Anxiety in a Believer

[jb8185]

Part 1: I have suffered from anxiety and panic attacks nearly my whole life. Every few years or so I have a really bad break down to where it becomes debilitating for days or even weeks. The thing that triggers my attacks is the thought of death and the thought of the end times. I am a believer. I believe in God and I believe that Jesus was sent to redeem us from our sins. I cannot figure out why am so scared of death or the second coming. When I begin thinking about it I get nauseous and I have a panic attack. I tried to immerse myself in Bible verses the last few days which has helped some but I can’t seem to knock this feeling in my gut. Why if I’m a believer am I so scared? It interferes with me being able to be there for my family and work on my school studies. I don’t want to have these scary feelings anymore. I am just having a hard time. I feel like I am failing God by being afraid. I feel like that means I am not truly a believer. My anxiety has been so bad this week that it is all-consuming. I cannot concentrate in any aspect of my life. I spend hours searching the internet for answers.

Part 2: I have been guilty of many sins. I have cheated, lied, stole, and even had an abortion when I was much younger. I regret these sins and have asked for forgiveness, yet I continue to sin. Sometimes lying seems like second nature to me. I lie about dumb stuff to my family and friends. I do it to prevent me from looking bad or something like that. I am so torn. I am so scared that I will not be going to Heaven because of my sinful nature, even though I know Jesus died for our sins past, present, and future. I feel that I am a bad person, even though I usually have good intentions. I cannot seem to break this cycle. Please help me understand this.

 

[Christy 2019]

I have had my experiences with all that you are going through. I noticed that you said that you sometimes tell"little white lies" and that you try to do better. Anything that is sinful separates us from God. We are called to live a Holy life and to strive to be perfect because he is perfect. Notice the word strive. These "little' things are separating you from God and the devil is giving you these feelings that are not of God. Remember his sole mission is to kill, steal and destroy, he is trying to kill your happiness, he is stealing your time with God and your family and he destroying everything good that God has placed in your life to bring your joy not to mention the peace and joy that only he can give. I noticed with myself and when talking to others that we tend to let the past come back- God has forgiven you for your past sins no need to beat yourself up over it. We all fall short daily. Also when someone is dealing with conviction often times their thoughts will go to death and the peril times that are coming. Maybe God is trying to get your attention for things that you have done since your relationship with him started. When we pray we cant use confess with our mouths the sins we have committed we have to truly be sorry for them. Start by trying not to tell little lies, ask God for strength not to lie. Its like placing dirty rags on top on each other constantly but yet trying to make sure they get clean without un-layering them, its just not going to happen.

Remember what God told us in his word, he didn't give us the spirit of fear but of a sound mind. Fear is of the devil, BUT fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and truth. One of my greatest fears is dying and the thought of being left behind when he comes to take his church away, I also have the biggest fear of never being allowed into Heaven, so I know exactly how you feel about all of that, plus your attacks and anxiety. Sometimes mine is vicious but then I have to remember to do what I am to do as a Christian and also that these fears can only be calmed by him, after all he is the way, the truth and the light. Keeping you in my prayers.

 

[crossnote]

My thoughts are these...

Do you realize your salvation is not dependent on your obedience but solely on Christ's obedience? (Rom 5:19)

Do you realize that upon coming to Christ you have passed from Judgment into Life? (Jn 5:24)

Do you realize that as Jesus told Peter to forgive those who sin against him 7x700 time in like manner how much more will Jesus forgive us who come to Him with a repentant heart? (Mt 18:21-22)

Do you realize the Gospel is for the Christian as well? (Heb 2:1) (2Pet 1:4)

 

[Christy 2019]

Ar

My thoughts are these...

Do you realize your salvation is not dependent on your obedience but solely on Christ's obedience? (Rom 5:19)

Do you realize that upon coming to Christ you have passed from Judgment into Life? (Jn 5:24)

Do you realize that as Jesus told Peter to forgive those who sin against him 7x700 time in like manner how much more will Jesus forgive us who come to Him with a repentant heart?

