HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 33
page A31
Adversity and the normal problems of life cause anxiety. Sometimes anxiety is the result of
wounds from the past that were not your fault.
• PR O VE R B S 2 1 :1 7 | Those who love pleasure become poor; those who love wine and luxury
will never be rich.
Laziness and poor planning can lead to anxiety.
• C O L O SS I A NS 3 :1 3 | Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends
you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Making mistakes can lead to anxiety in our lives and in the lives of our friends.
• 1 SA MU E L 2 5 :1 7 -2 0 | “You need to know this and figure out what to do, for there is going
to be trouble for our master and his whole family. He’s so ill-tempered that no one can
even talk to him!” Abigail wasted no time. She quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread . . .
100 clusters of raisins, and 200 fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys and said to her
servants, “Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly.” But she didn’t tell her husband Nabal
what she was doing. As she was riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David
and his men coming toward her.
Working against the clock, especially on an ongoing basis, can cause deep anxiety.
• 2 C O R I NT H I A NS 1 :8 | We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the
trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed
beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.
The intense demands of life have the potential to overwhelm you. The expectations, the
criticism, and the scope of needs and responsibilities can threaten to crush even the
strongest person.
• L U K E 1 0 :4 0 -4 1 | But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She
came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here
while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear
Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!”
• MAT T H E W 1 3 :2 2 | “The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s
word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure
of wealth, so no fruit is produced.”
Anxiety can cause you to focus on the trivial and miss the important. As pressure squeezes
your perspective inward, you lose the big picture. Preoccupation with the issues of the
moment can sometimes blind you to what’s really important.
What can I do when I’m overwhelmed by anxiety?
• 2 C O R I NT H I A NS 4 :9 | We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked
down, but we are not destroyed.
Keep going! Knowing that God is by your side during times of anxiety can help you to keep
from giving up.
• PSA L M 5 5 :2 2 | Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not
permit the godly to slip and fall. (See note on Stress on page 508.)
• I SA I A H 4 1 :1 0 | “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
• PSA L M 6 2 :2 | He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be
shaken.
• J O H N 1 4 :1 | “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.”
HelpFinder
• NU MB E R S 1 1 :1 0 -1 4 | Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents
whining, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated. And
Moses said to the Lord, “Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy
on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? . . . I can’t carry all these
people by myself! The load is far too heavy!”
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What are some of the dangers of anxiety?