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Freedom From Fear: Overcoming Anxiety and Trusting God's Promises · Fostering Faith

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Hey, welcome back to Fostering Faith. I am gonna
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be your host Tracie Foster and we are in a series
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of Freedom in July. And this is gonna be our
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last two episodes and we are gonna take a break
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and enjoy August as it is our birthday month
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and we have school starting and finishing up
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a semester to start a new semester. So it's just
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gonna be just a more of a busy season. And so
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we are gonna be taking a break. and just enjoying
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the last bits of summer. And so come back for
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the next two episodes in July. And we are going
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to be talking about freedom and how we are just
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so called to freedom whenever we have Christ
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in our life. And so I'm glad that you guys are
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here. If you guys are driving, doing dishes on
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the hike, on a road, hiding in your car for five
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minutes. You belong right here. And I believe
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with everything that I think that we all need
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freedom. I think that we need to break chains
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off of whatever is holding us back. And so if
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you're new here, my name is Tracy Foster. And
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this is Fostering Faith, a podcast where we're
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growing in our faith, deepening our roots and
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living the kind of life that God actually designed
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us for. Not watered down version. We're not perfect.
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This is not a performance version. This is just
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really rooted and falling in love with Christ.
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And so this month, like I said, we are in the
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month of freedom. And today we're going to be
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starting with one of those things that steals
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a lot of believers freedom, and it's fear and
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anxiety. And so that low grade and worry that
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never quiets or gets rid of that voice that wakes
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you up at 3 a .m. that starts. listing everything
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that could go wrong, the tension that's in your
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chest. Whenever you think about your future,
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the unknowns, the things that you can't control,
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if that's you today, if anxiety has been sitting
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in the passenger seat of your life, telling you
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where you can and cannot go, this episode's for
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you. And so today we're gonna do a deeper dive
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and I want to take you through what the word
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actually says about fear and anxiety and why
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anxiety is so powerful. And the most importantly,
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What it looks like to walk in genuine freedom
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not just saying don't worry about it and trust
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God and move on Because that never really helped
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anybody Please stop saying that don't worry and
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just trust God it doesn't that doesn't help but
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actually understanding the architecture of anxiety
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and how scripture can speak directly to it and
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if You are in and have been to our website We
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think that we have the kinks worked out and so
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our July and June workbooks should be up. So
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go back and look at those and pull them up and
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I'll point you to some prompts as we go. And
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if you don't, no worries. Every word will be
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covered on this podcast and you can just write
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them down. But we do encourage you to go over
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to the Fostering Faith Media website where we
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have devotions and we have blogs that post every
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Sunday. You can sign up for emails and hopefully
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that is a utilized resource. And so I would love
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to pray for us before we start. And dear Heavenly
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Father, thank you so much for these listeners.
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Thank you so much that you meet us here and that
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you meet every single person that listened to
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this podcast right now. Their name, you know
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exactly what they're carrying. You know what
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they were talking about in bed last night. You
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know how they are. Just worried and nervous.
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I ask that you speak directly to them be with
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us as we go through this word and just break
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every lie every layer of fear and Bring the kind
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of peace that only you can provide and so thank
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you so much for all that you do in Jesus and
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my pray Amen, and so what fear and anxiety actually
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are and so before we can actually deal with something
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We have to be honest about what it is. And so
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let's start there. So fear is the most basic
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form of human nature. Fear in its most basic
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form is not a sin. I want you to hear that clearly
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because too many Christians claim and carry shame
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about anxiety and the feeling of afraid means
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that you have failed God. Fear is a God -designed
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physiology, an emotion response to perceive a
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threat. It's part of how he wired you to survive
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that fight -or -flight response and the spark
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of adrenaline and the heightened alertness That
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is not your flesh feeling that is your creator
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building in a protection mechanism The problem
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is not the feeling of fear. The problem is when
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fear becomes the governing force in your life
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Whatever you it makes you make decisions shapes
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your theologies drinks your obedience and keeps
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you from the life that God has called you to
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the distinction in scripture worth understanding.
