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Separating Anxiety from Truth


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Hey all, This is my first post. Sorry for any mistakes. My question is, how do I separate my anxiety's from God's warnings? I experience an anxiety disorder and sometimes its hard for me to tell if i am experiencing anxiety or if i'm experiencing anxiety because of something God is telling me. It's very confusing and depressing as I can't always separate God's voice from my troubled thoughts...how do I know the difference? 

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Welcome.

This is a great question and if the TV evangelists would consider this more often then we would get less so-called prophesy I think.

In the scripture, the Lord is not put off by people asking for confirmation as He has warned us that the devil can masquerade as an angel of light sometimes.

Abraham, Gideon, David and others all sought confirmations just to make sure it was the Lord speaking to them. So He will guide you to find a way as well. Your way will probably be different to mine, so I suggest you firstly pray about this and calm your inner fears somewhat.

I would also suggest that if there is a scripturally correct event you have come across that does not increase your anxiety level, then consider it something to think about seriously.

Anxiety is a peculiar thing that everyone to a greater or lesser extent suffers from. So take heart that the Lord Yeshua is quite acquainted with this as I am sure He remembers Gethsemane.

Edited by Justin Adams
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6 hours ago, YeshuaWarrior444 said:

Hey all, This is my first post. Sorry for any mistakes. My question is, how do I separate my anxiety's from God's warnings? I experience an anxiety disorder and sometimes its hard for me to tell if i am experiencing anxiety or if i'm experiencing anxiety because of something God is telling me. It's very confusing and depressing as I can't always separate God's voice from my troubled thoughts...how do I know the difference? 

Been there, done that.  I understand.

The devil brings fear [unhealthy fear], shame, doubt, guilt, and anxiety that lead self-loathing and self-absorption.  We CAN'T get our minds off of the anxiety.  God brings to our minds healthy fear of him, joy, confirmations, conviction, and peace. God's thoughts lead us to view  ourselves as his loved children and lead our thoughts to his work and others.

Even when God chastens me, that does not put me in an anxiety-ridden state.  The Bible says that God chastens those whom he loves.  Do I feel bad for sin?  Yes.  And I repent and then I am at peace.

Here is what Paul told the church at Corinth about our thinking:  "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled."

Paul says our entire battle is in the mind.  And he is right.  What to do then?

  • Be prepared ahead of time.  Read the Bible, take notes, pray, look for others who need love and help.  
  • Keep a journal and literally write down in two columns what you struggle with in your mind.  One column - anxiety and the devil.  The other column - God and his thoughts.  When you write them down and look at them objectively, you'll see more clearly what is of God and what is of evil and illness.  That way, you'll be able to recognize and distinguish these as they come and you will spend less time worried about them.  Why?  Because the thoughts won't rule you anymore.

More people suffer than you could dream of.  It's the devil's plan.

Edited by Jayne
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Hi YeshuaWarrior444.

Welcome to WCF!!  I sincerely hope and pray that you will be blessed by your time here.  :)

I also suffer from anxiety and also clinical depression - so I can relate to suffering from these things.  

In my experience with hearing from God, I have found that genuinely hearing from God actually gives you a feeling of peace and well-being - (even when God is rebuking  you or perhaps even chastising you).   Perhaps this is because part of God's basic nature is *peace* - along with love, joy, goodness, longsuffering, ect.  In contrast to this, the things that you generally hear from Satan will involve feelings of fear, emotional unease and torment - and will *not* involve peace and a feeling of well-being (which - as I have found - you will experience when you genuinely hear from God).

I read the other posts to you on this topic, and they definitely seemed to me to be giving you good advice.  The real battle that the Christian experiences is in their mind (as has already been pointed out).  And I believe that God will give you the grace to sort things out in your mind - even during those times when you are experiencing anxiety.  Also, (as has already been suggested), keeping a list: of what God's nature tells you, and of what Satan's nature tells you, also struck me as being a good idea for you to do.  Because during those times that you are experiencing anxiety, it will be a great help to you to read these things - because even during "subjective" (and/or anxious) times, your reading the things that are on these lists will help you to take an *objective* view towards what's really happening.

