OVERCOMING ANXIETY

Dining with Jesus Christian Episodes

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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For Thursday the 01st of May, 2025…

Christians experience the full range of human emotion. Christians can and do experience anxiety, depression, fear, doubt, dread, paranoia, anger… the list is endless.  Following Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior does not neuter your emotions, replacing all negative thoughts with only good and healthy ones. In our devotional today, we are going to allow the message of God’s word to speak to our struggles and needs so that we might overcome the dark and challenging days. 

Let’s read the following passage taken from the message of the Apostle Paul that was given to the people of the church at Philippi:

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:4-7 NIV11)

Anxiety

The big idea being given to the follower of Jesus Christ in this teaching is that the Lord does not want his people to suffer in times of anxiety, depression, and emotional anguish. 

It is important to see that there is no blame being handed out here. Anxiety (as used in this passage) is not the result of sin and failure. This kind of anxiety comes from the circumstances that the believers in Jesus should find themselves. 

It happens, life goes sideways, people hurt us, stuff breaks, and our bodies do not cooperate with our plans for the future. All of these hardships hurt us and affect us in every way possible. But the Lord wants his people to recover, bounce back, even grow through and get stronger as a result of all this mess. 

Based on the message of this teaching, the child of God can take action when he or she finds that life hurts. Read on and see if any of this helps you with your journey today:

Rejoice

We must choose to praise God, worship the Lord, express our gratitude and joy during the good times as well as the bad times. Even though we are filled with the Spirit of the Lord, joy is not the default of our flesh when hard times come. We must voice our praise and gratitude to the Lord. 

Return

You might not feel like rejoicing and praising God in the midst of your dark days. You might not even think of anything good about which to give thanks to the Lord. In these times, we must return to the message of the Gospel. 

• What has Jesus Christ done for you? • Who has the Lord made you to be as the result of his sacrifice?• What is your true eternal state thanks to Jesus?• Remember who you are because of what he has done. 

Gentle

Wrath does not increase peace nor do hate and bitterness bring you freedom. When we choose to be gentle, to not hit back, not meet the enemy on his level, but instead choose to be Christlike in our responses, we give ourselves the gift of freedom. 

Unforgiveness and bitterness toward those who hurt you only ties you to those people even tighter. Choosing to be gentle, to turn away from wrath, to forgive, brings you victory in Christ and freedom in your emotional self. 

Near

The Lord is near. Remember that. He is not distant, not watching from afar. He is in the middle of your storm with you. He is present in your wins and losses. 

Pray and Petition

Whatever are you going through, the Lord WANTS you to bring it all to him. Really. Jesus Christ wants you to make the choice to voice your hurts, your anger, your sadness, your fears, your needs, your wants, and even your doubts. Jesus is with you in and through it all. 

When you come to the Lord to ask for his help (petition), remember to do the hard work of actually asking, and answering, “What is it that I am asking the Lord to do here?” Be specific, be personal, be bold, ask the Lord to move in a real and tangible way. 

Allow God

Allow the Lord to bring you peace. We receive the gift of God’s peace through the work of the Holy Spirit but we are not possessed by the Spirit. In the giving of peace, the Lord works in us as we allow. If we refuse peace because we cannot imagine life without anger and bitterness, then peace will not be found. 

This is why we must choose to allow the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts to bring us freedom from that which we are holding onto that is actually hurting us and leading us into anxiety. 

Allow the peace of the Lord to be your peace. Do not resist and see how the Spirit will change your heart. 

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN


Works at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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