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There's a Hebrew word and it's translated to
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the word fear. And so it carries a spectrum that
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means in the same place of terror or dread. And
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the reverence is so deep and the recognition
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of God's magnitude is so overwhelming. It recalibrates
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everything else that you've ever been afraid
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of. And when you properly grip by fear, you don't
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know what else to do. And so what happens if
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you are properly gripped by the fear of the Lord?
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When your soul has generally grasped who he is,
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every other fear has to be measured against that
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and nothing measures up. And so we have Proverbs
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29 and 25 that puts it real plainly. Fear of
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man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts
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in the Lord is kept safe. The word snare. That's
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a trap a thing that catches you to hold you a
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fear of man a fear of circumstances a fear of
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the unknown These are snares. They look like
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warnings, but they are actually traps They promise
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to keep you safe If you stay small if you stay
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quiet if you stay still But what they actually
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do is keep you from the very thing that god has
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for you now anxiety is what happens whenever
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fear gets untethered from a specific threat and
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becomes this free -floating state. And so anxiety
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is real. It's physiological. It involves the
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nervous system, brain chemistry, cortisol, the
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amygdala. These are all things that God created
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in our little bodies. And I'm not diminishing
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that by any stretch of the imagination But I
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am saying that scripture speaks into the root
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of anxiety in the way that goes deeper than any
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technique any coping skill any breath exercise
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Those all those have a place in everyone in people's
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lives The Greek word that is used in Philippians
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4 6 Translated as anxious or worried literally
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means to be pulled in different directions to
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be divided And that is exactly what anxiety feels
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like, isn't it? Part of your brain is trying
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to live in the present moment, but another part
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is actually catastrophically into next week.
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And another part is relaying on last year and
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you're being pulled apart. And so God had Paul
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write into this and says, do not be anxious about
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anything, but in every situation by prayer and
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petition with Thanksgiving presents your request
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to God. And so we'll come back to this passage,
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but I want you to spend real time here. But for
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now, I want you to sit with this. The antidote
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Paul gives to anxiety is not try harder, stop
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worrying. It is prayer. It is being a redirection
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of your attention from the problem to the person.
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And so if you're in that workbook, write it down
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honestly. What has your inferiority? What has
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your anxiety? What is going on in your life right
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now? And so it's about people and not knowing
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what to do. But if we have that Word of God that
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sits there right with us, and we always have
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Him, we always have prayer, we always have Him
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available for us. And so the biblical record,
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God directs commands not to fear. And here is
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the fact when I went you to plant in your mind
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the phrase is do not fear or fear not appears
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in the bible over 365 times this seems like so
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many times and some scholars say 365 some say
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closer to 300 depending on your translation but
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the point is that god says do not be afraid more
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than he says almost anything else and here's
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why that matters god does not command things
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But He has not equipped us to do. And so hear
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me again. And here's why it matters. God does
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not command things. He has not also equipped
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us to do. And whenever He says, do not fear,
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it is not, do not rebuke your humanity. This
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is an invitation into His provision. It is His
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way of saying, I know what you're up against.
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I am telling you with full knowledge of what
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you're facing. That you do not have to be afraid
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because I am right here Let me walk with you
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through some scriptures because I think that
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if you see the context of how and God gives each
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of these commands It might change some things
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for you guys and Isaiah 41 10 do not fear for
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I am with you Do not be dismayed for I am your
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God. I will strengthen you and help you and I
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will uphold you with my righteous hand This verse
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is spoken to the Israelites in exile. These are
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people who have lost everything, their land,
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their temple, their national identity. They are
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surrounded by enemies. They are in a foreign
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country and they are wondering if God has abandoned
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them. And into that, into this genuine, legitimate,
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terrifying circumstances, God says, do not fear.