Do you realize the Gospel is for the Christian as well?

Clarify something for me, so if I am a Christian and have been forgiven of my past sins and yet I sin again, continually sinning am I still saved? We all should know what the bible says about willful sinning.

 

[crossnote]

Ar
Clarify something for me, so if I am a Christian and have been forgiven of my past sins and yet I sin again, continually sinning am I still saved? We all should know what the bible says about willful sinning.

I'm not sure if it is appropriate on a thread where the OP is hurting and struggling with her walk we should get into a debate.

Point me elsewhere, and I'd be happy to answer you.

 

[Tempura]

Anxiety, and so many other burdens, easily causes us to listen to our fears more than anything else. Many people who struggle with these things, already kind of live in weird self-condemnation, because they already feel weak.

Do not fear, because God Himself is pulling you and working in you, and He's much better at this than you are. When we come to terms with what our flesh is, what our sins are and how useless we are against them, it might feel bad. And it does. But what is happening right now is this: you're starting to understand the struggle in Romans 7. You do what you don't want to do, and you don't do what you want to do. That is the struggle with our sin, in our flesh. When we don't yet understand that our sinful nature was crucified, we try to "do it ourselves". And the more we try to force it, the worse we get, and the worse we see ourselves.

Keep Jesus Christ at the center, He is your rock. These are the times that lead you to really trust Him. If you try, you fail, so you go to Christ. And again. And again. Don't stare at your sins in despair, don't try to force your flesh into spirit, don't think you're doomed. Trust in Christ with whatever trust you have. You are a new being. Christ Himself is "growing" that spirit, dwelling in it. He's with you. He's growing in you, making more room for Himself, so to speak. In the end, it's not you who's doing much of anything. He is. You're only doing the surrendering, you're surrendering your struggle to Him, and He will take charge. Sometimes we have to come to our wits' end in order to realize this, that He really is a savior, and that He isn't just watching on the sidelines while we're failing. Little by little, we start to walk more in spirit, instead of staring at our flesh and failures or what we should do with them. Because we learn to trust Christ more, He will grow in us more, and the fruits of the spirit will become more and more obvious. Much like when we grew from babies to adults, this too is a process. But it's a good one.

Please take this as an encouragement: It's not about us failing God. We were already failures when Christ came. It's about God not failing what He started in us. And it's not about you being a good person or a bad person. It's about how good Jesus is. He's really good. And He's better at this than any of us, His love is as real as it ever was. The more you depend on Christ instead of yourself, the more you will love Him, love your neighbor, have real joy, live in truth and all kinds of beautiful fruits of the spirit. You're in good hands. You'll see. No fear. Said a prayer for you.

 

[david tyler]

.DELETED

 

[timothyu]

The thing that triggers my attacks is the thought of death and the thought of the end times. I am a believer.

That shows me you've been taught to focus on the wrong thing. Yes, there will be an end for all of us but Jesus and those who teach you should be focusing on the will of God which is focussing yourself on others. Doing so automatically clears up whatever may be at the other end. As Jesus taught, stop focussing on self and focus on the needs of others.

 

[jb8185]

Thank you for sharing your experiences with me. In the midst of anxiety its hard to believe that I am not the only one dealing with these feelings. I just want to feel like I am a good person with a good heart. I have committed to working on my relationship with God. I am finding comfort from reading scriptures and hearing from all of you. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

 

[Tempura]

Thank you for sharing your experiences with me. In the midst of anxiety its hard to believe that I am not the only one dealing with these feelings. I just want to feel like I am a good person with a good heart. I have committed to working on my relationship with God. I am finding comfort from reading scriptures and hearing from all of you. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

You're definitely not alone in it, not by a long shot. In fact I'm seeing more of this on these forums alone that I've seen before, and it's a common struggle to have. Consider it training, God training you to stop focusing on yourself and start trusting Him with everything. And also, like Timothyu said, love others, make yourself useful for them. It's a wonderful thing, absolutely God's will and Christ's sweet command. You won't be deprived of anything, in fact you might find that you will feel quite blessed when you give out of love, whatever it is: comfort, aid, you name it.

