Get Out of Your Head - The Antidote for Anxiety

As we look around our world. There is much to be fearful of financial uncertainty, health crises, political and social unrest.

How do we avoid being overwhelmed. What can we do to not only bend ourselves against anxiety to fight that's today welcome to this vision of living on the mission of these daily programs is to motivate Christians to really live as most of you know chips are regular Bible discipleship for the series is turn the mic over to a close friend of a recognizer by tens of thousands of women around the country were in the middle of Jenny's series get out of your head that she's been sharing seven crucial and toxic thoughts that pollute our minds she continues. If this is your first time listening to Living on the Edge or you just want to learn more about what we do encourage Living on the Edge.you will find tons of resources on a wide range of topics, and countless programs for you as our guest teacher Jenny Allen talk or anxiety. We are about to talk about anxiety and I know so many of you are fighting matters. Let's go. Let's see what Skipper has to say about it.

Luke 1247 I tell you my friends do not fear those who kill the buying and after that had nothing more they can do that.

I will warn you him to fear him after he is killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you here him guys when God says do not fear anything in this world is because he has asked it is because nothing can come against you.

Even the enemy without God's permission. Some people have wrestled with this truth and and on such a little theologian like I love seminary and I still love reading commentaries and books in archaeology because when I understand who God is. It really has truly shifted everything about me and everything about my fear and my parenting and my marriage is just it truly has invaded. When you truly know God and he's in his rightful place a Debbie Tucker says a thousand problems are solved all at once outside I believe that, and that's what I always want to preach someone a peach, lift high God and I believe that fear that you feel will diminish and when I think of the theology of this truth that God has power over the devil that bothers some people because they think no like this is if God had power of God allow this into my life. The suffering this difficulty. Whatever it is that you fear what happened that happens, then how can God be a good guide and I'm telling you, you do not want to entertain God over suffering and evil like that idea that God isn't powerful over it is not comforting. That's not actually helpful.

So let's start with what's true, which is God has you got has every circumstance that you face.

God understands the moments that fear is that your feeling that doubts that you're feeling he understands and knows about all of it and he's powerful over it.

However, there is real things that we are afraid. I was with one of my good friends recently in. She confessed that right before her wedding to Lisa for her wedding.

She went the paralyzing fear that she was going to lose her future husband, and then the weeks following. And she's going to marry a few weeks, the weeks following. She wept as she sat across from me and told me that her fear has gone away. So these precious weeks leading up to her wedding and following her wedding. Her first few weeks of marriage had been marked and tainted with an absolute demonic attack. I believe a fear over this precious couple and it is just completely taken the joy out of those weeks of her marriage and she was saying, you know, it's making me grateful and all these positive things about it hit the table and I said you listening right now. I said don't put words from God on something as evil.

This fear is not from God. This is evil. Yes, God not have allowed this to shape something about you girl you find it. This is the devil like eat all fear is from the enemy and he is seeking to kill steel understory and so this precious couple. I'm sitting there watching them and I'm watching her try to like make sense of it, and I like croaky eliciting mix into the enemy is coming for you. You are a powerhouse couple. God's glory is all over your lives together and was all over your ceremony was all over your engagement and the enemy is stealing all the joy out of it. So we've got to take this seriously with I see this as any attack that this year that has invaded our culture has invaded our minds invaded the background noise of our lives.

We barely even notice it anymore.

Were so afraid it's just part of our thought process every single day.

We confided we better start noticing it to call it out and we had a fight so let's talk about how we fight this because when I wrote about this in the book we really came up with what are the weapons that God's given us these powerful divine weapons that second Corinthians talks about what are these divine weapons that God is given us, and in this case is trust right it.

It's not that we can avoid the things we fear you know will something happened to my friends husband one day it will fit on one day they might be 90, but one day, something will. We cannot completely guard our lives from the bad things are happening right like that's not possible is not the goal in this world will have trouble God says so.

We cannot guard our lives and protect everything we love and just believe out God's never to let anything bad happen to me. You know godly people that things that happened that some of you follow Jesus and love them with all your heart. Bad things have happened to you. We follow Jesus bad things that happened I so so it's not there's not real fears is that those fears are mitigated by this hope that is eternal and so Paul says it this way. He says my light and momentary trials know the funny thing is when he says my light and momentary trials.

