Anxiety is a very painful emotion. Sometimes, if not dealt with properly, it can become very destructive in a person’s life. Learn the sources of anxiety and how we are to trust God with our cares and concerns. For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to www.intouch.org/watch
[Music]
timeless truths
a collection of classic sermons from dr
charles stanley
today’s selection recorded in 1997
part two of all our anxieties
when anxious moments just grab you and
you have
no warning that it’s coming how do you
respond to that
you feel worried you feel uh somehow
fearful there’s some bit of uncertainty
about something you’ve heard or some
situation you find yourself in
how do you handle anxiety well the truth
is that most people don’t handle it very
well
in fact most people instead of handling
it properly
usually use some means of dealing with
it that makes their anxiety even worse
for example
sometimes they will deny well i’m not
anxious at all i’m just
just forget it when deep down inside
they’re very anxious
sometimes they will just stuff it they
admit the fact that yes i am but i’m
just going to grit and bear it and move
on
often times they will look for someone
to blame and that’s their avenue
of escape if i can find somebody to
blame maybe i won’t feel quite so badly
but sometimes oftentimes people they
become anxious they look for something
that they can take that will quieten
they would say their nerves or whatever
it might be and so what do they do
they’ll either go to the doctor or
they’ll find something over the counter
that they can take that sort of
as they would say quiet them down to
settle them down
and before long because their anxiety
does not go away it may celebrate
slightly
they have to take a little bit more and
before long they are
absolutely hooked on some form of drug
and their means of escaping anxiety has
simply increased their anxiety now
what do they do god’s way of dealing
with anxiety is not in the bottle
it’s not by blame it’s not by stuffing
and denying it and suppressing it
it’s not any of that anything that you
and i face in life our heavenly father
who already knows about it
who is the great physician and who’s the
one who instructs us in the ways of
dealing with every aspect of life
he’s given us the ways of dealing with
anxiety
so i want you to turn if you will the
philippians because
the apostle paul certainly knew
something about anxiety and he certainly
knew something about
how to deal with it or he would never
have made the statement he makes
in this fourth chapter of philippians
and i want us to begin with the fifth
verse and we’ll read through the 11th
verse of the fourth chapter
and paul says let your forbearing spirit
be known to all men the lord is near
be anxious for nothing don’t be anxious
about anything
but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to god
and he says and when you do and the
peace of god which is the very opposite
of anxiety
and the peace of god which surpasses all
comprehension
shall guard your hearts and your minds
in christ jesus
finally brethren whatever is true
whatever is honorable whatever is right
whatever is pure whatever is lovely
whatever is good repute
of good repute if there is any
excellence
and if anything worthy of praise let
your mind dwell
on these things the things you have
learned and received and heard and seen
in me
practice these things and the god of
peace shall be with you
and then the rest of this chapter paul
talks about the philippian church and
how they had to revive their concern for
him
and how they had begun to support him
again in his ministry
and these uh two verses here that all of
us know so well in the
in the 13th verse he says i can do all
things through christ who strengthens me
in the 19th verse
when he says my god shall supply all of
our needs according to his riches in
glory in christ jesus
this fourth chapter of philippians is a
wonderful chapter and the apostle paul
says in this 11th verse not that i speak
from one
for i have learned to be content in
whatever circumstance i’m in
now it would be one thing for some
people to say that but
who is this man who’s saying i’ve
learned to be content
what he’s saying is you know what i’m no
longer anxious he did not say
simply i am content he said i have
learned to be content
which says this that the apostle paul
was not always contented
and so when somebody says well uh let’s
look at this whole issue of contentment
with the apostle paul and he says don’t
be anxious about anything
was the apostle paul ever anxious yes he
was he said i have learned
to be content in whatever state that i’m
in for example
in the seventh chapter of romans when uh
paul talks later on
in the uh in uh the galatians chapter 2
and verse 20 when he talks about he’s no
longer
no longer i that lived but that’s christ
living on the inside of me did he always
know that no he didn’t
because if you read the seventh chapter
of romans he sounds like most people
what i want to do i find myself
i just don’t have the strength to do it
what i don’t want to do i find myself
doing in spite of myself
and then he comes to that 20 verse of uh
galatians
2 and he talks about having been
crucified with christ and that’s no
longer i that lived but christ lives in
me
the apostle paul was just like all the
rest of us when god saved him he saved
a tremendous jewel in the rough lots of
rough edges on him
as he began to listen to the lord speak
to his heart and to teach him
he too had to learn the same way we have
to learn and that is through difficulty
in hardship and trial and failure
so when somebody says with the apostle
paul ever anxious when he says to us
don’t be anxious remembering now that