 

[timothyu]

Also remember Jesus , unlike many churches did not use fear tactics to enforce His way. He used love and love for others. Question those who dwell on fear to teach their theology. They prey on the weak then offer their theologies as your salvation. Jesus sets you free. These imprison and play upon anxieties.

 

[Kenny'sID]

I am so torn. I am so scared that I will not be going to Heaven because of my sinful nature, even though I know Jesus died for our sins past, present, and future.

Personally and though i won't debate it here either unless you give permission, I think that is why you're scared...something inside of you is well aware of the truth, and truth is, all is not forgiven, we MUST be obedient to God, we must constantly be careful not to fall away, and to not live in wilful sin. We must also, help the poor, care for others, as it is written, if we don't we go to hell.

God is very forgiving of sin of temptation, we ask forgiveness and move on. But when sin is something we have chosen to live with, or a normal/expected part of our life, that is a problem, but again, I think the holy spirit is telling you that, hence the depression. I seriously doubt you will have peace until you deal with some things. Christianity is very doable, we just need to make the decision to do it. I spek from the perspective pf someone that used to be in your shoes, and something was always picking at me to get it right. When I stopped my lifestyle sins, it made all the difference.

I have committed to working on my relationship with God.

That's a great start. Again, I think you know the problem, and as they say, knowing is half the battle.

 

[timothyu]

as it is written, if we don't we go to hell.

As it is written? You mean where death and the grave are thrown into the lake of fire to be needed no more. New life is granted to who... all or those of the Kingdom while the rest face the second death. Is there awareness in death? Death for eternity yes. Awareness no. Fear mongering to suit the needs of man. God is more compassionate regarding extinction.

 

[Kenny'sID]

As it is written? You mean where death and the grave are thrown into the lake of fire to be needed no more. New life is granted to who... all or those of the Kingdom while the rest face the second death. Is there awareness in death? Death for eternity yes. Awareness no. Fear mongering to suit the needs of man. God is more compassionate regarding extinction.

Personally and though i won't debate it here either unless you give permission,

 

[DM25]

Ar



Clarify something for me, so if I am a Christian and have been forgiven of my past sins and yet I sin again, continually sinning am I still saved? We all should know what the bible says about willful sinning.

Every sin is willful. It sounds like you don't know the true gospel and you are ignorant of your own sin... Christians don't stop sinning, don't get it twisted. Whether that's willfully or unwilfully, every sin is our choice. Jesus died for past, future, and present sins, if you don't believe that how can you be saved? Truth is because we live by the spirit, we will naturally SIN LESS, and get sanctified in a long process of sanctification... but we will NEVER BE SINLESS. The bible says nothing about "willful sin" because every sin is willful.. You are reading that verse completely in the wrong context... That verse applies to those who denied the holy spirit's work when Jesus came down and performed miracles when you actually read it in context. Context is key in the bible... You can't isolate a verse and claim it is for every believer, when you have to take everything it says before it and read the context to understand what is being said.

 

[ms.smith]

I just wanted to add that fear of death is quite common among humans. I suffer from anxiety. I sometimes fear death. It isn't that I'm not secure in my beliefs. I fear leaving my family. I fear being gone from their lives. I fear the physical act of dying. I don't particularly fear what comes after. But that fear, the fear of death, it makes me nauseated and keeps me up a night. It is a normal human fear, but for those who suffer from anxiety it can be more difficult to experience. I didn't have these fears so much when I was younger or before I had a family. It doesn't mean you don't have faith, it means you are human.

 

[DM25]

The only thing I don't fear is death. There are days I ask God to take my life because I wanna be with him. Some days life here feels very difficult.

 

[timothyu]

Some days life here feels very difficult.

He is always with you and the purpose of feeling that way is to question why life is difficult. Why are we at fault? What is the solution? Nobody said school would be easy.

 

[sold4christ25]

It's been a while since the original post. OP how are you doing? Do you feel your still,struggling with the same issues?