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I am your God. And notice that he promises Not
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the immediate removal of the circumstance. He
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doesn't say the exile will end tomorrow He says
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I will strengthen you and I will help you and
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I will hold you the promise is that his presence
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and his sustaining power which I Would argue
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is actually better than him fixing the problem
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because he doesn't fix the problem You'd still
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be the same person, but if he holds you through
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the problem He changes you in the fire And so
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that that is a whole other kind of subject and
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we could just go off on that tangent But then
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we have Psalm 34 for it. I sought the Lord and
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he answered me He delivered me from all my fears
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and I love that because it's a personal testimony
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David is not sitting here writing theology from
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the comfort of his chair He's writing this psalm
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whenever he is fleeing for his life from King
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Saul pretending to be This insane in front of
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this Philistine King. He is a desperate Humiliating
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situation and his testimony is I sought him and
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he answered me He delivered me and the Hebrew
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word from delivered here actually means to snatch
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away to rescue to pull God does not gently Escort
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you out of fear. He snatches you Whenever you
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seek him and that's an action word that's rescue
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and we have second Timothy 1 7 and said for God
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has not given us a spirit of fear But of power
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love and a sound mind and so pay attention to
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that now how Paul is saying here Because it is
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it's so theologically loaded He says that his
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spirit of fear That is the deposition towards
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fear is a controlling governing force did not
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come from God. It is not part of your design
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as a believer. That is not from the Father. And
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so the word here, for fear, which means cowardness,
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timidity, shrinking back, this is not healthy.
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God honoring all of the Lord. This is the spirit
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that makes you shrink. This is what makes you
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silent. This is what makes you not be able to
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think that you can speak. This makes you stay
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where you shouldn't be going. And so Paul contrasts
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this with three things that God has given power
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Love and a sound mind He's given all of all that
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and so we go into first john 4 18 And he talks
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about like agape love the kind of love that casts
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out all fear and so he's has that agape love
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for us and so This is your inheritance as a believer
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not anxiety not timidity, not dread, but love,
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power, and soundness. And so why anxiety persists
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in the honest conversations? And so now here's
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where we get really real, because if all you
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needed was a Bible verse, we'd all be healed
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and we'd all need this conversation. So let's
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speak about the anxiety persists even when people
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who love God so deeply. who know the word, who
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are in church every week, who are in the Bible
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studies, who are praying. First, anxiety often
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has physical or neurological roots. And so the
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human nervous system, especially the autonomic
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nervous system, has a stress response that operates
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largely outside of conscious control. Whenever
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you perceive a threat, Your hypothalamus fires
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signals into the adrenal glands which release
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cortisol and adrenaline. Your heart rate increases,
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your breathing shallows, your blood flow redirects
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your muscles, and this fight or flight response,
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and it does not stop to check whether the threat
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is real, imagined, if it's in the past or in
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the future. And for people with chronic anxiety,
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this system can become dysregulated. It fires
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more easily. It stays on the stuck mode. It stays
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activated longer and it returns to baseline a
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lot more slower. And this is not a character
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flaw. This is not a faith problem. For some people,
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there is also genetic factors involved and there's
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no shame in that. What I want you to understand
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is that spiritual and physical healing can go
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together. And so seeking God and seeking help,
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whether that's through a counselor, a provider,
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I often recommend both. Both. Always seek counseling.
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And they're not contradictory. They are complementary.
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God is not offended if you go and get support,
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if you go get help. He is the one who made the
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human mind. He is the one who raises up people
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to help get you better. And two, anxiety is often
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rooted in unexamined beliefs about God's character.
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This is the part where most people don't want
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to look at, but here it is. The root of the most
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chronic anxiety is the question whether God is
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actually good, actually powerful, and actually
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for you. You might believe those things, like,
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theologically. You might affirm them on Sunday,
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but down deep in that part of you, of your soul
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that runs at 3 a .m., that spiral, is that question
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mark. Is there a place in you that is not quite
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sure that He has come through? Or maybe that
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he will be on time or maybe he won't that's uncertainty
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That's what makes the peace of God hard to access
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Because peace requires trust and trust requires
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a settled Conviction about the character of the
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one you're trusting This is not about accusations.
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This is a diagnosis the good news about the diagnosis
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is that it points you towards the cure. And three,
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we have been training ourselves to anxiousness.
