Anticipatory Anxiety

“Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered.

No one was there.”

 
Recently, the Chapman University Survey of American Fears (CSAF) conducted their annual survey of the top 10 fears in America. They do this by following trends over time and identifying new fears that might emerge.
  Among the top ten fears Americans currently have: Corrupt government officials; Economic/financial collapse; Russia using nuclear weapons; US involved in another World War; Biological warfare and Cyber-terrorism.
  Let me ask what I hope is a thought-provoking question: How many do we have any control over? Zero, nil, diddly-squat, zippo…you get the point. If 99.99% of us have zero control over these things, why are we afraid of them or what purpose is there in us worrying about any of them?
  Many people, including sadly many Christians, suffer from what’s known as Anticipatory Anxiety. That’s simply a “fear of the future.” Some tragic consequences of anticipatory anxiety are that victims are nervous and fearful about the future. Often, they spend time mentally dwelling on worst-case scenarios regarding future situations. Instead of dreading a terrible potential future with a low potential at that, God wants us to live where that missionary statesman, William Carey lived. Carey wisely said: “The future is as bright as the promises of God.”
  For the believer, the future isn’t dark, it’s brilliantly bright because our Heavenly Father has it all under control. What does the future hold for the believer? Let me point out five promises just from the book of Philippians.
  Future Perfection. The last part of Philippians 1:6, says, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” When someone is born again, they can’t be satisfied with spiritual mediocrity. They long to be sinless and ultimately be sin-free just like Jesus. Those of us who are “in Christ,” will, one day achieve our dream.  No more struggles, no more defeat, no more shame: perfection.  What a joy it will be to be “finished,” completed, perfect!
  Future Joy. Philippians 1:18 says, “…Christ is preached. And because of this, I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.” Every believer longs for joy. If you’re a Christ-follower, you can be absolutely confident today that you will do lots of rejoicing tomorrow, both on this side of the grave and on the other side of death. Paul was primarily thinking in terms of rejoicing on this side of the grave. His confidence in future joy gave him present joy. Paul and we can have hope based on the promise of our Father.
  Future Deliverance. Philippians 1:19 says “for I know that through your prayers, and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.” Whether we live or die, God has promised to deliver us. Either way, we win! No more disease or pain, no suffering, no more losses or tragedies, no more hatred or conflict.
  Future Grace. Philippians 1:20 says, “I eagerly expect and hope, that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” This wasn’t self-confidence. It’s holy boldness. Paul knew that God would give him all the grace that he needed to face anything and everything victoriously, and in that God would be honored by Paul’s life.
  Future Gain. Philippians 1:21 says, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” That’s to be our passion and goal now, “to live is Christ.” Yet, it doesn’t end there, “to die is gain.” For someone who hasn’t committed their life to Christ, to die is to lose everything.  No wonder so many will do nearly anything to hold off death. Yet, Christians have no reason to be desperate.  As much as we enjoy the things of this life, our deaths will bring gain, not loss – rest, joy, peace, comfort, satisfaction, perfect fellowship, and so much more. Seeing Jesus face to face will make every other gain seem small by comparison. Because our future is certain because of God’s promises, every believer should have Anticipatory Excitement!
  Which one do you have? Anticipatory Anxiety or Anticipatory Excitement? Anticipatory Excitement comes from focusing on God’s truth!
  In national parks, there are signs, “Please Don’t Feed the Bears.” When people feed the bears, those bears gain confidence and lose their fear of humans. They become dangerous as they become more aggressive. Many of us need to cross out the “B” and place an “F” there. The sign we need over our hearts is, “Please Don’t Feed the Fears.” As we feed our fears, they eat us alive. How can we feed our faith and not our fears?
  Habitually read God’s Word. Feed your heart on God’s promises.
  Go on a media and social media diet. Stop feeding the monster. The majority of what’s on there won’t help you trust God or grow in faith.
  Become more aware of your thoughts. Have you ever caught yourself just eating mindlessly? We do the same mentally. As the refrigerator has a light that goes on when we open it, we need a light to go off when we begin to head down dead-end dark mental streets.
  Fight imaginary fears with the truth of praise. In the midst of fearful circumstances, the psalmist continually praises God. Count your blessings and then count them again and again. There’s power in praise! By choosing to praise God for what you know is true of God’s character, you overcome your fears with His truth. Rather than following your heart, lead it.
  Remember what God has done, not what might happen. Remember God’s goodness in the past in your life. The conscious act of remembering His past faithfulness deepens our trust in His present goodness. Spurgeon wrote: “It is well to mark our mercies with well-carved memorials.” God commands us to remember His works. Why? He knows we’re so forgetful. Remembering what He has done strengthens our faith to fight fear.  
  Fight imaginary fears with an eternal perspective. Fixing our thoughts on the eternal keeps our perspective of the present balanced. It gives us clarity as to why we’re here and that this life, even at its worst, is temporary. Focusing on eternity inspires us to live lives of significance.
  As our trust in God’s truth deepens, we experience grace and power. Jesus is real. Let’s fill our minds with Him and His promises. And we’ll have no need to fear the future because He’s already there…waiting for us!

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