My dear readers,

Are You Anxious?

Proverbs 12:25: “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.”

It is almost impossible for anyone living in the 21^st Century not to be anxious. The rat race strives to catch up to the rest of the world’s successes and not be left behind, as failure cannot be avoided even if one wants to. The internet world bombards every user with who the wealthiest on earth is, spawning envy in the eyes of all the “rats” who measure success as defined by the world. As the world defines it, success in life is measured by the abundance of what one possesses. Once this carnal standard grips his heart, his salary becomes the measure of his self-worth and how he exercises diligence. The thought of moving from one place to another because of money and job prospects can easily consume him.

This dissatisfaction can grow like an unwanted weed in his once peaceful heart every day when he goes to work. The harder he tries to eliminate this carnal comparison that causes discontentment, the more dissatisfied he becomes. Anxiety rules his heart to his great pain and sorrow. He struggles to sleep peacefully. His temper gets the better of him at home and at work. If he is a family man, his children will become fearful of him and will walk on eggshells around him whenever he is home. He worries about his future and that of his children. He carries a weight the size of Mount Everest, as he worries it could span thirty to forty years!

Anxiety is the bane of today’s fast-paced society, ruining lives and wrecking homes. Many walk with stooped shoulders and backs. Unless this weight called anxiety is lifted, man will die with this mountainous weight that crushes his daily life.

Proverbs 12:25 warns, “Heaviness [i.e. anxiety] in the heart of man maketh it stoop.”

How can he remove the weight?

Man has tried to lift the weight by earning more money. With a healthy bank account, his future and that of his family should be taken care of, so he thought. Instead, he realized to his horror, that the burden increased exponentially. The life of luxury is a different kind of weight compared to before when he worried that there was not enough and tried to get out of that life of wanting. Now, he worries about how he can maintain and improve his present comfortable life and make it even more “comfortable”. This new mountain of worry is heavier than before, and he cannot seem to lighten the load. To lighten the load is to give up the comfortable life he has worked so hard for himself and his family. And he struggles to give it up. If he does not, he knows he will die as an enslaved person to Mammon.

The man who worries about his health carries the weight of a hypochondriac. This is a heavy load of constant unease; he is weighed down by his fear of bad cholesterol, having to eat healthily with a diet of low carbohydrates and plenty of fibre, and exercising religiously (even on the Lord’s Day). The mildest cold or a hint of a cough plunges him into a frenzy of seeing a litany of doctors and specialists, his imagination running amok, that perhaps he has an incurable disease! The weight of a mountain called Sickness might even be worse than the mountain called Mammon. The former is daily and the load heavy, and it comes with a suddenness that he may least expect. He could be healthy in the morning, but by noon time, the cold or cough or fever might appear, and the prospect of death plunges him into a tailspin of uncontrollable anxiety and fear.

Anxiety is caused by an imaginary load of uncontrollable burdens that man places on himself. As it is an imaginary load, he does not have the strength to get rid of it.

Proverbs 12:25b says, “But a good word maketh it glad.” Once the good word comes, anxiety will evaporate. The stooping will stop. He can stand upright. He can walk with his shoulders erect and with a cheerful smile on his face because of the joyous disposition within his soul. We all need this good word to lift the burdens of life that weigh us down.

What is the “good word”?

The “good word” is the perfect Bible! It is the perfect Bible because it is the only Book that can bring eternal peace to the heart that not even time can diminish or dislodge. Peace in man’s heart must begin from peace with God. Man is an enemy of God from the day he is born. He is drowning in his sins every day and will die in his sins if he is not saved from his sins. The good news from the Good Book is that Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, became the Son of Man to die on the cross for the sins of the world. Christ succeeded, for God raised Him from the dead on the third day after he died. This is the best news! Now, if man confesses his sins before God and believes in his heart that Jesus Christ died for his sins, he will be saved from his sins. He will become a child of God instantaneously.

As God’s child, his eternity will be with God in heaven forever. Death has been removed from his life. Doesn’t this good news bring peace and joy? Man worries about not having enough food or drink or clothes or a roof over his head, and because he is afraid of death. God, as his heavenly Father who created the heavens and the earth, will care for all his physical, spiritual, emotional and mental needs. He will not suffer lack anymore. The God who owns all the cattle on a thousand hills will provide sufficiently for him and his family, now and forever. He needs to focus only on his spiritual well-being. He must live for Christ so that by his good works, others will see Christ in him and glorify God in heaven.

He also does not worry about evil men plotting their evil deeds. He has the omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God who will keep him safe from harm and hurt. He knows from God’s Word that nothing can happen to him without his heavenly Father’s permission. Whatever happens to him, he will receive it from God, and not man. Since his heavenly Father is the One who permits it, he knows it will turn out for his eternal good because He is a good God and will only do all things for his good. He also knows that his heavenly Father will not tempt him above what he can bear because He is faithful. With every temptation, God will make a way of escape so that he can bear every temptation (cf. 1 Cor 10:13). His faith will be strengthened. His trust in God will deepen.

All things in his life will be for his good, regardless. Therefore, for God’s children to be anxious is folly!

Philippians 4:6-7: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”