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And so anxiety neurologically works like any
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other habit. The more frequently your anxious
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thought patterns run, the stronger the neural
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pathways become. Every time that you spiral,
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you are actually reinforcing that circuit. And
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neuroscientists call Heaven and learning and
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the neurons that fire together wire together
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This is why the biblical instructions is renew
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your mind in Romans 12 to it is not just spiritual
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metaphor It is a neurological accuracy and you
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can literally through constant practice and redirection
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your thoughts of truth rewire your brain default
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pattern and The Apostle Paul did not have an
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MRI machine But he did write Philippians 4 -8
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about filling your mind with what is true, honorable,
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just, pure, lovely, and commendable. That's a
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prescription for cognitive reconstruction, rooted
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in the Spirit of God. And so Philippians 4, 4
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through 9, has peace written all through it.
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And I want to spend some time on it because I
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believe that passage is the most practical Comprehensive
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spiritual breathe blueprint for overcoming anxiety
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and all of scripture and let me read the full
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Thing to you and then we can walk through it
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and so rejoice in the Lord always and I again
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say rejoice Let gentleness be evident to all
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and the Lord is near do not be anxious about
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anything but in every situation by prayer petition
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the Thanksgiving that presents your request to
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God and The peace of God which transcends all
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understanding and guard your heart I'm sorry
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and guard your hearts with your mind in the Christ
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Jesus and finally Brothers and sisters, whatever
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is true. Whatever is noble. Whatever is right.
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Whatever is pure. Whatever is lovely What is
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ever admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy
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such things whatever you have learned or received
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to hear from me or seen in me put into practice
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and The God of peace be with you. And so let's
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take a break and let's break it down because
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there's There's so much right here. Rejoice in
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the Lord always. Paul is writing from prison.
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He has been beaten, shipwrecked in prison, rejected,
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and he's not writing from a spot. He's not writing
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from the beaches of wherever. He's writing this
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from change and he's saying rejoice in the Lord
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always. The word rejoice is an active word. It
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is not passive feelings or It descends whenever
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your circumstances are pleasant. It is a choice.
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It is a posture from your heart that says, I
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will find the joy in the God that is not in what
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my circumstances are. And this is critical. He
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says, rejoice in the Lord, not in your outcomes,
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not in your breath or your finances or your relationships,
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but in the Lord, because those things will fluctuate.
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And you know what? He doesn't. He is this foundation.
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This is foundational because he is our foundation.
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Joy and anxiety cannot coexist. And so if your
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root is in joy and God's character rather than
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in your circumstances, your foundation that anxiety
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cannot erode because anxiety feeds off uncertainty
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and God's character is certain and the Lord is
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near. Four words that can change everything.
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Paul drops this almost right between let your
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gentleness be evident and do not be anxious.
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So I don't think it's accidental that he is saying
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it. The reason you can be gentle, the reason
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that you do not need to be anxious is because
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the Lord is near. He's not distant, not removed,
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not watching from a safe distance to see how
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you do near. The word Ignis is Greek, which means
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close at hand, like right there by you. This
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word is in present proximity. And so whatever
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you're anxious and lie there in that offer, the
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operating system is I'm alone. This is all up
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to me. If I don't figure this out, no one's no
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one will be here for me. And into that lie, Paul
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inserts the truth. The Lord is near. And do not
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be anxious about anything. OK, full transparency.
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The first time that I really sat. with this verse
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part of me wanted to push back and anything everything
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because some of those things i'm anxious about
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are real paul they're not small They're not imaginary.
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And here's what I want you to understand. Paul
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was not dismissing the reality of your circumstances.
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He is not saying those problems are not real
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or that you're not facing are invalid. He's saying
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that anxiety, the practice of worry and spinning
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the worst case scenarios and gripping tightly
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to the outcome is not an appropriate response
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to your real problems, not because they aren't
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real, but because there is a better way. But
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in every situation by prayer and petition with
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Thanksgiving present your request to the Lord
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So here's an alternative to anxiety prayer, but
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not generic and vague like God bless this mess
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prayer God Paul gets specific and so prayer is
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a general word for communication with God your
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ongoing conversation and relationship with him
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But a petition is specific urgent requests bringing
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your particular need to the feet of your particular
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fear to this certain situation directly to him.