he’s writing this from a roman prison
cell
and he says don’t be anxious in fact
most of this letter
is concerned about the continuous
reminders of being
joyful and rejoicing the lord rejoice in
the lord and again he says i rejoice and
here is in prison
well one thing for certain he learned
something about anxiety
he learned something about contentment
and something about peace or he would
never have said what he said
nor could he have been saying this out
of a prison so what is it the apostle
paul knew
well i think the apostle paul learned
some things from the lord jesus christ
though he certainly did not walk with
him
yeah but more than likely he listened to
those who did
and he learned some things not so much
from jesus
as much probably as from his own trials
and difficulties so somebody says well
i want i want great faith you want great
faith get ready to get thrown in the
fire
because that’s where you learn that’s
how we you and i learn to trust him
you see the only way we can face
difficulty in hardship and trial and
difficulty
without being anxious is to have been
thrown into
enough difficulty and enough hardship in
life that we begin to learn by
experience you know what
he’s going to see me through this he’s
going to take me through this
he is not going to let me down he is
going to deliver me
no matter what well listen to what he
says in this passage
he says now be anxious for nothing but
in
everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to god
now you say well now you mean to tell me
that you’re telling me that all i have
to do is pray
in order to get rid of my anxiety no
that’s not what i’m saying
but i’m saying this the apostle paul
said prayer is
a vital part of dealing with anxiety but
listen to what he said
and this is the key he said
don’t be anxious about anything but he
says in
everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving so you see it’s not a
matter of saying lord
you know what i’m dealing with here and
god i want you to deliver me out of this
and god i want you to change this
circumstance
that is not the way to pray to overcome
anxiety
here’s what paul said he said when we’re
anxious this is where we deal with it
we bring it to the father we bring it to
god
don’t be anxious bring it to god he says
and bring it with supplication
and what does that mean it is it is a
very
clear honest confession god
i need you in this circumstance of my
life
i need to understand what’s going on i
need your help
it is a prayer of of neediness it is
saying to him
i need you at this time likewise he says
with thanksgiving
now you see oftentimes what happens is
we tell god what we want him to do
we cry out to him and explain to him
what how we want him to change things or
however he wants to change it and
what happens is we don’t we don’t we
don’t we don’t apply the basis
of our faith and so here’s what he says
he says now when you bring it to god
he says bring that bring that bring that
anxiety to him
with supplication acknowledging your
need
but he says also do it with thanksgiving
now the thanksgiving is the key because
here’s what it says if i can bring it to
him with thanksgiving
i’m thanking him for what i’m i am
coming to you father grateful that i
have the privilege to come to you
i’m coming to you thanking you for the
fact that i know that you’re concerned
about me and that you love me
i’m coming to you knowing that you have
the power to change and deliver me and
see me through this
i’m coming to you knowing that you will
because you promised to do it
you see it isn’t just a matter of saying
oh god i’m in trouble help me
it is a matter of coming to him listen
coming to him on the basis of what
you and i know about him listen
this is why so much praying is so
useless
because it isn’t based on anything it’s
based on a feeling and it’s based on
some need
paul says we come to him we we led
before him with what
with supplication and thanksgiving thank
you dear god
because you said and you and sometimes
if you get in that kind of position
you can just if you don’t remember these
verses you could turn to philip to
hebrews chapter 4 and you can just say
lord i’m coming in here’s what you said
you said in hebrews 4 15 that you
are a hot you are our high priest who
sympathizes with our weaknesses
you’ve been tempted and tried just like
we have and therefore we can come to you
and you said we have the privilege to
draw near to you with confidence a
throne of grace
knowing that we can find help in the
time of need i’m coming to you father
i don’t know how to handle this i don’t
know how to respond to this i’m coming
to you with thanksgiving i know that you
do
and this is why listen this is why you
cannot separate in meditation
the prayer and the reading of the
scriptures because what is it that gives
our prayer
what is it gives our prayer our prayer
real force and
and stick to it what is it that makes it
work
what makes it work is we know what god
said we know who god is we know what his
nature is
and he said come unto me all you that
lay under heavy laden he says
and i’ll give you rest i know that he’s
there
i know that he’s reliably there he he
wants to hear
he does love us unconditionally he is
there every single time
he says you can come to the throne of
grace where you can find help
in time of need i must know who he is
and i must know
what he’s promised and so when he says
lay it before him
he says we don’t have to be anxious but
in everything by prayer with
supplication thanksgiving
he says let your request be made known
to god
bring it to him and he says yes what
will happen
he says god’s response is this he will
give you such peace
that you will not be able to explain or
