Anxiety and Worry can destroy your health, mentally, emotionally and physically.  Have you ever felt like worry and anxiety were about to overcome you? Maybe your nerves were way past being on the edge, they were over the edge. You may be feeling like this even right now.

You may have strained an “emotional” muscle.   Consider the pain that comes from a strained muscle in your leg, back, or arm. Your muscle can tighten, knot, or even be torn, all causing extreme discomfort and pain. The doctor will normally prescribe some sort of physical therapy which is intended to help heal and strengthen your body. They then give you exercises to continually strengthen your body you it can stand up under future stress better as well as instructions on things not to do that would clearly harm you.

Good health is the goal and it is very similar with your spiritual life.  Good spiritual life is the goal.  Not only will anxiety and worry can cause such stress upon your body that it will “strain” you mentally, emotionally, physically, and but also spiritually.

Any kind of stress can cause you to “strain” your soul if you are not careful.  If you strain a muscle you seek a physician’s help for a physical problem, but if your soul is strained you need spiritual help. God’s Word, the Bible, clearly gives us guidance as well as the strength and healing we need for our strained souls.

The physical therapist may take some sort of ointment or balm and work into your strained muscle.  In the same way, you need a spiritual “ointment” or “balm” to be able to massage your strained emotions and spirit, that will penetrate deep inside and cause healing to take place.  God’s Word is like this. It is not merely a book of do’s and don’ts, it is Spirit and it is Life.  Jesus said “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

Searching for Wisdom

I came across this Prescription for Anxiety years ago. I was reading a little fifty-year-old book by Charles Allen called God’s Psychiatry. It was a little book, easy to read, and given to me (free), which fit my reading criteria at that time. I had only been a pastor for a couple of years and was searching for wisdom on how to help people because in those 2 years I had already performed over 30 funerals.

Then one lady came to me and told me how much help she needed. She didn’t want to go to the doctor, she was clearly afraid that he would her on anxiety medicine, which she did not want. She had unexpectedly lost her two older brothers who had virtually raised her in the previous six months. Her parents had died years before and she was grieving beyond belief. She came to me, her pastor, who had only been a pastor  2 years and only a Christian 4 years – I had nothing to offer.

The Power of God’s Word

I suggested the seven day prescription for anxiety that was recommended in this book.  She came back the following week, a totally different person. She told me how on the fourth day, something lifted off of her and did not come back. Her faith was radically strengthened in Jesus and I was taken aback at her radical change and freedom from the oppression that anxiety and worry had upon her life.

What is the Prescription?

• It is so simple, you might not even want to try it.
• It is so simple, you might even laugh at it.
• If you have been a Christian for a while, it may seem so familiar that you might just say, “Oh I know that passage of Scripture,” and quickly discount it.
• It is so short, you might just pass over it quickly.
• But don’t!
• Why? Because it is so strong, so deep, so powerful, and so God honoring, that it will help you through the trials you are facing.

Here is the Prescription for Anxiety and Worry.  

• Take the Twenty-Third Psalm for Seven days, Five times per day, and Five minutes each time. 
•  Read it thoughtfully, prayerfully, and carefully.
•  Spend those five minutes praying this Psalm back to God, asking him questions about it, recognizing your relationship to Him, and His relationship to you. Slowly chew on each verse, savoring each bite, and allow your mind to fully focus on God, His Word, and His thoughts toward you.
•  Focus on God.  Who is God revealed to be in this passage?
•  Focus on what God does for you. You are mentioned (I, me, my) 17 times in this short passage. 
• Pray it to God, yield your concerns to Him, and allow Him to restore your soul.

 Remember, Jesus’ words are Spirit and they are Life!  This is spiritual balm and you need to allow God’s Holy Spirit to massage your soul (mind, emotions, spirit) with the healing power of God’s Word. God’s Word has life-giving power, allow God to give you strength and life through His Word.

Write it down and keep in your pocket. No matter where you are, stop and spend those five minutes with Him in concentrated focus upon His word.

The Rest of the Story

 

When this dear lady came and told me what the Lord Jesus had done for her and the power of God evident upon her life, I was overwhelmed.  I was overwhelmed with gratefulness to my King, but also overwhelmed with my inability to help anyone.  I realized that the wisdom I needed to help anyone was to help them get to the One Who is Wisdom Himself, King Jesus. I realized I had nothing to offer anyone, but Jesus has everything a person will ever need.

So I offer you Jesus, the Rx for Anxiety and Worry, the Good Shepherd!

Special note for dads and moms:  This is something you can use with your children as well. They will grasp the images as you explain them and show them pictures of how a shepherd cares for his sheep. Help them to know the God who is the Shepherd of their souls. Found by Sally Lloyd Jones, is a beautiful picture book of Psalm 23 to share with your little ones.

Blessings!

Bill Stevens

 

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