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And then with Thanksgiving, this is where it
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gets interesting because Paul did not say with
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Thanksgiving that the problem is solved. He says
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to bring your request and Thanksgiving in the
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midst of the problem before you see the answer.
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Thank him for who he is, for what he's already
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done and what you know that to be his true character.
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Thanksgiving is a declaration of faith. That
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is, I trust you with this, even though I cannot
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see the end. And so then the presence that you
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request to God, the word presence means to break
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to means to make known. That's the word for disclosure
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that brings something into light. God knows your
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fears already. You're not hiding anything from
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him. But here is something that happens when
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your soul, whenever you bring it directly to
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him. Whatever you open your hands and say here,
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I'm not carrying this alone anymore The peace
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of God that transcends all understanding that
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will guard your heart and your mind in Jesus
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Christ This is the promise. This is the breathtaking
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Moment that you realize the peace of God Is not
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the absence of conflict. It's the presence of
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wholeness. It is shalom It is that deep selling
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well -being that is not dependent on the outward
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circumstances Paul says the peace transcends
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all understanding. That is beyond the ability
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to comprehend or manufacture. It is not a technique.
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It is not positive thinking. This is a supernatural
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gift from God that descends on what you do with
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things that Paul had described. And here is what's
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going on. It guards your heart and mind. The
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Greek word is a military term. It means to a
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garson, to stand watch, to post. and set guard
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and so like I always kind of think of the England
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Guard sitting outside of the thing and so they're
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on guard and so God's peace stands guard at the
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door of your mind and heart. It does not let
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every anxious thought march through unchallenged.
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It is active. It's of a protecting force. And
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so, whatever is true, noble, pure, and lovely,
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admirable, think about such things. And so, this
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is not positive thinking. This is not denial
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of reality. This is a disciplined reaction to
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the mind towards what is true. And what is true
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includes the promises of God and the character
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of God, the works of God. in the hope of the
24:23
gospel. Paul is saying your mind will go somewhere
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and the question is where you are directing it.
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Train it to return to the true good and worthy
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of praise and the God of peace will be with you.
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And so how does that make you feel? How does
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that make you feel knowing that God has never
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left you, that he has promises for you and that
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he has directed our thoughts and we're able to
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take those thoughts captive. And so building
24:47
your trust the firm foundation trust is not built
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on theory built it is built on evidence and the
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beauty of scripture is that it's recorded in
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God's faithfulness and evidence that we can stand
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on and I want to walk through some Promises that
25:02
God makes regarding fear and anxiety because
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I want you to have these in your arsenal And
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I want you to have these verses to reach at 3
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a .m. Whenever this spiral starts and so promise
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want his presence I have not commanded you to
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be strong and courageous but to be and not to
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be afraid to do not to discourage but the Lord
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your God will be with you wherever you go and
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Joshua 1 9 this is spoken to Joshua on the edge
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of the most daunting assignment of his life leading
25:31
millions of people into a land of enemies the
25:34
land that had never been governed and an impossible
25:37
task for any human measure but God's answer of
25:41
the impossible is not a battle plan it is to
25:44
go And the promise of the presence, I will be
25:47
with you wherever you go. Whatever you're walking
25:50
through right now, whatever the Jordan River
25:52
is in front of you and what it looks like, that
25:55
promise has not expired and it is yours. Your
25:58
God is always with you. And so promise two, his
26:01
peace. I will keep in perfect peace. Those minds
26:05
are steadfast because they trust in you. In Isaiah
26:08
26 three, the Hebrew is Shalom Shalom. The word
26:12
is. Peace that is doubled. Perfect, complete,
26:16
comprehensive peace. The condition of where a
26:18
steadfast mind, the mind that is fixed on God
26:20
rather than the problem. This is not saying that
26:23
you'll never have a hard thought. It is saying
26:25
that the peace is available to you that is so
26:29
complete that you can only come to God and it
26:33
is assessed through the posture of trust. And
26:36
so shalom, shalom, peace. And so just knowing
26:41
that, just breathing that in and just sitting
26:43
with those words. And so promise three is his
26:47
provision. Therefore I tell you, do not worry
26:50
about your life, what you will eat, what you
26:52
will drink or about your body or what you will
26:55
wear. This is not life more than food and the
26:57
body more than clothes. Look at the birds of
26:59
the air and do they not reap and sow and store
27:01
away for the barns? And yet your heavenly father
27:04
feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than
27:07
they? In Matthew 6, 25 through 26, Jesus says
27:11
in the Sermon on the Mount that He is not talking
27:13
about being irresponsible or passive. He's talking
27:16
about the trust in the Father of who provides.
