezebel’s threat on his life, right? Throughout his whole story, her presence and her threats were his greatest turmoil.   

Yet do you know how Elijah died?

It’s a trick question. Elijah NEVER died!

2 Kings 2:11 says God sent a special heavenly Uber service made up of chariots of fire to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. In other words, Elijah never saw what he feared the most! Elijah never saw death! The one thing that tormented him and that caused him so much anxiety is the one thing that he never experienced!

He was literally anxious for nothing!

By the way, Jezebel? She ended up dying a horrible death that involved dogs doing some nasty things to her remains (2 Kings 9:30-37). Essentially, she was judged for her wickedness.

Here’s where I want you to pull out and inspect those two questions and a statement I had you put away earlier. Think of your life and the people, circumstances, fears, thoughts, and thanks that have you anxious and worried.

• Is it possible, that like Elijah, you have been and are being anxious for nothing? Is it possible that the worst-case scenarios you are worried and worrying about may never even come to pass?

• Is it possible that even if your big fears and worries do come to pass, it won’t be as bad as you thought it would be?

• And if indeed your worst-case scenarios were to play out as you thought, is it possible that God will be with you in it to carry you through it so that it doesn’t interrupt His bigger plans for your life?

This story suggests to us that too many of us are ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING! Besides, in Matthew 6:27, Jesus warns us about the futility of worry when He says, “Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

Truth is, worrying actually wastes your precious time! So, let’s wrap this up by exploring four actions to help you defuse worry in your life. 

1.     GO FOR A PRAYER WALK, OUTDOORS.

The passage we started with in Philippians 4:6 tells us that prayer & petition is the antidote to worry, so start there. When you’re feeling anxious and worried, turn your thoughts into verbal prayer to God. When you pray, pray with an understanding that God already lives in your tomorrow. In other words, nothing that will occur in your life ever takes God by surprise. So, in your prayers, ask the LORD to grant you peace about what He already has full knowledge off.

Most Christians know how to do this already, but what I am encouraging you to do different is to take your prayers outdoors. Why? According to research in the scientific journal, “Science Alert”, “…spending time outdoors in nature is associated with an array of mental and physical health benefits, including lower blood pressure, reduced anxiety and depression, improved mood, better focus, and better sleep.” Pretty cool, huh?

So, when you go for a prayer walk outdoors, know that you are getting the best of both worlds. And just like Elijah, it is a great place to sometimes hear the gentle whisper of God.

2.     IDENTIFY YOUR NEGATIVE TALK

What kind of negative self-talk are you telling yourself about yourself before your worst fears ever plays itself out? They may sound something like this:

• “This will never work.”

• “They are going to say, NO”

• “They are definitely not going to pick me.” 

One of the lessons I often remind my kids is, “Never say other people’s NO for them.” Even if you are certain they will say no, don’t kill the situation before allowing God a chance to walk.

In this story, Elijah nearly slips into despair because he thinks he is the only one in the whole country who still worships God. Yet, God has to remind him (1 Kings 19:18) that he has 7000 sleeper-agents/ prophets just like Elijah who are still faithful to him.

Identify and correct your negative talk.

3. THANK GOD IN ADVANCE FOR HELPING YOU OVERCOME WHATEVER YOUR WORRY IS ABOUT.

Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Thanking God in advance for something you don’t yet have requires a certain element faith. Remember, faith is not a feeling, faith is substance. It is action. So, after you have prayed, even when you don’t have the answers, begin to thank God for hearing you and bringing you through whatever it is you are worrying about.

The acts of thanking God in advance is an incredible act of faith, and if there’s one thing we know about God’s feelings concerning faith, it is that “…without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:16)

4. SCHEDULE YOUR WORRIES

Worry has the power to overwhelm your day. Before you realize it, by the end of the day you’ve spent hours being unproductive because you were worrying. So, the next time your mind starts to go into overdrive because of worry, the first thing to do to defuse it is WRITE IT DOWN. Write down the problem, fear, worry, concern on paper or on your phone. This action causes there to be less chaos in your mind and frees up space to actually process other thoughts.

The next step is to schedule a time later during your day when you will return to process and pray through what you wrote down. If you’re restless in the evening because your mind is running in circles, once you’ve put the worry on paper, submit it to God in prayer and tell yourself that I will work through it first thing when you get up. You will be amazed at how much more productive you can be when you take notes and schedule your worries.

I leave you with the promise of scripture we began with: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7

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