Anxiety

^{1 Peter 5:6-11}

⁶ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, ⁷ casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. ⁸ Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹ But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. ¹⁰ After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. ¹¹ To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Do you ever feel anxious? I was very anxious the day our first child was born. I was somewhat anxious when I had surgery in 2022. I was anxious when each of our children went off to college. Even when I am confident that things are going to proceed as planned, I tend to get a little anxious. Do you?

Peter tells his readers that they are to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God and cast all their anxiety on Him, because He cares for them. Do you humble yourself under the mighty hand of God? Do you cast all your anxiety on Him? Do you believe that He cares for you? What does it mean to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. What does it mean to cast all your anxiety on Him? How do you cast your anxiety on Him? How do you know if you have done this? Is this something you have to consciously do, or does it ever become second nature?

In Psalm 38, David says that he is full anxiety because of his sin. What does this mean? Is this a proper time to be anxious? Are you ever filled with anxiety because of your sin? What did David do about his anxiety?

The writer of Proverbs says that anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down. Do you agree? How does anxiety weigh us down? What can we do about it? What should we do about it? Does the writer of Proverbs offer any words of wisdom on the matter?

Jesus seems to offer some words of encouragement about anxiety in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:25. Do you agree? How do you understand Jesus’ words? Is the Sermon on the Mount applicable today? If so, how do we practice what Jesus says about anxiety?

Do you ever get anxious? What do you do about it? What should you do about it? How would you explain to someone how they should handle anxiety?