He's talking about being shipwrecked nearly killed and present like the worst things on earth that can happen, you are happening to Paul and so he's speaking of these things as light momentary what because he has a view of eternity that is so real and palpable to him.

He knows he's in the first little opening scene of eternity that this is just such a short and important part of his life, but he's not to be derailed by the only power the enemy has wishes to right now currently in this world.

He still has some power.

Now he doesn't have Victoria's power. He's not in it. When in the end the right now. God allows the enemy to bring attack against us for a season, knowing that that time will end. In Revelation promises that there will be a time where he is cast and kept from the people of God and the suffering and death and darkness will no longer be a part of our story in a part of our lives because God will deal with it forever.

That time is coming, but in this time there is a mercy of God that hold back his hand because at the time of justice at the time of judgment. There are people that will perish. And so, yes, we are aching to be with God.

One day, but we work to do in the meantime, as long as history still turning in the earth is still spinning that we have work to do here and Paul's mentality was and not get distracted by the difficulty I'm not you live paralyzed by the fear that it will happen, it will happen like difficulty will happen will be surprised by it, but I will live with hope in eternity that that I can deal with anything I deal with here and we talk about this first before but I love it so much as in Philippians and he says to live is Christ and dies again. There is a hope in heaven and eternity that is bigger for Paul and any other thing. Any other thing in his life when I was preparing for this book when I taught there was the book of Philippians. I taught two different verses in and we looked at the mind and Paul was so single-minded. He was so fixed on Jesus.

There was such a clarity to his life to his decisions, to who he loved, and how he loved and what he spent his time doing. There was so much clarity to his life and I found myself as a really deeply study Paul just envious of his certitude of his confidence of his absolute possession by God of just spending his life. Well, and said this is the model that we have you know he even said it like follow me as I follow Christ. And so as we follow him. What we find is a single-mindedness that has provided this escape route from fear. It has provided a way out from fear because what grips those of us in fear is that we would lose something on earth and what Paul knew was on her list things on earth to live like Christ if I'm alive in Christ lost his life, Christ lost friends. Christ was betrayed on the lose on earth as white death is again because that's where everything is reconciled. So now what is it look like to lay down our fear. What is it look like to have this kind of perspective to be single-minded to not fear the enemy but took to recognize that he's trying to mislead us right. That's what Luke's talking about is hey don't don't diminish the enemy like don't be afraid of death. Don't be afraid of sickness. Don't be afraid of suffering here. I very afraid of sending be afraid of that, the one that can send you to hell. So he saying make sure that's right like that's the only thing that can be taken from you is eternity. Everything else can be redeemed, it can be used for good. It can be worked into this eternal story, but make sure that thing is right. So let's do that right now my hope and prayer is that if you don't know God that this will be the time that you know him and so if that's you and your like you know what I'm afraid of everything that I had not even thought about death and eternity. I want you to do that right now I want you I want to make sure that the only thing God says the fear which is separation from him forever that that's taken care of for you.

So me tell you how simple it is. You never trusted Jesus Christ.

This is what you do you say God I need a Savior. And I believe your son Jesus Christ as it I believe that that he died for me. I believe that my sins are forgiven because of him and I want to follow him with my life.

I believe he was raised from the dead, and I want to be raised from the dead to God. I want to give my life to you on here and that's how simple it is. That's what you pray, rewind, do it right now in your car wherever you are and that is all that we have to do to be right with God. You'll is to trust in the blood of Jesus Christ that it recovered so now I want to speak to those of you that know Jesus and known him for a long time and are paralyzed by fear. Do you believe do you believe this book that tells us that he is gone before us and is building a home for us. You believe that this is a story or part of the believe that he is more powerful, and every single thing you fear. I told my friend I said you know what I can tell you that your husband� Tomorrow I can't is not something I can absolute with certainty promise you, but I can tell you I've lived long enough and I have been doing nothing.

I have seen people I love go through enough that I can promise you this on the day that something unthinkable happens, you will have more grace from God to deal with that than you can possibly imagine.

You don't have that grace today but on that day. I've seen it again and again and again he will give you everything you need to go through that on that day so we don't fear that not because it will be hard not because my dear friend it did just lose her husband is trying hard to just breathe and take care of her child every day.

