EB: 22 Your Worst Enemy in the Endtimes

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Chapter 22

Your Worst Enemy in the Endtimes

Contents

A) The danger of worry

B) Protection from worry

C) A process to overcome worry

Primary Points

The Almighty God on the Throne has PROMISED you things. We need to TRUST those PROMISES if we are going to please and glorify God and obey His commands.
The most dangerous thing we will face in the Endtimes is our WORRY because it will keep us from fulfilling our greatest purpose to please and glorify God.
We are tempted to think WORRY will help us be SAFE, but WORRY just causes us to SIN.
The most repeated command in Scripture is: Do not fear. If God tells you not to be afraid, then there must be nothing to be afraid of! If you are, it is because you are believing a lie.
WORRY is the clearest symptom of idolatry. We WORRY when our idols are threatened.
Giving our money is the very best way to demonstrate it is not a sinful idol in our life.
We often use our imagination to worry about tomorrow and sin against God.
Usually your WORRY hurts you more than what you are worried about! Why is this? Because the vast majority of things you worry about NEVER HAPPEN!
Wisely planning for the future and worrying about the future are two very different things. And your emotions will tell you the difference.
God will only give you everything you need one day at a time. He only gives what you need today because today’s trouble is enough for today.
You can be absolutely certain of one thing in the Endtimes: You will experience the blessing, favor, and miracles of the Almighty God who loves you.
Exodus Conviction #5 is: God will provide everything we need to obey Christ’s Last Great Commandment.
Trusting the TRUTH activates God’s Spirit in you, to control you. Believing LIES triggers your sinful nature and WORRY to control you.
How do we keep our thoughts fixed on God, so we experience perfect peace? A foundation biblical answer to that is another promise that is also a command: Be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom 12:2 NIV).
RECOGNIZE, REVEAL, and RENEW sums up three practical steps that can help the Christian overcome negative and sinful emotions such as worry, anger, and discouragement.
Everything we feel comes from what we are believing.

In chapter 17 it was explained that one of the Exodus Convictions you need to obey Christ’s Last Great Commandment is #5: God will provide everything we need to obey Christ’s Last Great Commandment. You will not be able to obey Christ’s Last Great Commandment if you cannot TRUST God to take care of you and your loved ones. This is because God created us with a deep need to feel SAFE. We will not do anything, or go anywhere, that feels dangerous. Again, God made us this way. But throughout Scripture and our life God commands His people to do things that will not feel safe. Like Christ’s Last Great Commandment in Revelation 18:4.

So what does God expect in such things? As discussed in the previous chapter (21), there is an important motto for anyone pursuing Christ’s Last Great Commandment: LOOK UP! You need to use your imagination to “LOOK UP!” and keep your focus on The God in White on the Throne. More specifically, you need to focus on the biblical fact that this Almighty God on the Throne has PROMISED you things. And we need to TRUST those PROMISES if we are going to please and glorify God and obey His commands. Including Christ’s Last Great Commandment.

In this chapter and chapter 24 we will discuss some of those powerful promises. But first, we must recognize the most dangerous thing we will face in the Endtimes. What do you think that would be? The Antichrist? Persecution? Violent men and authorities in a desperate and dangerous world? All the Endtime wars, famines, plagues, earthquakes, and death that Jesus warned about (Matt 24:6-7; Rev 6:8)? Christian, none of those things will be the most dangerous thing you will face in the Endtimes. Rather, the most dangerous thing in your life will be WORRY.

A) The danger of worry

A.1) The sin of worry

How could WORRY be the most dangerous thing in your life? Because the most important purpose of your life is Exodus Conviction #7: I will do my best to please and glorify God in all I do in the Endtimes. If you WORRY, you will fail in your most important purpose. If you WORRY, you will displease and disappoint God. And that is the very worst thing a Christian can do in their life and the Endtimes.

It is easy to think that dying in the Endtimes is the most dangerous thing you will face. But if and when you die, it will be God’s will (cf. ch. 23). And through your death you can fulfill your greatest purpose: to please and glorify God. But WORRY is never God’s will, and it will be your greatest enemy to fulfilling your greatest purpose in the Endtimes. If you want to please and glorify God, you need to be more concerned about WORRY, than anything else you would worry about.

As noted, God created us with a deep need to feel safe. But He wants us to trust Him for our security instead of our WORRY. We are tempted to think WORRY will help us be SAFE, but WORRY just causes us to SIN. Again, there is something much worse than death: It is disobedience. And WORRY is in direct disobedience to the most repeated command in Scripture.

