Proverbs 12:25 A Good Word for the Anxious

4/27/10

Time Spent: 20 min

Main Idea: The cure for anxiety is a good word.

What I Learned about God: God's Word has within it creative power but also the power to live in the present.

Summary: In this short adage, it talks about two positions: anxiety and gladness. Anxiety has the result of weighing someone down; however the "good word" spoken to a man will make him glad. Not only is it a sin to have anxiety in your heart, relating to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and Paul's exhortation to not be anxious about anything, but it also has affects on the way a person lives his life. Anxiety "weighs down" in the sense where it leaves a man stuck and stranded because his worries envelope him.

What is the cure for anxiety? It is the good word. It is not just "buck up" or "try harder", but it is the news of God's Word that brings life for all men. Understanding this stems from the idea that it was God's Word that created the universe. Also, it is God's Words that are to shape and formulate a believer's identity. Jesus knew the power of the Word as He prayed that believers would be "sanctified by the truth" (Jo. 17:17). The Word of God reminds us that God is greater than our anxieties; causing a gladness that we do not bear the burden alone and also for His providence that this is no burden that will overcome us.

Application: This hits at the sermon I preached for AWANA. When I preached this for Sparky/T&T, I was shocked to see how many of these kids had worry in their lives. I realized that worrying isn't just confined to adults and college-aged students, but that it's relative to everyone in life. The reason why is not in the degree or complexities of problems, but that we're all self-sufficient inside. We think we handle problems alone. We think about all that we can do and live like practical atheists. This reminded me of my own self-sufficiency, how I have worry in my life regarding school and also church. Membership at NET and AWANA isn't growing, the church is continuing to have problems, I'm not doing great in school this semester, I have no idea how I'm going to get to Japan after I graduate, etc. These are all worries even though they are under the "banner" of Christ's work. Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones said that "we need to talk to ourselves and not let ourselves talk to us", and I think we deal with anxiety in this very way. We share the Bible to ourselves through Scripture memorization and prayer instead of being guided by our problems and thoughts. I will speak Phil. 4:5-6 when I have worries come throughout my day.