God really does love you, YeshuaWarrior444 - just like a good, loving father does.  And He's definitely *not* "out to get you," or to somehow try to "trip you up!"  The Enemy would have you to think these things about God, but such thoughts and/or feelings as these are *not* from God!

I'll pray for you - that you will learn to know and to perceive the things that are from God and the things that are from Satan.

May God richly bless you - as day by day - you will be caused by God to grow in the Lord Jesus Christ (Yeshua),

Lar

Edited by Lar
just for clarification
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God most often "speaks" to us through His Word, the Bible, as you might expect by the fact that it's "the Word." When we put the Word in our hearts and minds on a consistent basis, He brings to mind what is relevant in the situations we face.

Compare what you're anxious about with the Word. If it matches up, He very well might be trying to remind you of something, direct you on a different path etc. He will not tell you to do anything that is in conflict with His Word though.

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I love it that you call yourself YeshuaWarrior.  That tells me you know where your strength lies and that you're a fighter for the faith.  Good for you! 

I think the others have shared wonderful thoughts.  I just want to add this verse to your spiritual armamentarium:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:6,7).

The word translated as "guard" also means "to garrison".  This is significant because Philippi was an old military town where many retired soldiers lived out their last days.  They would really relate to the idea of Jesus "garrisoning" their hearts and minds so that the enemy could not successfully attack. 

I find that, if anxiety hits me, I need to sit down, take long, slow, deep breaths and meditate on that verse.  It stills my mind and allows me to listen for God's voice better. 

God bless you, YeshuaWarrior.

 

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Hello and Welcome, Warrior! :th_wave:

 

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On ‎4‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 3:33 PM, BK1110 said:

God most often "speaks" to us through His Word, the Bible, as you might expect by the fact that it's "the Word." When we put the Word in our hearts and minds on a consistent basis, He brings to mind what is relevant in the situations we face.

Compare what you're anxious about with the Word. If it matches up, He very well might be trying to remind you of something, direct you on a different path etc. He will not tell you to do anything that is in conflict with His Word though.

Hi BK1110 and YeshuaWarrior444,  I think that BK1110 makes a very important point here: "Compare what you're anxious about with the Word [i.e. compare it with the Word of God - the Bible]..."    YeshuaWarrior444, I was trying to exhort you and to comfort you with regards to how (I think) that you will *feel* when you hear from God (based on my own personal experience with this), but we must always remember that the Bible: the Word of God - always takes precedence (that is, it takes "first place") over anything that we might feel with our emotions (or even think with our intellect) with regards to anything that we may *feel* (or otherwise think) that we have heard from God.  I was simply trying to encourage you on an emotional level - because I think that I may have been "where you are at" with regards to your feelings of anxiety and with regards to your honestly wanting to *feel accurately* that you are hearing God.  I did this because we are both human, and I have found that it is often needful to comfort and to exhort someone who is feeling anxious about anything (such as their hearing from God accurately or whatever) - first in a caring, human, emotional sort of way - rather than to always start off in an objective, logical sort of way: that may perhaps sometimes seem cold and unfeeling to the person who is feeling anxious and/or upset.

But I think that BK1110 made a very important point:  and, (if I understood them correctly), even when you are feeling anxious about whether or not you are hearing accurately from God, the *safest* and the most *effective* way to discern what God's will *really* is is to compare your anxious feelings, ect. to relevant scriptures from the Bible - the Word of God.  But while you are doing this, just know that God (and also, other Christians), truly *do care* about what you are going through *emotionally* - such as when your mind is discomforted and you are in a state of emotional turmoil.  For instance, the Bible says: "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth [cares] for you." (1 Peter 5:7) KJV  (the word in brackets is mine - added for language clarification purposes)  My "read" on this particular scripture is that God cares not only about our practical, (biblically-explainable and/or empirical) situation(s), but He also cares about our emotional feelings - right in the midst of these situations.  So when you're logically and biblically checking out the Word of God against your anxious, emotional feelings, then please do remember that God *also* cares about your anxious feelings and your emotional state of mind.  OK?  <smile>

Edited by Lar
just basically for clarification and accuracy
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