Did you know that? Did you know that the most repeated command in Scripture is: Do not fear? (e.g. Gen 15:1; Exod 14:13; Josh 1:9; Ps 23:4; Isa 41:10; Luke 12:32). ^{^[1]} If God tells you not to be afraid, then there must be nothing to be afraid of! And if you are, it is because you are believing a lie.

The Apostle Paul said it this way: Do not be anxious about anything (Phil 4:6 NIV). Many Christians do not believe you can sin against God with your feelings, but only in your actions. But fear and being anxious feelings and Scripture commands against them. More specifically, Webster’s Dictionary defines “anxiety” as: “Feeling apprehensive, uneasy, or nervous because of a concern about something impending or anticipated. It results from doubts about the reality and nature of a threat.” ^{^[2]}

Again, such feelings are sin, and are daily, even hourly feelings that many Christians have. In fact, feeling anxious may be the most common sin that Christians commit. Why? Because it may be the most subtle sin. Sinful emotions like WORRY and anxiety are so common for Christians that they do not even recognize them as sin. John Wesley said, “I’d rather cuss than worry.” He understood the moral seriousness of WORRY. But while many Christians would not think of cussing, they seem to have no problems with worrying a lot.

Some think Paul was being unrealistic when he wrote, Do not be anxious about anything (Phil 4:6). They doubt that God actually expects this of His children. But remember, Paul wrote this command while in prison, awaiting the possibility of being executed (cf. Phil 1:14, 20-25). Christian, understand what God is saying here. Understand what He is saying when His most repeated command in Scripture is “Do not fear.” As a child of God, you NEVER have a good or true reason to feel afraid or anxious about ANYTHING. You may think there is, but if God commands you, Do not be anxious about anything, then you can be certain there is truthfully nothing for you to worry about. God would not command you to do something that would hurt you. God’s will for your life, now and in the Endtimes, is that the Lord of peace himself would give you his peace at all times and in every situation” (2 Thess 3:16 NLT).

Jesus commanded this very thing when He said: “I tell you, do not worry about your life” (Matt 6:25 NIV). He said this in His first recorded sermon. In fact, in just a little over one minute of that sermon, Jesus used the word worry (merimma) six times. This included: “I tell you, do not worry about your life.” That includes a lot of things we should not worry about! Accordingly, in the sermon Jesus commanded His followers “Do not worry about … what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear” (v. 25). What is more essential to life than food, water, and clothing? Yet Jesus commanded us to not even worry about such things.

Again, some might ask, “Isn’t there good reason to be afraid sometimes?” Not according to Jesus. Not only did He command us “do not worry about your life,” but elsewhere He said do not even worry about your death. Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body, they cannot touch your soul” (Matt 10:28 NLT). This is an amazing truth. It means that if God commands you to do something, you will always be safe. God is usually commanding us to do things in order to protect us. But what if God commands us to do something that kills us? We are still safe. As discussed in chapter 24, the Christian cannot die, which is why Jesus commanded us not even to be afraid of death. If this is true, then what would He ever want you to be afraid of? Nothing!

God forgives us for our WORRY and anxiety, but it is never acceptable to Him. One reason for this is that God knows that WORRY means you are not trusting, respecting, or loving Him. Scripture says, Love … always trusts (1 Cor 13:6-7 NIV). When you WORRY you are not trusting or loving God. Instead, you are worshipping and trusting a sinful idol in your life.

WORRY is the clearest symptom of idolatry. We WORRY when our idols are threatened. Again, idolatry is trusting in someone or something other than God to love us, and protect and provide for us. Therefore, because love, protection, and provision are deep seated God-given needs, we will WORRY if our idols are threatened.

Jesus taught this very thing when He said:

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money” (Matt 6:24 NLT).

Why do people love and become devoted and enslaved to the idol of money? Because they believe it provides their needs. Therefore, it is their god. Whatever or whoever you trust to give you protection, provision, and purpose, is your God.

So Jesus said we have a choice. On one hand, we can love, be devoted to, and enslaved to money or other idols, and trust them to give us what we need. But this is idolatry. Or we can trust, love, serve, and be devoted to God to give us what we need. And that is what pleases and glorifies God and makes Him smile!