understand
it’ll be so awesome and overwhelming
that it will guard listen
it will guard your what does he say your
mind what the way you think
guard your heart against that anxiety
and so therefore when anxiety hits us we
don’t have to linger in it we don’t have
to have a pity party we don’t have to
give up we don’t have to throw a fit
we don’t have to get mad at god or
anybody else we can deal with it the way
to deal with it is immediately
bring it to god father when anxiety hits
father why because he’s the one who
knows how to deal with it
the apostle paul says don’t be anxious
but in everything with prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving
he says bring your petition to the
father now listen
here’s the key it’s not just it’s not
just a matter of me talking
to him it is a matter of me talking to
him and focusing on him
if i focus on the cause my prayer is not
going to get anywhere
he says let your request be made known
to him and the peace of god that
you cannot understand will surround you
guards your minds and hearts why because
we have we have carried to the father
our hurt
our anxiety our our feeling of
insecurity and uncertainty
whatever is causing this painful as it
may be but our focus is on him now
listen to what he says watch this we’ll
come back to this
he says now the peace of god which
surpasses all comprehension shall guard
your heart and minds
listen this will guard your hearts and
minds how
in christ jesus that is because of our
relationship to him here’s what he says
he says when you and i bring it before
him now this is the promise of god
he says i’m going to guard your mind and
heart so it will not be overcome by this
anxiety
how is he going to do that well i’ve got
to focus on him and listen
evidence of my focus on him and evidence
that’s where it is is i’m going to thank
him
i’m coming to you with thanksgiving
because i know that you know how to deal
with this
you promise to deal with it you will
deal with it you will deliver me you
will see me through it
the first thought when anxiety hits
father
father father father or jesus whatever
you want to say
now listen to what he had he follows
this up look in verse 8
he says now finally brethren whatever is
true and whatever is honorable whatever
is right whatever is pure
whatever is lovely and whatever is good
repute if there’s any excellence of
anything worthy of praise let your mind
dwell on these things
there’s a lot more in the christian life
to our mind and our thinking than we
realize
if i’m going to face any kind of anxiety
i must control what i’m thinking and the
truth is you can control what you’re
thinking now sometimes it may be
difficult
but he says listen we’re to bring
everything to him
focusing upon him and then he follows
this though he’s not talking about
exactly the same thing he follows that
was saying
now let your mind dwell on these things
if i want listen if i
want to deal with anxiety no matter how
intense it is in my life
i’ve got listen i’ve got to focus my
mind on the right thing
what is it that my god is the god who
loves me unconditionally
my god is omnipotent my god is here the
nearness of the father
i think about people who are lost and
people who have
faced anxious difficult situations in
their life and their idea of god is that
he’s up in heaven somewhere listen
there’s a long ways from here up yonder
out yonder somewhere
but he said listen that when you and i
trusted him as our savior he came to
live on the inside of us what is the
christian life
the christian life listen is the
expression of jesus through these human
bodies of ours
the reason you and i don’t have to deal
with anxiety and give up and have a pity
party and go into depression is because
we have
someone on the inside of us who
understands every single circumstance
and is there to do what
to wrap his loving arms around us and to
give us a peace
we cannot understand simply because that
is what he promised to do we’re his
children
now but if you read the bible once in a
while
you don’t understand who god is and you
just have a very hazy idea about what
god’s all about really
you know what you can pray and pray and
pray you know what anxiety does
it just increases increases increases
because your focus is not going to be on
the father
the focus has to be on him so what does
he say he says now think on these things
then look in verse 9 the things that
you’ve learned and received and heard
and seen in me
practice these things and the god of
peace shall be with you
practice these things and the apostle
paul certainly must have given
many testimonies for example of how
god had worked in his life oftentimes
i’m certain how he had failed
we bring them to him in in simple faith
and he says for example peter said cast
all of your anxieties upon him he cares
for
you but you know what if you don’t know
any scriptures to pull up
if you don’t know any very very you see
the thing about is when anxiety hits
the best thing to do is to turn to him
immediately and then if you can say
father here’s what you said
and what you have done you have put a
tremendous foundation
under that simple prayer god here’s what
you said you keep your promises
that’s why i cannot say enough to you
you’ve got to get in the word
listen i listen to you you stay out of
the word of god for a week
let anxiety hit you i guarantee you
it’ll take you down further than if
you’d been in the word that same day
because you cannot separate those two
and this is why so many people want to
say well i’ve been a christian i’ve been
saved a long time
i don’t know why i don’t know why these
things treat me though why do i get into
this
i’ll tell you why because my friend
