Say NO To Anxious Thoughts
Say No To Anxious Thoughts
by Charles Capps
A common enemy to success in an individual’s life is fear. Thoughts of fear can cause you to become anxious, overwrought, and stressed out. Fear is perverted faith, or we could say the reverse gear of faith. Faith is a builder – fear is a destroyer. Most people tend to fear the unknown. We find on several occasions when Jesus appeared to the disciples after He arose from the dead, His greeting was: Fear not or Be not afraid.
Even when Jesus spoke of all the things that were to come upon the earth, He said, “...see that you are not troubled....” (Matthew 24:6) In John 14:1, “Let not your heart be troubled.” Then in Matthew 6:25, Jesus admonishes us to take no anxious thought concerning the necessities of life.
In Matthew 6, Jesus tells us a better way to deal with the everyday circumstances of life. “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” (Matthew 6:25-32 KJV)
Now notice verse 31: “Take no thought, saying…” It’s all right to take thought. It’s all right to make plans. But don’t take thought by saying, “What am I going to do? I don’t have enough money to meet my bills. Dear God, what am I going to do?” Words like that will never produce faith; they will only produce fear, doubt, and unbelief. Faith comes from hearing God’s Word. Negative thoughts will die unborn unless you speak them. The way you take a thought is by speaking it.
If you are going to take thought concerning your needs, take them from Philippians 4:19: “…my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Don’t entertain thoughts that leave questions unanswered.
Faith always stops at the question mark. I believe that is the reason Jesus said not to take thought by saying, “What are we going to do?” Words are powerful forces, and if they are used rightly, they will put you over in life. If you use them in a wrong way, they will destroy your faith and cause you to fail in life. Jesus was revealing something that is very vital to success in life: Don’t take thought by speaking the negative things when you could speak God’s Word and take His thoughts.
You can’t always keep the devil from putting doubt in your mind, but if you refuse to speak it, it will never enter your heart. The thought of doubt will die unborn unless you speak it. Once you speak it, you give birth to it. You have taken the thought, and it becomes unbelief. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent. There are times you may have to grit your teeth to keep your mouth shut. When negative thoughts that disagree with God’s Word begin to bombard your mind that is not the time to start trying to make a faith confession. When your Word level is low, your faith is low and you will most likely be making the confession out of fear instead of faith. That is a time to either be silent or quote God’s Word verbatim to nullify fear.
Confessions In Fear
You can build your faith by quoting the Word of God, but it must be done before fear comes on the scene. Let’s say you have prayed and you have confessed God’s Word until you believe you have received and thank God for it. At that point, you are fully persuaded that you have received and the Word abides in your heart.
But a month later if it hasn’t come to pass, the devil will try to use your carnal mind to steal the Word from you. If you find yourself about to waver from what you believed, that is not the best time to start trying to make a confession. Just refuse to take the thought and rest in what you have already said in faith.
We have an example of this in the fifth chapter of Mark. Jairus had come to Jesus in faith, “And begged Him earnestly, saying, My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” (Mark 5:23) We all recognize that was a faith statement. Jairus spoke those words when his faith was high. He believed if Jesus laid His hands on his daughter, she would live.
Jesus was on His way to Jairus’ house when someone came with the bad news. “...Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” (Mark 5:35) Jairus had spoken in faith, but the dry winds of doubt were blowing against him. Jesus knew he was in a bad situation, and “As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, Do not be afraid; only believe.” (Mark 5:36) In other words, that was not the time for Jairus to start making confessions. He was not mentally up to it. He just needed to rest in the statement he had made when his faith was high.
I have heard some people make confessions out of fear – they were saying the right thing, but it was out of fear rather than faith. Fear had paralyzed faith. Notice again the words of Jesus. “…Do not be afraid, only believe.” In other words, Jesus was saying to Jairus: “Just keep your mouth shut, don’t say anything that will nullify what you have already established by faith before the bad news came.”
Yes, you can quote God’s Word in any situation; quote it over and over to yourself. Then when you want to speak a word of faith to affect something, your heart will be filled with the Word of God. Your faith and your Word level will be high.
There is a difference between speaking God’s Word to put it inside you and speaking the Word out to affect something. There are times when all Christians have some doubt. Don’t try to speak the Word at those times to change things. But rather speak it to plant the Word in your heart and cause faith to come. Or do what Jairus did – keep your mouth shut. Sometimes that is all the corresponding action you need.
Words Produce Faith or Fear
“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” (Matthew 6:31 KJV) Why should Jesus be concerned about our taking these thoughts? Because faith stops at the question mark and the questions reveal that we are not fully persuaded that God has made provision for us. (II Peter 1:1-5)
Speaking faith-filled words produces faith. Fear-filled words will produce fear. Questions like, “What are we going to do? How are we going to make this payment?” produce fear. When you fear, you allow satan to steal the Word from you. When you say such things, you are opening the door for the devil to speak to your carnal mind. Paul encourages us to cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and to bring every thought into the obedience of Christ. We should take no thought that would open the door to the enemy. (II Corinthians 10:4-5)
Taking the wrong thoughts is a major area you must deal with if you expect to walk in God’s provisions. We should take no thought that questions God’s ability to provide what we need for life and health. The thoughts we take are important because the human spirit is designed to produce in like kind from the seed you plant in your heart. If you plant thoughts based on worry and fear, you will gravitate to the very thing you fear. Even Job found that to be true. (Job 3:25-26)
Satan is very limited in what he can do unless he can get you into fear. Fear releases the devil’s ability against you. He can no more prevail against you if you are without fear, than God can move on your behalf without faith! Faith brings God on the scene, but fear is an invitation to satan. Jesus reveals that God will clothe you if you only have a little faith. “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek.) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:31-33 KJV)
Make a decision to take God’s thoughts and harness your thoughts and tongue. Your words can either release satan’s ability or God’s ability concerning your finances, your home, and your physical body. (James 3:1-13)
Things to Remember
Fear of failure is an enemy to success. Resist fear as you would resist the devil.
You can’t keep the devil from putting doubt in your mind; but if you refuse to speak, it will die unborn.
Faith-filled words produce faith. Fear-filled words produce fear. Fear brings satan on the scene. Faith brings God on the scene. Make a decision to take God’s thoughts.
Fear Not...Only Believe!