How do we know if we are devoted to money or trusting other idols in our life for our needs? Again, Jesus said: “You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money” (Matt 6:24). Do you know what He said in the very next verse?

“That is why I tell you [because of what I just said about idolatry] not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear.” (v. 25 NLT)

Feeling worry about money reveals you trust and serve it as a false god. This worry and idolatry leads to a fear of being generous with our money. Giving our money is the very best way to demonstrate it is not a sinful idol in our life.

The best and biblical way to know you are trusting, loving, serving, and devoted to idols is to recognize when you WORRY. You can WORRY or WORSHIP, but you cannot do both at the same time. As discussed further in the next section, worshipping God will cure your WORRY.

How do we know when WORRY is not controlling us? We feel the opposite of WORRY which is PEACE. Accordingly, the Bible commands: Let the peace [eirēnē] that comes from Christ rule in your hearts (Col 3:15 NLT). The Greek word for PEACE (eirēnē) can mean “a sense of rest and contentment” or “a state of being that lacks nothing, and has no fear of being troubled in its tranquility; it is happiness coupled with security.” The English word PEACE means, “freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions.” Therefore, biblical PEACE is a FEELING. ^{^[3]}

Such PEACE is a fruit of being controlled by God’s Spirit, because the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace (Gal 5:22 NLT). When you feel peace, you can know you are experiencing God’s Spirit. When you feel the opposite of peace which is WORRY, you know you are being controlled by your sinful nature. God’s Word says: God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power (2 Tim 1:7 NLT). The Spirit’s peace always gives you the power to feel CALM. Calm means, “to be free from a nervous mind and restless spirit.” ^{^[4]}

Do you believe God’s Spirit in you can give you the power to have peace even in the Endtimes? In fact, being controlled by God’s Spirit instead of our sinful nature is the only way this can happen. Therefore, we will discuss this further later in this chapter.

A.2) Do not use your imagination to worry about tomorrow

As noted, Jesus said, “Do not worry about your life” (Matt 6:25). But in the same sermon He said: “So don’t worry about tomorrow [even the Endtimes], for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (v. 34 NLT). This command is especially important for facing the Endtimes and obeying Christ’s Last Great Commandment. This is another reminder that God wants us to LOOK UP instead of FORWARD in the Endtimes.

In the previous chapter, you were encouraged to LOOK FORWARD to meeting Christ and enjoying your eternal reward. But when we LOOK FORWARD regarding the Endtimes, we are merely focused on the short term difficulties we will face. God wants us to use our imagination to LOOK UP and see the God in White on the Throne Who will be controlling everything in the Endtimes. But instead, we are constantly tempted to use our imagination to LOOK FORWARD and worry about tomorrow in the Endtimes. As noted in the previous chapter:

Even as you consider practically obeying Christ’s Last Great Commandment very heavy questions will press upon your heart and mind. How would I tell others I’m leaving America? Who would come with me? What would be all the things I would need to do to actually leave America and live in a foreign country? What would it feel like to leave all kinds of things and people in America and live in a foreign country? How would we survive the famines and plagues Jesus predicted? How would we protect ourselves from desperate and violent people? What will The Greatest Persecution be like?

When we think about these things, our imagination goes into high gear. God created us with an imagination. Unfortunately, we use it to try to foresee the future and the dangers and threats that could occur so we can prepare for them and feel safe. We use our imagination to invent strategies to make us feel safe in the scary future we see. In fact, our imagination usually creates powerful pictures in our mind of the very worst things that could possibly happen.

Frankly, we often use our imagination to worry about tomorrow and sin against God. We are deceived into worshipping the idol of WORRY because we think it will protect us. But actually it hurts us. That’s why God commands us not to do it. Usually your WORRY hurts you more than what you are worried about! Why is this? Because the vast majority of things you WORRY about NEVER HAPPEN!

The lives of fearful people are full of tragedies that never happened, but were simply imagined. And our imagination is so powerful, it will feel like they really happened. Imagining bad things is essentially the same as actually experiencing them! You can make your life so much harder just by what you imagine and WORRY about! An imagination controlled by WORRY will multiply your experience of hardships far beyond reality. Therefore, anxiety over things that probably will not happen is a huge waste of time and energy. Even if those things do happen, worry still will not help you. And such WORRY will keep you from appreciating God’s blessings in your life and the HAPPINESS He wants for you.

God will surely help and bless you every day in the Endtimes, but it will not FEEL that way if you WORRY. Are you beginning to understand why God NEVER wants you to WORRY?

