How To Overcome Fear Anxiety and Depression by Min. Brooke Mackall
How to Overcome Fear, Anxiety, and Depression
Minister Brooke Mackall
The Bible says:
We are more than conquerors:
Romans 8:37 (NKJV) “Yet in all theses things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
We have the victory:
1 Corinthians 15:57 (NKJV) “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory though our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Fear
Fear is often sent to prevent us from moving forward in life.
Sometimes, are so afraid that we stay stagnant, frozen, or in our comfort zones.
Instead of taking a step forward in faith, we hide back in fear.
But God does not want you to live in fear! In fact, over 300 times in the Bible He says, “do not be afraid.”
Why? Because He is with you. And because the Lord of Heavens Armies is with you and goes before you can conquer the most intimidating situations of your life. He will help you (Psalm 46:1), guide you (Isaiah 30:21) and fight for you (Deuteronomy 3:22).
There are two mighty men of the Bible that were both presented with an opportunity to fear.
Moses
(story found in Exodus Ch. 3 & 4)
Moses was called to tell Pharaoh to let God’s people go but he was afraid. Moses pleaded with God and came up with many excuses as to why he was not able to complete this task: “who was I to do this? Who will believe me? I am not good with speech. Lord please send anyone else!”
A lot of times when we are afraid, we give people a list of reasons (excuses) as to why we cannot move forward and accomplish such a task. But for every excuse Moses had, God had an answer: “I will be with you. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has sent me to you. Perform this sign-then they will believe. Who makes a person’s mouth?”
Never limit God’s ability. We serve a God who can do the impossible
David
(story found in 1 Samuel 17)
King David was once rejected and overlooked. He was the youngest and smallest of all his brothers. Goliath, the Philistine giant, challenged God’s people to fight him and David wanted to take on the task that others were too afraid to. King Saul protested because of his age.
Never allow anyone to sow seeds of doubt in your mind that you are too young to accomplish big and mighty things.
1 Timothy 4:12 (NKJV) “Don’t let anyone despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”
The difference between David and Moses is that David knew that God was ALWAYS with him and he trusted God. Moses on the other hand did not believe God could help him get through such a difficult task.
The way we over come fear is by placing our trust in God.
Psalm 56:3 (NLT) “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.”
He can deliver us from our fears.
Psalm 34:4 (NKJV) “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”
Anxiety
Sometimes our fear turns into anxiety.
Anxiety is when you worry, stress and overthink a situation to exhaustion.
There is a battle for your mind. There’s the enemy who wants to feed you lies, God who wants to feed you His truth (the ONLY truth) and your voice who goes back and forth between the two. But we must take our thoughts captive
2 Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV) “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
You must learn to replace the lies, the uncertain thoughts, anxious and fearful thoughts with hopeful thoughts, positive thoughts and most importantly with God’s Word
Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
We overcome anxiety through prayer
Philippians 4: 6-7 (NLT) “Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. 7 then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
God can give us peace that surpasses understanding. The kind of peace that can give us joy in the midst of chaos.
Worrying and stressing will not benefit the situation.
Matthew 6:27 (NLT) “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”
Matthew 6:33 (NLT) “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.”
We must turn our worry into worship.
Our stress into songs of praise.
Depression
Proverbs 12:25 (NKJV) “Anxiety in the hear of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.”
Our thoughts can go on a downward spiral if we don’t take them captive to the Lord: fear turns into worry, and the worry is so heavy on our hearts it leads to depression.
We overcome depression by exchanging it for God’s peace
Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV) You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You”
Psalm 29:11 (NLT) “The Lord gives His people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace.”
We must fix our minds on God and rely on His peace. He doesn’t want you figure it out all on your own and keep it bottled in.
Matthew 11:28 (NLT) “Then Jesus said, come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest.”
We must come to Him when we are afraid, confused, tired, anxious, and grieving. We aren’t meant carry heavy loads; we as humans have limits on how much we can handle. But thank God that His yoke is easy, and His burden is light!
Take Aways
Keep believing and hoping for the best don’t allow your thoughts or the enemy to drag you down, fight back with the Word of God
God has amazing plans for your life. Your generation needs your voice, gifts and talents. Remember you are the light and salt of this world.
God loves you. He sent His only Son to die for you because he loves and cares that much. Come to Him, pray to Him, talk with Him, thank Him, and worship Him