27:19
He points to the birds who wake up every morning
27:22
with no savings account, no meal plan, no insurance
27:26
and says, our Father feeds them and you are immeasurably
27:32
more valuable to Him. The anxiousness about provision,
27:35
finances, physical, material are often rooted
27:38
in the question whether God sees and cares. And
27:41
Jesus answers that definitively. He does. He
27:45
counts the hairs on your head in Matthew 10 .30.
27:48
He knows that you need before you even ask in
27:51
Matthew 6 .8. He is not negligent, Father. He
27:54
is attentive. In promise four, his sustaining
27:59
power. Cast all your anxiety onto him. because
28:02
He cares for you in 1 Peter 5 through 7. And
28:05
the word cast is literally a throwing word. It
28:09
is what's used in Luke 19 35 when the disciples
28:11
throw their cloaks on the colt before Jesus rides
28:14
into Jerusalem. It is not a gentle handing over.
28:17
It is the act of releasing what you are carrying
28:20
into someone stronger. And the reason given is
28:24
not that God will be immediately fix everything.
28:28
The reason is because He cares for you. His care
28:31
is the ground of your casting. You do not have
28:34
to throw your anxiety into the distant God who
28:37
might not notice. You throw it to a father who
28:40
is actively, personally, and tenderly caring
28:43
for you. He may not, you may not have a great
28:45
relationship with your earthly father, but your
28:47
heavenly father is always active. He's always
28:51
personally. He's always wanting to help and lend
28:53
his hand. And he's there to correct us. He's
28:56
there to help us. And so what are some practical
28:59
ways that people can take away? And so here are
29:02
some things that I think are very practical.
29:05
I need to let you know that with what I know,
29:08
let's talk about how walking free from fear and
29:11
anxiety actually looks from day to day. Practice
29:13
one. Morning anchoring. Anxiety is a habit. that
29:18
begins loudest in the morning when your mind
29:21
wakes up and immediately starts cataloging everything
29:23
that could go wrong that day this week this year
29:25
and the antidote is the anchor before you open
29:28
your phone before you look at the to -do list
29:31
and before the noise sorts this looks like waking
29:35
up immediately before anything else happens and
29:39
fixing your mind on God even five minutes read
29:43
one verse pray one honest prayer and remind yourself
29:46
of who he is before you remind yourself of everything
29:49
that you have to do. In Psalm five, three, it
29:52
says in the morning, Lord, I hear your voice
29:55
in the morning and I lay my request before you
29:58
and wait expectantly. The morning is not just
30:01
a time to check your anxiety list. It is a time
30:03
to present yourself to God before the day even
30:06
gets started. And practice to thought interrupts.
30:12
The and redirects and so thought interruption
30:15
and redirection Your anxious thoughts come and
30:18
they will come and the practice is not to surpass
30:21
them because that doesn't work But to interrupt
30:24
and redirect the moment you catch yourself spiraling
30:27
name it out loud if you can this is anxiety This
30:30
is a lie. This is not from God and then redirect
30:34
it out loud Replace that anxious thought with
30:37
a truth statement not a empty affirmation but
30:42
specific scripture -rooted truth. God has not
30:46
given me a spirit of fear. The Lord is near.
30:50
Cast your anxiety to Him because He cares. And
30:54
this is what Paul means in 2 Corinthians 10 .5
30:58
when he talks about taking every thought captive
31:01
and crisis because captive is what the military
31:03
language is. Again, it is not a passive. It is
31:06
about a thoughtful life. You take it prisoner.