Of course, it is wise to plan for the future. But even our planning can become an idol that we trust in for our security. Wisely planning for the future and worrying about the future are two very different things. And your emotions will tell you the difference. Do you plan with a trusting peace knowing that your plans will never be sufficient, and God will provide where your plans fail? Or do you plan with a frantic worry that is fearful about the future?

The difference will be whether you LOOK UP to see God in your planning, or if you just simply LOOK FORWARD at what you imagine life will be like in the Endtimes. If you keep LOOKING UP you will be able to say of God like Isaiah: You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! (Isa 26:3 NLT). Again, it is wise to LOOK FORWARD and do your best to plan and prepare for life on the Earth in the Endtimes. But if you only do that, your planning will be distorted by worry, and you will not be pleasing and glorifying God.

In fact, WORRY will cause you to be foolish. How many have made harmful decisions out of fear? Have you ever failed to do what God wanted you to do because of fear? That is being foolish. Fear is the greatest reason for making unnecessarily bad decisions that hurt your life. Fear will lead you right out of God’s will for your life. Christian, remember this: NEVER, EVER make a decision in fear.

Of course, God does not want His children to be foolish. There are real dangers in this world to be avoided. So, what is one of God’s alternatives to WORRY to protect you? WISDOM. The Bible says: The wise are cautious and avoid danger; fools plunge ahead with reckless confidence (Prov 14:16 NLT). A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences (Prov 22:3 NLT).

God wants you to avoid unnecessary harm with WISDOM, instead of trying to protect yourself through WORRY. WISDOM recognizes real dangers as opposed to WORRY’S imagined ones. WISDOM keeps you controlled by God’s Spirit so you make good decisions. But WORRY disconnects you from the Spirit’s control and will often cause you to make harmful decisions. You do not need WORRY to be SAFE. God says, Wise choices will watch over you.
Understanding will keep you safe (Prov 2:11 NLT).

Of course, WISDOM requires us to use our imagination to anticipate needs and challenges in the future that we can plan and prepare for. But again, do not use your imagination to worry about tomorrow and frantically obsess about trying to foresee dangers in the Endtimes. God wants you to use your imagination to LOOK UP and see the God in White on the Throne Who will be controlling everything in the Endtimes.

There is another reason Jesus said: “Don’t worry about tomorrow.” In the next sentence He said, Today’s trouble is enough for today” (v. 34). God wants you to focus on one day at a time. As Jesus promised, He will give you everything you need (v. 33). But He will do this one day at a time. He will not give you today, everything you need for tomorrow. He will not give you what you may think you need to face everything you can imagine and worry about for the future. He will give you everything you need to live in the Endtimes, each and every day. He only gives you what you need today because “Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Instead of only LOOKING FORWARD, God wants you to focus on one day at time. This is why in the Lord’s Prayer, He encourages us to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt 6:11). We are not to be only focused on asking for what we will need far into the future. But to be focused on what we need today, one day at a time.

B) Protection from worry

How can you have the necessary faith to believe Exodus Conviction #5: God will provide everything we need to obey Christ’s Last Great Commandment? How can you overcome the sin of WORRY and experience God’s PEACE?!

Please understand no human will ever be completely free of WORRY. We will struggle with this sin every day until we die. Which is why Christ died for all of our idolatrous WORRY and we are completely forgiven for it. God accepts us even when we sin with WORRY. But at the very least, God expects us to recognize our WORRY and confess it as sin and do our best to confront it and overcome it. If we love God, we will do our best to WORRY less and trust God more.

How can we do that? By trusting God’s promises. Again, the Almighty God in White on the Throne has PROMISED you things. This was an important part of Christ’s first recorded sermon. He said:

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ [Or “Where will I live if I leave America?” or “How will I be taken care of?” or “What will other people think?”]. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers [because of their idolatrous worry], but your heavenly Father already knows [and cares about!] all your needs.

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously [including obeying Christ’s Last Great Commandment], and he will give you everything you need [including the water, food, housing, security, grace, faith, and strength you will need in the Endtimes].

First, notice the clear promise. If you Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, then he will give you everything you need. Obeying Christ’s Last Great Commandment is a clear example of seeking the Kingdom of God above all else, and living righteously. And there is no other promise that we need from God for whatever we will face in the Endtimes than: he will give you everything you need. Whatever you can imagine you will need from God to please and glorify Him in the Endtimes, you can be certain He will give it to you.

