On the bus ride from Entebbe to Jinja I was listening to a sermon by Louie Giglio from Passion City. It was highly relatable to my own life and I know it is relatable to a high percentage of you who might be reading this. In this sermon, Louie addresses anxiety.
He did a Google search on anxiety and about 0.20 seconds he was provided with about 197 million results. Throughout his sermon he states three main points. First point, Anxiety is BIG. According to his research from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 40 million adults 18+ in the US are affected. So, this means 20% of the adult population in the United States, not including those under 18 have a diagnosable form of anxiety. The good news is that it is highly treatable, the not so great news is that only 1/3 of people affected receive treatment. According to Louie, anxiety develops from a complex set of risk factors including genetics, brain chemistry, personality and life events. The one risk factor that most people leave out is SPIRITUAL WARFARE. He also mentioned that there is a great relationship between anxiety and depression.
This is where I will share a bit of my own experience. Starting around grade 7 I started experiencing symptoms of anxiety. Although people in my life noticed these changes and differences, they thought I was the one choosing the way that I was acting and living. And I myself just thought I was crazy. This went on for about 3-4 years until finally I hit a wall. In grade 10 I was diagnosed with “severe anxiety and depression” according to one therapist I went to. I thought, “Great, I really am crazy.” There came a time when I hit rock bottom, the lowest point in my life and by far the toughest battle I had to face. I was able to receive treatment, including therapist after therapist, psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors…you name it, and I tried it, medication after medication with side effect after side effect. This is where the spiritual warfare comes into play. In 2007 I was at probably the worst point regarding my anxiety and depression. At the exact time I was ready to give up, someone shared the gospel with me. I was told how much Jesus loves me despite my shortcomings, despite my sins, despite EVERYTHING; He loves me no matter what. From there I was introduced to the Christian community where I was shown tangible the love of God. This is when my walk with the Lord began and where my anxiety began to fade.
Louie reiterates all throughout his sermon that he is not trying to be a doctor. He talks about how anxiety hits everybody differently. There are common threads but it is different for everybody. He says something that sounds cliché, but is very true, YOU ARE NOT ALONE: anxiety separates us and makes us feel isolated and alone. Some people have described anxiety to feel like they are trapped in a room, 4 walls and heavy ceilings, closing in on you, falling into a hole, into a deep depth, with darkness surrounding you. I’m not sure about you, but for me these are the exact same ways that I feel when I experience a spiritual attack. Coincidence?
Jesus Himself talked about anxiety. Louie explains how the enemy knows the way to steal God’s glory is to make people try to control their own situations, which we cannot, which leads us to stress, fear anxiety etc. Jesus has a series of teachings about anxiety in Matthew 5,6 and 7. “Do not WORRY about your lives” Matthew 6:25. According to Louie, worry in Greek is the same word in scripture that is used for anxiety and means to divide, to separate from the whole, and to take apart and set alone. If we let it, it will take us away from our family, our work, the people we love, place us in an institution, hospital or place us in the middle of nowhere. This to me sounds like what the enemy tries to do to us. I thought this is what the anxiety was doing to me, but it turned out there was a lot more to it. As per Louie there are 2 things to remember. 1) You’re not alone. 2) You’re not crazy; anxiety makes you think you’re crazy. Here comes the second of the sermon’s 3 main points. God is BIGGER than anxiety. He refers to the scripture in Mark 9.
I will share a short version of Mark 9:14-29. Jesus saw a crowd of people arguing and asked what was going on. One man spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my possessed son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the spirit, but they couldn’t do it.” This frustrated Jesus because He knew they could do it, but because of their lack of faith and their unbelief, they were unable to. When the evil spirit saw Jesus it threw him into a violent convulsion. Jesus then commanded the spirit to leave this boy and never enter him again. This made the spirit angry. The spirit screamed and attacked the boy again before leaving his body. Once the spirit left, the boy appeared dead to the crowd, but Jesus took the boys hand and helped him to his feet.
Back to the sermon, belief is what pleases God. The enemy doesn’t want you to step into belief in God. The enemy works so hard to bring you down, so when you start believing in God, he works even harder, he doesn’t make it easy for you. Trust me, if you do not experience this it is very true. My coming to God was not made easy. Even after about 5 years of walking with the Lord, the enemy is constantly trying to bring me down. Jesus is frustrated with the unbelieving generation. Jesus can rid you of your anxiety. IF ONLY you BELIEVE. It won’t happen over night, but if you continue to have faith He WILL. EVERYTHING is possible for him who believes. Louie talks about how we so often try to substitute work that could happen way faster and better with faith. Many if not most believers often say that they believe, but sometimes they don’t believe. I definitely fall into this category. When don’t you believe? When you worry. When you worry you are stealing God’s glory. We must learn to pray that we DO believe, but God please help us overcome our unbelief. When you step into faith, the enemy will hit you with fear. In that moment you have to remember that Jesus is BIGGER than anxiety and He is going to take you by the hand and LIFT you up (just like the boy in Mark 9). Here is the Last major point of the sermon, God who is BIGGER and GREATER than anxiety (and the enemy) is not only God, He is YOUR God.
“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” Isaiah 41:10
Worry is an idol. We lift something else up and focus all attention on it, exalting it as an idol – we steal God’s glory when we worry. Louie asks us to remember these two things: 1) The God who is BIGGER than anxiety has special interest in YOU (1Peter 5:6). 2) You have access to Him at ALL times. Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. The Lord is NEAR. We have faith and trust that He is near when we BELIEVE.
“Do not be anxious about ANYTHING. In EVERYTHING by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God” Philippians 4:6
Louie said, “Doctors helped me, but I am so glad at the end of the day that I did not make my final requests to a doctor, but to God. What is stressing me is now sitting in the hands of God!” His peace will guard your heart and your mind. In every circumstance you are surrounded in angel army to ensure that God’s purpose prevails and that His work is done. God is on our side! He is doing the world that only He can do. We are set free to BELIEVE.
I still battle anxiety, but instead of trying to deal with it myself I give it up to the Lord and trust in Him that things will work together for His good. I can ensure you that the most important risk factor is not any of those that doctors have listed. Although they may play a part, spiritual warfare is the most important of these. I know this for a fact. I know this because I sought help in every way possible, but being released from the hold anxiety had on me was only made possible with God. I also know this because it is the times when I fall away from the Lord when I start to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression, the enemy sees me when I become weak in those moments I choose not to lean on God and he swoops in trying to tear me down again. When I choose in, when I choose to believe, to have faith and trust in the Lord, is when I feel truly free. The Lord set me free from anxiety and depression, not doctors.