31:10
And so taking in those thoughts captive. And
31:13
so practice three, prayer journaling. This is
31:16
something powerful about praying on paper that
31:18
forces it to be specific. And if you ever listened
31:21
to us for any length of time, it is always write
31:24
it down and it slows the spiral. It creates a
31:27
record of what you brought to God and what he
31:30
did with it. And it becomes future faith fuel.
31:34
Write it down. And so whenever you write down
31:37
truth that counters it write it in prayer write
31:41
the Thanksgiving and then close a journal Make
31:44
a an intentional act of leaving it there because
31:46
it's cathartic. You're writing it down You're
31:48
writing whatever you whatever you need to say
31:50
and you're closing it and you're laying it at
31:52
his feet This is a physical act of closing the
31:54
journal is symbolic is the act of trust because
31:57
you left it at his feet Hey, this is your problem.
31:59
Not mine. You said give me your burdens. And
32:01
so here it is you take it And that way you are
32:03
free to do your day and know that he is working
32:06
in the background and doing all the things. He's
32:10
working on it whenever you can't see him. Practice
32:14
four, community. Anxiousness thrives in isolation.
32:18
And whenever you keep your fears to yourself,
32:21
they metastasize. They grow in the dark. We bring
32:24
them to light in trusted communities, friends,
32:27
mentors, counselors, your pastor. It's itself.
32:30
It's a healing act in Galatians 6 to it says
32:32
carry each other's burdens in this way That you
32:36
will fulfill the law of Christ You are not designed
32:38
to carry your fears alone the body of Christ
32:41
exists in part To help your you bear what you
32:44
cannot bear on your own Let some one in do not
32:49
block a blessing because we have pride and we
32:51
were anxious and we're nervous people are in
32:53
your life for a reason and practice five Gratitude
32:58
is a spiritual discipline. I mentioned this earlier
33:02
that Thanksgiving is woven into Paul's antidote
33:05
for anxiety in Philippians four. Research in
33:07
clinical psychology is also consistently showing
33:10
a gratitude attitude. And I've said this before
33:13
on the podcast so many times is gratitude practice
33:16
reduces anxiety, depression and increases. physiological
33:20
well -being and it's from a study that is in
33:24
psychology science in the journal of positive
33:26
psychology and so It is literally a positive
33:31
attitude, a gratitude attitude, really does help.
33:34
And so a lot of times we have people and they
33:36
have depression and anxiety and I will make them
33:38
journal 10 positive things that they can look
33:40
at throughout the day. And they really can, they're
33:42
just like, I can't, there's nothing, I have nothing,
33:44
10 things to be thankful for. And before you
33:46
know it, they're journaling 20, 30 things that
33:48
they're thankful for throughout the day. And
33:50
so this is not a coincidence. God designed gratitude
33:52
to reorient our soul. And whenever we practice
33:56
Thanksgiving, specifically intentionally on a
33:59
regular practice, you will literally train your
34:02
brain to look for evidence of God's goodness
34:04
rather than danger. And your renewing is by default
34:08
every morning or every evening. Write three to
34:10
five things down specifically that you're grateful
34:12
for. Be specific, not I'm grateful for my family,
34:16
but write why. What happened? what it meant and
34:20
specifically be in practice about working through
34:23
this. And so I want to close with something that
34:27
I think is the heart of this entire conversation.
34:31
Everything that we've talked about today, the
34:33
practices, the messages, the promises, they are
34:35
all means to an end. And the end is not simply
34:38
less anxiety. The end is more God. Freedom of
34:42
fear is not the goal of a Christian life. The
34:45
goal is intimacy with God. It's that relationship.
34:48
It's the fact that we love Him more every day.
