And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
(Hebrews 11:6).

Last Update 01/07/08

We can modify our personal worlds by changing our belief systems and our thought patterns. As we change our belief systems and thought patterns, according to the New Testament, we continue to overlap our personal worlds with God's real world.

When I was a Christian Education Director for a church in California, one of my responsibilities was to recruit teachers for the Sunday school. While I was visiting a church member, who we will call Elizabeth, I presented an opportunity for her to teach a sixth-grade Sunday school class. She thought about the offer for a few moments and then remarked, "I have always wanted to teach a Sunday school class, but I worry about saying the wrong thing or teaching a false concept." As we continued to talk, I discovered that she worried about a great many things in her life. She shared many past experiences that supported her belief that when things are going well, a disaster always happens. She described one situation that occurred while attending a State University. She was dating a very nice, Christian man and they talked frequently about getting engaged. As she put it, "Things were going very well." Then her boyfriend invited her out for dinner at a fancy restaurant. Toward the end of the evening he said, "I have decided to transfer my credits to another college and move away, so we will have to end our relationship." While this is a typical situation in the dating world, it hit Elizabeth particularly hard. She had set all of her hopes on marrying him. This event along with other bad experiences influenced the development of a new belief.

Now, her belief is, "when things are going well, a disaster always happens" and that belief is producing anxiety and that anxiety is spilling over into every facet of her life. Now, confronted with an opportunity to teach, her anxiety is dominating her decisions. Elizabeth is no longer waiting for something to go well to anticipate disaster. She is anticipating disaster even before anything goes well. Why do Christians worry? Is it wrong to worry? Is there an alternative to worrying about food, clothing, shelter, family members, work, finances, health, relationships, and so forth?

Worrywort: Somebody Worrying Excessively. Common worries include worrying about (1) finances, (2) marriage, (3) employment, (4) ministry, (5) health, (6) children, (7) personal physical harm, (8) personal needs - safety, love, fun, recognition, belonging, acceptance, etc. and (9) personal spiritual status.

Worry comes from how we "make sense" of our personal world. Worry is also called anxiety and is a dynamic state of mind. Anxiety can come from our responses to perceived danger or misfortune. The anxiety thinking-pattern is one kind of a six-step mental process - the six-step mental process is explained in detail in our book Natures of Mankind Psychology.

In our culture, it is perfectly acceptable and perhaps even expected that each of us spends a respectable amount of time worrying about everyday issues. In fact, if some people are not worrying, then they think that something is wrong with them. They think that if they are not worrying, then they just don't care about other people or circumstances.

Some people might wonder, How can I trust a God Who allows all these bad things to happen to my friends, my family, and to me? If God allowed all these things to happen, how can I trust Him with the details of my daily life? Under those conditions, we might think things like, What should I do? How am I going to handle this? What if something goes wrong?

These kinds of thoughts are components of the anxiety thinking-pattern. What thoughts do you have when you worry and/or are anxious? Do you have thoughts such as "Is my marriage falling apart? What can I do? How can I make him/her change?"

In the New Testament, the Greek word (mer im nah') has been translated anxiety, worry about; care for, or be concerned about. It is a feeling thinking-pattern. It is a combination of thoughts that can reflect anxiousness or worry. It is a "mental process" and a dynamic state of mind.

When the anxiety thinking-pattern is allowed to continue in our minds, we will use it to respond to a real or perceived threat from a person or circumstance. We may respond to a threat by a person or circumstance by using the anxiety thinking-pattern that we learned from the sin nature - the "old self" or the "flesh." For a more detailed explanation of a feeling thinking-pattern read the book Natures of Mankind Psychology.

Casting Worldly Worries on Jesus. The word translated anxiety is usually applied to worries about worldly things: present day life, property, and possessions.

Don't Worry About Life's Needs. In Matthew, Jesus discusses the worries of living. He gives us guidelines about anxiety by telling us not to worry about food and drink, clothing, the future, and how to handle persecution and death (see Matthew 6:25,31,34; 10:19,28). Jesus says: For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (Matthew 6:25). But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33). Be concerned about God and His righteousness rather than life's needs. You can eliminate worry from your life by trusting God.

Don't Worry About Serving Jesus. In Luke, Jesus discusses the worries associated with serving Him. He tells us to focus our minds on Him rather than on the "who, what, when, where, and how" of serving Him. A summary of His conversation with Martha: Martha was distracted and worried about all the things she wanted to do to minister and serve the Lord. Jesus tells her that only one thing is necessary. He is referring to what Mary is doing: she is sitting at the feet of Jesus, focusing on Him, and listening to everything He is saying to her.

Transform Worry Into Prayer. The apostle Paul addresses the problem of anxiety in Philippians 4:6. He tells us not to worry about anyone or anything. The following is a summary of Paul's teachings: Don't worry or be anxious about anyone or anything. When you pray, pray out of gratitude to God by making requests for favors, rights, and mercies, then His peace, tranquility, and serenity will protect your hearts and minds from annoyance, distraction, anxiety, obsessions, and so forth, in Christ Jesus.

In the New Testament, the word translated faith comes from the Greek word (pis' tis) and it has been translated faith, trust, belief; the Christian faith; conviction, good conscience; perhaps body of faith, doctrine, assurance, proof; and promise.

Hebrews 11:1 defines faith further by saying, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." The word translated assurance means confidence and conviction. The word translated conviction means certainty. Therefore, when we speak of our faith in God, in the following passages, we really mean our trust, conviction, confidence, and certainty in Him as God, what He says, and what He does in our lives past, present, and future.

Trust God with Everything. The first step in our Christian lives is establishing a relationship with God. But, before we can establish a relationship with anyone, we have to believe that the person exists. Therefore, we must believe that God exists. But, what kind of God exists? Is He a God in Whom we can place our faith (trust, conviction, confidence, and certainty)? Is He a God Who will always make everything work for our good? If we truly want to please God, we will have to make the decision, "I will trust God with my salvation and with every detail of my life." The writer or Hebrews tells us that we have to seek God, believe in Him, and believe that He rewards the seeker (see Hebrews 11:6).

It is important to discard the anxiety thinking-pattern and replace it with the faith thinking-pattern by renewing your mind. In the faith thinking-pattern, we are no longer focusing on worry. When you discard lies, myths, deceptions, and misconceptions and replace them with the truth, you are renewing your mind. You renew your mind by changing what you believe. When you change your belief system, you can be transformed (see Romans 12:1,2).

Discarding Lies and Embracing Truths. You can change the anxiety in your personal world by changing what you believe. You can also begin the process of overlapping your personal world with God's real world. The world and the flesh will tell you lies through your experiences. The devil will plant lies and deceptions directly into your mind and they will always seem to be your thoughts. To renew your mind, begin by stating the belief, "I can reject each lie or deception and choose to replace it with the truth. Each time I do this, I will be renewing my mind." Then, compare each lie or deception in the left column with the truth in the right column.

Use the following prayer to help you change each lie or deception that you currently believe to the truth.

Read the following prayer aloud:

God, my Father, I discard the deception that (read the item in the left column) and choose to accept that (read the item in the right column) as the truth. I choose to make this part of my belief system and act on it in my daily life. In Jesus name. Amen.

The contents of this web page are excerpted from Chapter 7, Replacing Anxiety with Faith, in the book Natures of Mankind Psychology.

© 2007 by Jerold L. Reed All Rights Reserved

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