This will include your physical needs for water, food, housing, and security. Christ’s teaching and promise in Matthew 6:25-33 about trusting God for the bare essentials has been rather irrelevant to American Christians. But it has greatly encouraged God’s people in most of the rest of the world throughout the Church Age who have been much poorer and recognized God’s daily provision in their life. And those living in the Endtimes will experience it as well. They will be faced with trusting God for the basic needs of life and seeing Him provide them in ways only He can do.

But the promise to give you everything you need includes more than just your physical needs. We will also need the spiritual powers of courage, love, peace, and joy to please and glorify God in the Endtimes. Christ promised if we will humbly Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, then he will give you everything you need, including these wonderful spiritual experiences.

Again, there is an important motto in Christ’s teaching about worry and idolatry for anyone pursuing Christ’s Last Great Commandment: LOOK UP! You need to constantly LOOK UP! and keep your focus on The God in White on the Throne, and how you will serve, love, and be devoted to Him as your master (Matt 6:24).

You need to LOOK UP! and seek the Kingdom and glory of God above all else, and live righteously, and obey God no matter how hard it might be. You need to LOOK UP! and believe he will give you everything you need (v. 33), just as Jesus promised.

If we love God, we will do our best to WORRY less and trust God more by depending on His promises. Abraham is an example for us:

Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. (Rom 4:20-21 NLT) ^{^[5]}

Like Abraham, we will have to be fully convinced of the promises that will be discussed in this message. Otherwise, we will not have the necessary faith and courage to obey Christ’s Last Great Commandment, and bring glory to God.

It must be admitted that those obeying Christ’s Last Great Commandment and living in the Endtimes will face the most challenging events in the history of humanity. Fortunately, they will escape the slow and painful deaths occurring in Endtime Babylon (America) from the use of nuclear weapons. But even those who escape this, will be living in a very desperate and dangerous world that will be experiencing an unprecedented intensity of the worst catastrophes. But in the midst of all of those challenges, you can be absolutely certain of one thing: You will experience the blessing, favor, and miracles of the Almighty God who loves you.

In this chapter and chapter 24 we will be reminded of God’s promises to bless those who obey Christ’s Last Great Commandment. What does it mean to be blessed by God? It means to be given His divine favor. That means you are a focus of God’s attention. He is not only watching you, but watching out for you. When you have God’s favor and blessing, you have His provision, protection, and power no matter what you are facing. The Apostle Paul spoke of God’s favor when He wrote: If God is for us, who can ever be against us? (Rom 8:31 NIV).

Think about what the Apostle Paul is saying about your Father in Heaven in our text. Within a rhetorical question, is the powerful statement: God is for us. Just four small words. But very powerful words if you believe them.

First, God is for you. It is one thing to have the support of a human being. Even a powerful human being. But the One who is for you is the most powerful Person in the Universe, the Almighty God and ultimate Creator and Ruler of everything and everyone. God is greater than any of your needs or fears. God is for you!

Second, God is for you. This is a promise. Whatever you have experienced in the past. No matter what happens to you in your future, God is for you, all the time, everywhere, and in all things, with no exceptions!

Third, God is for you. That little word means a lot. God favors you. He supports, values, helps, and blesses you. Your real Dad is not standing above you just watching and waiting for you to fail. He is standing behind you, and working in front of you, to help you succeed in all that is good. He is cheering for you and rejoicing over you every day. God is for you!

Finally, God is for you. God is not just for all those saints in the Bible like Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and David. God is for you just like them. God just loves you. What else do you need to know about this life?

Likewise, what else do you need to know about the future except that God will be for you. You will have His blessing and favor, and they will be more powerful than all of the challenges of living in the Endtimes.

Of course, God allows difficulties and tests of faith in your life. But not to ruin your life. If you will speak to any Christian who has been following God for some time, they will give you the same testimony as David who said: Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned (Ps 37:25). Your Father in Heaven will always come through for you. Always.

Hard things will happen, but the overall experience of a child of God is tremendous blessings. The honest confession of any sincere Christian at the end of their life will be: “God was good to me.” This is because of who your Dad is. The Bible says many times God is good (cf. Ps 100:5; 106:1; Ps 136:1; 145:9; Jer 33:11; Nah 1:7). And He is your Dad. And He is a very generous Dad who greatly enjoys blessing His sons and daughters.

