Overcoming Anxiety
The last thing we are going to look at concerning what anxiety brings is found in Psalm 37:1
“Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.”
If we are not careful, anxiety can cause us to be envious of those who do evil. You may look around and think, “Those people who just do their own thing and don’t have to worry about serving the Lord or giving or living for Him, that is the way to avoid this anxiety.”
God says in the next verse there, “For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.”
You see that “grass is greener” thinking is just wrong. They have more problems than you can see. They are trying to face the same problems you are, only without God to aid them. By the Word of God, we know that all men have troubles, and the greatest of these troubles is going to be reserved for those who are without God after this life. Do not be envious of evil doers.
Next let’s look at some of the physical and emotional results of anxiety.
As I was sitting in Bible college one day, the teacher said, “90% of the things that people worry about never happen.” Now I have a tendency to look at things somewhat differently, so I said that this proved that worry works. You see either it is totally worthless, or it is 90% effective. Well, I think that we all know the truth, it is totally worthless.
Your anxiety and worry has never changed the outcome of one event. It has, however, changed you. It has brought you emotional instability. James 1:8 says, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” Anxious people frequently have difficulty making simple decisions. They become double-minded, they struggle with being insecure emotionally.
Anxious people are also quite stressed out.
I have heard many doctors and nurses confirm the statement that 80% of all illness is caused by stress. As you stress out, your body tenses up and your organs stop producing the chemicals you need to have healthy function. I know many who have shingles and hives that have been told it is because of stress. Heart attacks and a whole list of other ailments are often attributed to stress.
