Worrying and fear

Good Evening brothers and sisters

I wanted to ask for your thoughts on some good teachings that can be recommended for dealing with the sin of worrying and fear especially concerning areas of life that are beyond our control.

Thank you and God Bless
MJ

MaryJane; worry and fear are just emotions; but
when they overwhelm you; they can bind you and
keep you from trusting that God reigns and has
everything in His hands and under control!! The
sin is unbelief.

I do realise that worry and fear are emotions but for my son they seem to be a very real struggle that I have not been able to help him with. I do know of course that Jesus is truly the only one who can give Him peace in this that is why I was hoping to find some teachings that I might be able to share with him. Over the last month he has been sick with stomach troubles and it is only getting worse. I took him to the doctor and they put him on acid reflux medicine and anti acids. He is unable to sleep at night due to the pain in his chest and stomach. They did some test and said that at this time he does not have an ulcer but that if he does not improve he will have to be scoped. He is very afraid of this and of being sick. He worries all the time and when the pain is bad he becomes very afraid. This just seems to produce even more acid and everything gets worse. You are right when you say that the under lying sin of worry and fear is a lack of faith, how do I help him with this. I have been praying for him and with him but his fear goes beyond reason and I am really not sure what to do.

Thanks for listening and for sharing.

God Bless
MJ

Therefore comfort one another with these words.

While this gentle assurance from1 Thessalonians 4 was given to remind one another that Jesus will return I think this is given to address a more fundamental anxiety of aloneness that can take hold of our hearts.

So much counsel today is filled with spot-on truth, but alas it is given in the form of a scripture pill intended for self-medication. The problem occurs when such a pill designed to medicate this sense of aloneness and fear is given to be taken alone! (Ah, modern Christianity where every Christian must walk their own private isolated spiritual path...)

So I think there might just be a second way to read "Comfort one another with these words" other then 'point out this truth.' Implied in this verse, is a patient and tender fellowship, even a companionship. It is embodying the hope of Jesus' closeness to us, by choosing to be close to one another through fear and loneliness.

It is not only stating the obvious "I'm only human---I can't help you so take your fears to Jesus and ask him for the strength to keep living' but instead demonstrating that power by saying "Share your fears with me, because I am not going anywhere." Confidence in Christ is conveyed in that position.

It is not despising weakness as strange, nor it is it dismissing it as invalid. It is approaching the very real presence of fear in the hurting person, with the assuring fearlessness of love. It is not about a correct recital of the facts of God's comforting presence only, but a demonstration of this truth in our own comforting enduring companionship.

I do understand that none of what I am saying is a cure...and even if we stand by one another, years may continue to roll by without hint of resolution. Yet, inspite of my fairly decent awareness of scriptures that address fear, I've had the most effect in comforting fearful people by giving the hours, weeks, and even years of compassion with them until they are strong enough to walk again. This is not to say that scripture is impotent, but that God's word is not simply a manual for fixing people in the manner we sometimes approach it as we flip through the blessed pages looking for 'answers'. If we wish someone to see how Perfect love casts out fear, we might need to find such perfect love, not in the pages of scripture, but in the 'tablets of our own hearts'. (Which clearly you have, as evidenced abundantly by the tender burden you carry for your son!)

I once had a close friend who struggled with work-a-day employment. He literally had a kind of claustrophobia when it came to working for people. Invariably his fear and mistrust of employers would function as a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy where they would end of pushing him out so to speak.

At first I felt this need to 'fix' him in a hurry. This verse, that verse...this sermon, that book. Yet, grace was given to me to simply walk this through with him with no timeframe placed upon the outcome. I can remember nights when he could not sleep because he was filled with so much fear...I would pray with him over the phone that even as he slept he would know that Jesus is at his bedside watching over him. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper;

Praise God, this very good friend has been 'healed' of this burden. My part of his journey along this path took almost 7 years...his own part took decades. There was no steady vector of progress to encourage any of us along the way...only a sudden clearing at the end of the dark forest he seemed lost in. He and his faithful supportive wife are the most hopeful they have ever been. His confidence and vision for providing for his family is strong...and now inspiring me! (As an added bonus, his poor credit over the years has prevented him from acquiring any serious debt, ironically positioning him financially better then most middle aged men he knows---their career success has been wasted on big houses, cars, and credit cards! God is wiser then we are.)