Again, Scripture says:

So here is a vital question: How can I experience what Abraham did? If I obey Christ’s Last Great Commandment and live in the Endtimes, how could I look back on my experience and see that I never wavered in believing God’s promise? In fact, my faith grew stronger, and in this I brought glory to God because I was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. Again, how can you have the necessary faith to believe Exodus Conviction #5: God will provide everything we need to obey Christ’s Last Great Commandment? How can you overcome the sin of WORRY and experience God’s PEACE?!

The simple answer is what Isaiah proclaimed about God as discussed in the previous chapter: You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! (Isa 26:3 NLT). Having your thoughts … fixed on the Almighty God in White on His Throne and to trust in His promises, is the only way to experience perfect peace.

Even the Greek word used in the NT for worry (merimma) reminds us of this. It comes from a word that means “to draw in different directions, distract.” ^{^[6]} This suggests the cause of WORRY: losing our focus on God. When the world gets us distracted and our focus divided from God, we will worry. Which is why God will keep in perfect peace all who trust in Him, all whose thoughts are fixed on Him. As noted above, you can WORRY or WORSHIP, but you cannot do both at the same time.

Why will fixing your thoughts on God keep you in perfect peace? Because trusting the TRUTH activates God’s Spirit in you, to control you. And when God’s Spirit is controlling you, then the Spirit’s peace will control you. Unfortunately, the opposite is equally true: believing LIES triggers your sinful nature and WORRY to control you.

C) A process to overcome worry

The above prompts some important questions. All Christians DO believe God loves them and even believe all the promises discussed above. They know God has said these things. And they could even give teachings on these promises and defend them against those who would deny God loves us.

So why do Christians still struggle with WORRY? Because NOT EVERY PART OF YOU BELIEVES IN GOD’S LOVE. There are hidden and deceived parts of your heart that do not believe God’s promises, and those parts of you cause you to WORRY. It is those parts that must be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom 12:2 NIV).

Unfortunately, most Christian teachings on WORRY simply end with an encouragement to believe the promises of God. Or just: Cast your burdens upon the Lord (Ps 55:22). The message would just simply be: “Trust God.” But that is very frustrating for a lot of God’s people. They have been doing their very best to trust God, and they still struggle mightily with WORRY. They need more help than popular Christian teaching will give them. The following will offer you more practical help with this.

There is a powerful biblical promise in this chapter: You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! (Isa 26:3 NLT). The obvious question is how do we do that? How do we keep our thoughts fixed on God, so we experience perfect peace? A foundational biblical answer to that is another promise that is also a command: Be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom 12:2 NIV).

Practically obeying this command and experiencing its promise is a topic that is too big to discuss in detail here. The author has devoted two books to this entitled FRUIT and FREEDOM. From the biblical principles derived from these studies, a proven and very powerful discipleship tool has been developed called Renew Ministry. For almost 20 years it has helped Christians be transformed by the renewing of the “hidden and hurting parts” of their mind and heart.

Some of the biblical principles in Renew Ministry can be shared here. Those principles can be summed up in three steps. RECOGNIZE, REVEAL, and RENEW. These steps can help the Christian overcome negative and sinful emotions such as worry, anger, and discouragement. These steps are illustrated by the Psalmist in Psalm 42 where he writes:

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (Ps 42:5 NIV)

The first step in overcoming negative emotions is to RECOGNIZE them. The Psalmist took some time to quiet himself and consider how he was feeling. In the process, he RECOGNIZED that he was feeling downcast and disturbed. He specifically identified and named his negative emotions. He also understood his feelings were not the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, and peace (Gal 5:22 NIV). Therefore, he sought to confront and resolve his discouragement and lack of peace.

Unfortunately, most Christians have experienced an underlying anxiety, anger, or discouragement in the so-called “back of their mind” for so long and so frequently, that these things go unnoticed. They have simply gotten use to these feelings and become deceived to think they are just a part of their normal Christian life. But emotions like WORRY reflect a part of your heart that is not experiencing God’s love, and in turn, is not loving God. Until such emotions are RECOGNIZED as fruits of the sinful nature and not God’s Spirit, they will never be overcome. The first step to doing so is to RECOGNIZE negative emotions and specifically name them as best you can like the Psalmist did.

The second step is to REVEAL the cause of these emotions. Feelings do not simply descend on us out of nowhere. Everything we feel comes from what we are believing. As noted above, believing the TRUTH activates God’s Spirit in you, to control you. Believing LIES triggers your sinful nature, and WORRY or anger or discouragement to control you.