I'm not saying it's easy. I'm saying that it's possible to walk through the darkest nights when we have a hope that last forever. We have a God who not only a saint. Hey, hope in heaven he saying I will walk through this with you. I will be in it with you. I will provide things you can imagine on that day.

No, I don't understand why bad things still happen to good people. I don't have the answer for that. I can just tell you that I know there is a good God is more powerful than alternate and that one day we will all understand.

We may not understand here to how do we not fear. How do we not have anxiety well we start by making sure our view of God is right and that happens by knowing him intimately and walking with him regularly known his word. Knowing who he is and it starts also by feeding ourselves truths instead of lies so many of the things were afraid of are even true on this day my friend was not being asked to deal with the death of her husband. It wasn't even true, and yet it was paralyzing her on that day, so we have to start by fighting the lies on a given day. That's why in Philippians, Paul writes, Inc. on things that are true.

He tells us what to think about. He talks about all these beautiful attributes noble and credible at attributes that were supposed to focus on instead of lies and one of the first things he says is that whatever is true, you think on these things. So is it even true.

We have what it ourselves to death and so much of our fear is pretend it's not even true.

So on this one.

I mean you guys. I know the last one it's connection. We talked about that weapon against isolationist connection.

It's a really tangible thing you you take somebody to coffee that weapon to noises stillness and time with Jesus.

The weapon to this one is trusting all this just takes fighting for belief and trust in God that we would fight for our faith that we would prizing that we would realize that waiting on God and trusting in God.

It contains great reward, like there is a great reward in our faith in our trust in him and as we trust more more. We watch them come through. That's what I've seen my 40 something that's where I am today that I wasn't yet 23 is that I have just watched him come through again and again and again my trust is grown, that I know don't stand here trembling about what might happen to my kids don't stand here afraid of what happened to my husband now I think about it too long. I will and I don't see that I don't get energy to that when I start to fear it.

I stop it I interrupted, I redirected I don't get it energy why because what gives some things that dark that hard energy when Don is not asked me if they said today. Why would I feed that why would I get that energy one might have to face that fact I probably will. Somebody I love dearly, but hasn't a kid, something will happen one day and I will have to think that, but I know on that day I will have it any so I don't feed it today feed that fears are you feeding fear. What fear are you feeding and how can you interrupt it, how can you use the weapons God's given you the word of God. The community around you, like, how can you bring those things into it and help to build your trust to depend on him more and did not let this thing take you out because of fear is taking us out. It is, it is distracting us. It is derailing us. It is keeping us from being bold is keeping us from joy is keeping us from peace it derailing us and so we gotta find a better so let's go with this idea of is it true and what I want to do is just write down some of thoughts and I want you to find the thing that worrying me the most is getting the most anxiety and I want you to work it through this grid. If you read the book you know and this grid has a few simple questions on I can given to you right now. One of the questions is, is it true is that thing that you're worried about even true, and it is and some of you it is right. I work through this grid in the thing I was worried about the most was my son and he just left for college and was worried you know is the can make good decisions is again a day. Girls I like and and somehow you I work through this thing that I was you know he he somehow ends up in prison. If I make that decision.

This is an out and then get out and this is not somehow you like in prison and and it is not even true. No, like right now.

My son loves God and he's making good choices for the most part and he's a great kid. Why am I so worried that he can derail his life and it wasn't even true or real. I'm not saying that it's perfect. I'm just saying it went. It wasn't totally based on reality. But even if it was safe for you. The answer is yes. My son is in prison there is still hope over that and yet my joke is I guess if he goes to prison, you know, we can go to prison ministry together and I like my poor son if he wasn't busy going to kill me because he is such a great kid, but my point is there is redemption in all things like because of God because of hope, because of eternity. Stretch out forever because the power of God to take things that are broken and turn them in. Things are beautiful.

That is the continued story of redemption. How God works. Then we have hope in all things. There is nothing that we don't have hope because he works all things together for good.

That is what Scripture tells us, so even if something about his true then the next question is what is God say about what is God's word say about it and you began to just note things like you know what he is working all things together for good.

Heaven is coming and I have a home with him forever.

You need to start putting what's true and then the last question in this little grid is right and believe God.

That's the real question and I think for a lot of us, we can work through you know is it true or lie and then you can put the truth on it. What's God's word say but then choosing to believe that truth on a daily basis.

