To be honest, many of us feel caught in a web of worries. We don't know how to escape. We don't think we can escape. When we try to get loose from one worry, out pops two more. We are more stuck than before. Like a victim caught in the web of worries, we are stuck, waiting to be eaten. The truth is obvious: It is always ________ to get ________ a web than ________ of one!
One brother caught in a web shared with me,
"Unfortunately we live in a cauldron of worry in this world, and I have succumbed to that malady as well. I don't think there is a way anyone can escape it, even if one believes in Christ."
This is the way our brother felt. Trapped. Ensnared. Entangled. And he couldn't get free. Perhaps you can share one or more of these emotional thoughts?
What can I do when I feel overwhelmed by anxiety?
- How can I control these anxious thoughts?
- Why can't I think clearly when I am worried?
- Why can't I just shake these worries?
Our goal is not to remove you from your circumstances. More than often nothing can change our situation. Those things that lead us to worry will probably be around you and I for a long time. But we need to learn a second lesson from the spider and his web. A spider can walk on the web without getting entangled.
That is right. The web represented by these fears, stresses and worries is there still, but the spider is able to walk around it without getting caught. This is the freedom that God promises to each of His children. Later on, we will see how Jesus walked across one of the toughest webs ever created.
But for now, can you say a short prayer to the Lord right where you are sitting?
Dear Lord, I am surrounded by things that trouble my soul. I am stuck. I can't get out on my own. I need your help to take me out and to walk on the web of worries without getting caught. Please help me. In Christ' Name, Amen.
I have found out the hard way that jobs around the house are not as easy as I would think or want. My miscalculations have messed up schedules so much that now I regularly qualify the answer to my wife's question, "How long will you be?"
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I wouldn't be here today if I was not convinced of the power for God's people to live above worry. But I want to caution you. There are no
________ answers. There are definite answers but they are not 'instant.'
Just like the roots of a tree are always deeper than we expect, so our anxiety problems have laid a well-protected network which is difficult but not impossible to get at. We will in the next slides begin to see how several of these roots hide themselves and begin to expose them. Be careful! You might not like what you see.
In other words, our answer can't be too simple because the web has been wrapping itself around us for many years. As we go along in the seminar, we will step by step walk up and over the bridge to God’s peace. The closer we get, the greater God’s peace is and the more we have distanced ourselves from our anxieties.
So let's look at how we are going to do this. Next page.