the word of god is more important
in our daily diet than anything else
physically we put in these bodies
to face the stress and the tension and
the strife and the difficulty
and the hardship and the uncertainty in
the anxieties that come our way
what do we do we can bring him straight
to him father here’s what you said i’m
trusting you i’m bringing this to you
so in the apostle paul says don’t be
anxious about anything
but in everything by prayer and
supplication thanksgiving let your
requests be made known to god here’s
what he’ll do he says the peace of god
will so surround you fill you overflow
you
cover you undergird you that you know
what he says
he will he will guard your mind and
heart and keep you from being anxious
now
how do we find out whether we’ve learned
that or not
we get in situations and circumstances
where
suddenly
we’re going to feel anxious if we don’t
know what to do
now i can give you lots of illustrations
and so
i want to give you another one about
something that happened to me
uh when i was at photographing on the
oregon coast
i’m out there photographing and i’m
going down the oregon coast and
i decided how far down i was going
and i got down to the very last part i
wanted to
photograph a lighthouse down there and
so i’d gotten all my equipment out and i
walked way up this hill and got up there
when i got up there
they had this big cherry picker sitting
right up in front of it they’d been
painting it and so i couldn’t do it so i
walked back down
i stopped on the path and did a little
photographic so i came on back then i
thought well i’ll just stay here
until the evening comes and i’ll just
photograph the sunset
and so i did so the beaches are so
beautiful and so wide so when the tide’s
out you walk a pretty good ways out
there so i did and
stood out there and just waited for
everything to get right in the sun to
get right and so
after i had taken the pictures i came
back and took all
my gear off and laid it down and so i
reached in the pocket
and there was no key so i looked under
the car i thought maybe i dropped it
no i didn’t i thought well i was up on
the path and maybe some folks came by
and they haven’t recognized me got to
talking and i was bending over and
shooting so forth and so i thought maybe
i dropped it up there
i said no i didn’t drop it lord
father you’re in charge that’s what i
said
god you’re in charge you’re in charge
lord
so i walked around the car and reminded
him again again he’s in charge i said
god you’re in charge
so it’s dusk now and it’s almost getting
dark and looking at everybody’s gum
and then i see this sign that says high
crime
area well i said lord
you’re really in charge you’re in charge
so um i always made sure
my car was locked because i would only
take a portion of the equipment leave
the rest of it and so
i walked into the car and finally i
walked up to the windshield looked in
and there in the ignition was this key
the only key i had
i said lord i don’t know what’s going on
but i know that you’re god and i know
that you’re in charge and i know that
you’re in control of the situation now
here i am lord
there’s nobody else around here to help
me uh in fact i don’t even know exactly
where i am
i think i do i wouldn’t know
what to do at this point because i’d
come off the highway a pretty good ways
down
uh to the beach there and so i just kept
walking and reminding myself lord you’re
in charge
well for some reason i walked over and i
pulled the latch on the back door and it
opened
i always made sure every door was locked
before i walked away and left that car
you know i could have had a fit i could
have said god why would you let me get
down here and
and have all this happen to me but you
know what everything in me said
god’s in charge he’s in control you know
what i didn’t do
i didn’t focus on the lost key i
focused on what god is in control
of this situation in this circumstance
you know what i believe i believe that
god
loves to work out difficult things in
your life in my life now listen
and he takes great delight in doing it
if we will realize
that he’s the one who’s doing it if we
will depend upon him
trust in him not not do the way the
world does and that is oh what’s going
to happen next
you get all anxious and full of this
kind of stuff no
you see the reason we don’t have to do
that is because walking
beside each one of us every moment of
our life
is our father in the presence of the
holy spirit the truth is he’s walking
inside of us but let’s just say
he says he’s the paracletos the one who
walks by our side
now if jesus christ stepped up beside
you
in human form
when you were facing some real
difficulty what would you do
you’d say i’m not going to worry about
this one he handled this
right you know what you’d say he handled
it
well let me ask you a question then
what’s the problem
the problem is not that he’s not there
to handle it the problem is
we don’t have our focus
on the father and all of a sudden when
we get blindsided by some anxiety
what do we see we see ourselves alone by
ourselves having to face this listen
if you can just remember standing by
your side
is the omnipotent son of god
therefore let me ask you what should
ruffle
us what should throw us off base what
should get us
depressed and anxious and fearful if
standing by our side
is a loving lord who has promised to see
us through
every single circumstance of life
why did paul say don’t be anxious
about anything but in everything by
prayer and supplication let your
requests be made known to god in the
peace of god
which which you’ll never be able to
fully understand will garrison you about
surround you and protect your mind
and your heart from feeling anxiety
you