What LIE are you believing that causes these emotions of the sinful nature to control you and “disconnect” you from the Spirit’s power? The LIE you are believing is always and only one thing: God does not love you. Christian, if you trusted in God’s love with your whole heart, you would never feel anxious again. So why do you fail to always experience the powerful love of God instead of WORRY? Because there are “hidden and hurting parts of your heart” that do not trust God’s love. They cannot believe all the promises you need to trust in order to overcome worry. This is because these parts of your heart have experienced painful things that imprinted them with a LIE about God’s love for you.

How do we identify the LIE we are believing to cause our sinful emotions? Do what the Psalmist did. When he RECOGNIZED he was feeling things not of God’s Spirit, he did something simply to REVEAL the source of the LIE. He said to himself: “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?” That one word Why is a powerful word in personal spiritual warfare. It is the difference between continuing to be plagued by negative emotions, or resolving them to experience the love, joy, and peace of God’s Spirit. The Devil never wants you to ask Why you are feeling worry, anger, or discouragement. He just wants you to feel them and be controlled by them. But when you do what the Psalmist did, and ask Why you are feeling these things, you begin to discover how the Devil has power over you. Only by asking Why can you understand the LIE you are believing that makes you feel that way.

More specifically, these controlling “Identity Lies” almost always reflect in a “hidden and hurting part of your heart” feeling WORTHLESS or ALONE. Feeling hopeless, or wanting to die, or afraid of dying are other examples. So how do you REVEAL the “Identity Lie” about God’s love that is controlling a part of you? Again, by asking questions like the Psalmist did. Two simple questions will be especially helpful:

How am I feeling?

Why am I feeling this way?

The first question helps you to RECOGNIZE your negative emotion. The second question helps you to begin to REVEAL the LIE that is causing that emotion. This second step is essentially the whole battle against sinful, controlling, negative emotions. It will be the hardest part, and you may need help with it, which is a part of the Renew Ministry mentioned above.

Once the controlling “Identity Lie” is REVEALED then you are ready for this part to be RENEWED by receiving the simple truth of God’s love. A third question is effective for experiencing this:

“What would Jesus, who died for me on the cross, say or do to this part that is feeling ____?” (usually WORTHLESS or ALONE).

The truth that your logical mind already knows, will now be experienced by “a hidden and hurting part of your heart.” As a result, this deceived part of you will be set free from the sinful and negative emotions it was producing, and the “Identity Lie” it was believing.

A simple example of this process can be illustrated in the following dialogue with your heart (or soul as the Psalmist called it):

How am I feeling?

Discouraged.

Why am I feeling that way?

Because my spouse pointed out something I did wrong.

How does that make me feel?

Rejected.

Why does that make me feel that way?

Because I keep failing people.

How does that make me feel?

Worthless.

What would Jesus, who died for me on a cross, say or do to this part that believes I am worthless?

He would say, “I purchased you with my own blood. No one and nothing can make you worthless.”

Such a process can help the Christian experience the powerful biblical promise and command to: Be transformed by the renewing of the hidden and hurting parts of your heart and mind (Rom 12:2).

You will need to sufficiently overcome your WORRY in order to obey Christ’s Last Great Commandment in the Endtimes. Therefore, you will need a spiritual discipline of mind renewal like the above, to have any hope of overcoming your WORRY so that you can please and glorify God in the Endtimes.

More information regarding Renew Ministry is available on the author’s website at https://trainingtimothys.com/resources/renew-ministry.

But for now, do your best to trust God’s promises to overcome your WORRY. These promises will be discussed further in chapter 24.

NT scholar N. T. Wright confirms: “The most frequent command in the Bible is ‘Don’t be afraid’” (Following Jesus [Eerdmans, 2014], 65). Although much of Wright’s doctrine is not recommended. ↑
Webster’s, combining definitions for “worry” and “anxiety.” ↑
See BDAG and Webster’s. ↑
Websters. ↑
Of course, Abraham’s faith did fail at times when he gave his wife Sarah to pagan kings. For an explanation of how this can be reconciled with Rom 4:20-21 see the FAITH study online at:

https://trainingtimothys.com/2023/09/16/faith-christian-essentials-book-3/ ↑
Vine’s relates merimma [“worry”] to merizō [“distract”] (89). ↑