34:51
And whenever we deeply, genuinely, comprehensively
34:54
are anchored in who He is, fear simply has less
34:59
ground to stand on. And I think of Psalm 23,
35:02
and you probably know it by heart, but here,
35:05
let's read it out loud. Slowly, the Lord is my
35:08
shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down
35:11
in green pastures. He leads me besides the quiet
35:14
waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along
35:19
the path that... of his named sake. Even though
35:23
I walk through the darkness valley, I fear no
35:25
evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your
35:28
staff, they keep me comfort. You prepare my table
35:31
before the presence of my enemies. You anoint
35:33
my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely your
35:37
goodness and love will follow me all the days
35:39
of my life, and I will dwell in the house of
35:41
the Lord forever. And I want you to notice that
35:44
David does not say that he will never walk through
35:46
the darkest valley. He says when he does, I will
35:50
fear no evil. Not because the valley isn't dark,
35:53
not because the enemies aren't real, but because
35:56
you are with me. That is the testimony. That
36:00
is the anchor. That is why fear cannot touch
36:02
us. Your valley may be real right now. Your anxiety
36:05
may have legitimate fuel. But the question is,
36:08
the spirit is asking you today, do you believe
36:11
that he is with you in it? Not just in the green
36:16
pastures, but in the valleys. At the table, the
36:20
enemy has set. in the midnight moment, in the
36:23
diagnosis, in the waiting room, in the broken
36:25
relationships, in the financial pressure, the
36:27
unknown future, is He there with you? And the
36:31
answer, my friend, is yes. It is unqualified.
36:38
It is historically just certain that the cross
36:42
is proven. Yes, He is with us. Romans 8, 38,
36:47
39 says, For I am convinced that neither death
36:50
nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither
36:52
the presence of the future, nor the power, neither
36:55
height nor death, or anything else in creation
36:57
will be able to separate us from the love of
37:00
God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing
37:03
can separate you from His love, not fear, not
37:06
failure, not your worst 3M spiral, not the thing
37:09
that you cannot say out loud, nothing. That ground
37:13
is freedom. And so friends, I'm so glad that
37:17
you spent time with us today. And I know this
37:19
is a longer, much longer episode than we've ever
37:22
done, but I just felt like I've just seen and
37:25
heard just so much anxiety is out there and you
37:27
can just see it. And so we covered a lot of ground
37:30
today, the nature of fear and anxiety and the
37:32
biblical peace and the promises that we can stand
37:35
on, practical ways that we can walk through freedom.
37:38
and here is what I want you to carry with you
37:41
freedom from fear is not the absence of hard
37:43
things because you know my thing you can do hard
37:46
things it is the settled presence of God who
37:49
is bigger than any hard thing he is the promise
37:53
he promised that he would be with you to uphold
37:55
you to guard your heart and sustain you and his
37:58
uprightness you do not have to be afraid not
38:01
because life is easy not because your future
38:03
is certain but because he is And if this episode
38:06
spoke to you today, I would love to hear from
38:09
you. Write a comment, share this episode, say
38:11
it to a friend that has and you know that is
38:14
dealing with a hard time. Share it with somebody
38:15
who needs to hear it. Make sure that you subscribe.
38:18
Make sure that you hit that follow button and
38:20
leave us a review. Leave us a comment. Help our
38:22
little podcast grow. And so you don't miss another
38:24
episode that's coming up next. We have one more
38:26
episode in this month. And so we're going to
38:28
be talking about something that lives right alongside
38:32
this one. and who God says that you are, because
38:36
a lot of anxiety comes from the identity and
38:39
hasn't been fully secured. And we're going to
38:41
be talking about living free in Christ and embracing
38:44
the identity that God has given us. And we can't
38:46
wait for you guys to come in next week. And we
38:48
would love to pray over you. Dear Heavenly Father,
38:50
thank you so much for this time. Thank you so
38:51
much for these listeners. Thank you so much for
38:53
the words and your promises. Thank you that you
38:55
are from foundation. Thank you that you never
38:57
leave us. Thank you that you never forsaken us.
38:58
Thank you that you are with us at 3 a .m. in
39:00
the morning. Thank you that we have the comfort
39:02
and the peace. only you can give. Thank you for
39:04
all that you do. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen
39:07
and amen. All right, until next time, do not
39:09
be afraid. The Lord is near. We love you guys.
39:12
We'll see you guys next time. Bye.