In conclusion I realize I haven't provided a scripture "pill". Your love for your son, and companionship is going to go the furthest to building him back up. There might be times you feel helpless, but it might just be that his inability to see and trust God in some area is helped by his ability to see you. And taking hold of the precious truth of God's nearness to his children is the surest road to peace and security within the fractured and fragile heart that must experience bruises and cuts in this hostile world.

Many men want to throw exhortations of toughness and courage at another man who is fearful, but I have learned from the lamb of God that tender love is the most unafraid power in the universe. Finally taking hold of the love of God may seem too soft and irrelevant as a cure for debilitating anxiety and fear, but I have seen that when we at last take hold of God's love, the chains of fear begin to fall away. It's unyielding strength is akin to a tender dandelion that pushes it's way through concrete sidewalks. It does not push or claw...it simply lives.

Your son is blessed to have a mother who can feel such tender burdens for him.

Blessings,

MC

Mary Jane,

I have a son who struggles with anxiety disorder. I am familiar with the fear that goes beyond reason. And the helplessness of watching a son suffer with it. I am praying for your son and for you.

Compton, yes and amen! A lady who spoke at our church recently was sharing on the value of community in the body of Christ and giving each other the “present of proximity”.

So maybe we can learn to bring the Scripture pill and hold the hand while they swallow it.

Danielle

the value of community in the body of Christ and giving each other the “present of proximity”.

So maybe we can learn to bring the Scripture pill and hold the hand while they swallow it.

I like the sound of that, Danielle.

MC

Thank you Danielle and MC for your post. I am grateful also for your prayers.

God Bless you
Maryjane

Check today's My Utmost for his Highest by Oswald Chambers.

http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php

narrowpath

Here's a great sermon by John Piper.

https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/singlefile.php?lid=10385&commentView=itemComments

Jordan

Greetings

If you are led to pray please do so for my son. The pain he has been dealing with is still happening. He has been on several medicines that have given some relief but the doctors now want to do an ultra sound to check his gall bladder for stones. He is still struggling with fear and worry. Through all of this we have had some very good discussions and I know he is seeking Father. Please pray for him to come to the cross, he knows what he needs to do but fear is holding him back. Please pray for him to have faith in the Lord and to not give into the sin of fear and worry but to put his trust in the Lord. Through all of this may Jesus be lifted up and glorified.

Thank you
and God bless
MJ

May you find blessings with Psalm 91 and Psalm 102. Cheer up.

MaryJane,

Our hearts go out to you and your son, dear sister. Especially as parents we feel the sorrow and concern you have for your son's state and health.

Yesterday I was so sadly pained, when a good friend shared with me his own son's struggles. We prayed tenderly and earnestly only as two fathers can pray for their sons. Who can pretend to know why certain things can afflict our children, whether they be physical or spiritual, except that in Christ there is an answer.

Though it is a wilderness, it is not all briars and barrenness, as you are demonstrating for our benefit. God deepens our knowledge of him with these difficult things. In these times we are more sensitive to his comforting presence. We ourselves, for our children's sakes, become as a child in His bosom, and more determined to avoid the darkness that wants to influence our families at every opportunity.

We join in prayer for you and your son, while he is being tested by the doctors. How wonderful to know he is seeking and is being open to trusting God. And your desire that Jesus is honored in all of this ministers encouragement to us.

Thank you,

MC

mj, It is none of my business,but is your son saved? how old is he?

I may have a clue to the pain .

I had this exact same thing happen to me.
It was finally diagnosed as anxiety disorder.
If he is a christian,he can assist you in getting free.
Have him pray with you. I can promise you without a doubt he will be freed.

I have learned one thing in this cristian walk. The devil ALWAYS looses.

David