That's where he gets a show that's where we've got to choose better. We got to put our foot down and say no more, no more my can do well in this no more Mike and if he does no more am I gonna get energy this and you bring your community and fasting. You interrupt the slide stop the spiral because you can because at the point that� Your mind, your energy, my God can confess it to people and you can interact Julio to go for anxiety series will join us in just a little pictures of additional thoughts about what we heard today.

Let me ask you a question what drives your thought life is anxiety, loneliness, feeling like the world's out to get you.

Perhaps you really pessimistic or obsessed with being recognized whatever it is to feel trapped by what, no matter how hard you try. Your mind still drifts back to these ideas with the series generally identifies seven common fonts that are actually toxic to our lives and can derail our connection with God. Don't live so we can break free from these dangerous mindsets by wielding the power God's already given us whatsoever not to fight back and win the war for minds. If you have to miss any part of the series from JBL in the chipping warm-up is a great way to catch up anytime trips jointly in studio. No trip. I know you're really eager for people to hear the series from Julio, but there aren't a lot of broadcast ministries that invite special guests to share, especially someone who has their own audience. The minister to regularly. So what was it about journey on this continent that made airing these messages. A no-brainer all day.

Let me tell you I was a point guard in college and what I learned as a point guard was sometimes I needed to shoot, and sometimes I needed to get the ball to the best person in the best place to score and when I'm looking at what's happening to the next generation what I'm seeing that the fallout in the family and the gender confusion. Then all the, things are happening in our world. I thought our audience needed to hear from a woman who is committed to Scripture who lives this out, and who teaches in a way where not only men but especially women could hear the voice of God, you know, part of Living on the Edges Montreux are our mission is this is helping Christians live like Christians at this stage of my life what I want to do is I will address what are the issues that are keeping especially young people from living like a Christian, and a lot of it is the thoughts. These toxic thoughts and not renewing their mind, but I'm thinking that the average, 30, 35-year-old woman with young kids will probably hear what Jenny has to say in a way that they can really digested because I think she reaches a part of this generation that I could never do nearly as well she does.

Jenny and I both love the Lord.

We both love the Scriptures and that's why put her on the broadcast and not only that were promoting her book. I would love people to get this book to read it to study it and get other head extra will to get your hands on Julie's insightful book visit LivingontheEdge.org or call AAA 333-6003.

Her words will embolden you to really take every thought captive to find freedom from toxic thinking again to order your copy of get out of your head by Jenny Ellen go to LivingontheEdge.org or call AAA 333-6003 that's AAA 333-6003, or LivingontheEdge.org or the triplets here your application for journey sure today as we wrap up today's program. Some of you are thinking to yourself, I think I know why Chip asked Jenny Allen to speak to the living room edge audience. You can hear the passion you can hear the application you can hear her commitment to God's word that we have to not just identify the why it's not just enough to say no this is the truth. I love her last line we have to believe it, and believing isn't like just intellectualizing you heard her say you have to verbalize it. You have to confess that you have to act on it and you can interrupt those fears and interrupt that anxiety unit reminded me of a passage I memorized and you might be helpful for you to do the same. But second Timothy 17 it says for God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love and power and self-discipline and so the prayer changes.

God, I can't do this to you have given this spirit inside of me and so by your power and by your grace, I'm going to verbalize out loud. I choose not to be afraid I'd choose not to be anxious about this. I choose to take this step. Even though I'm fearful and I'm asking you because your spirit lives in me to give me the power as I take the step you like the 10 Commandments and then you know Moses is ready to open the Red Sea and it isn't until they step into the water is not until he raises his staff. In other words, there is an action of obedience. There's a step into the unknown.

But at the moment that step happens that's when you experience grace.

So let me encourage you do not stay discouraged. I like her spirit. She repeat something quite a good fight fight.

Don't give up. You can hear the energy and the tenacity and I think we can grab that from the Lord by his spirit, and by his power. So let me encourage you. Let's do it. That's a great reminder triplex as we wrap up this program just a quick but important thought Living on the Edge depends on listeners just like you to help us continue to encourage Christians to live like Christians. So, would you consider partnering with us on a monthly basis to others can benefit from the Ministry of Living on the Edge to set up a recurring donation call.

Also AAA 333-6003 or go to LivingontheEdge.org apples. Donate. Thanks in advance for doing whatever God leads you to do will join us next time as our guest teacher Jenny Ellen series get out of your submission of living will be a