3 Easy Steps to Casting All Anxieties Away

T here is so much to worry about in this world and in our lives, so how can we have peace and rid ourselves of all our troubles and anxieties?

Step One

To start with, you cannot cast your troubles onto Christ if you don’t trust in Christ, so unless you come to Christ, having repented and put your trust in Him (Mark 1:15), you cannot be saved or come to Him. You are stuck with your own heavy laden, burdens. Only after believing in the Son of God is there no more condemnation (Rom 8:1) The only reason there is no more condemnation is because “we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1). So step one in casting all your anxieties away is to trust in Christ. This is why He says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28). You must come to Him first, confessing your sins, repenting and trusting in Christ’s finished work on the cross. That is the only way to find true rest. You and I were heavy laden and under unbearable labors before salvation, but we learned that only Jesus Christ can give us true rest. When we trust in Him, we can come to Him, and as the Apostle Peter says we should be “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Pet 5:7).

Step Two

When animals plowed fields in the ancient days, they either used plow horses, mules or, the best of them all, oxen. These beasts of burden were meant…they were created to carry heavy loads and burdens that their owners couldn’t. When they were yoked together, they found they could do even more work than one alone. Why? Because a burden shared is halved. That is, the burden is split in half or shared…and it makes it easier for both of the ox. This makes sense in light of Jesus statement for us to “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt 11:29). Rest comes after the load is unloaded upon God’s broad shoulders. Hey, nothing is too heavy for God, is it? We are to take His yoke upon us and not some other human device that is supposed to make our lives easier. These could be alcohol, drugs, over-indulging, shopping, working, etc. So step two is to take His yoke upon us…depend on God to take over when things happen that we can’t control. That takes some learning…so we must learn from Him, take our burdens to Jesus, and then and only then will you “find rest for your souls.”

A yoke is an implement that is used to harness animals together to pull a load or a plow.

Step Three

Once you learn to come to Him and are able to rest, that is, resting because He’s sharing the load with you with His yoke, and you are resting in Christ’s finished works (1 Cor 15:1-5), then we can learn, as Jesus said, “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt 11:30). You don’t know what something feels like till you wear it, and Jesus’ yoke lightens everything! To be yoked to something means to share the load and to walk in step with one another. Mules and oxen don’t plow together because it’s too hard on them and they are less productive…but when oxen are yoked together, they can get more done because two are better than one (Eccl 4:9-12). They are sharing the load.

Come to Christ

“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” John 6.35

Feel weary and heavy laden? Then come to Christ. “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). He fills not only the spiritual thirst but the hunger too, and we shall never hunger or thirst again for He is totally sufficient for us. Have we strayed like sheep from the Lord? Then the Good Shepherd beckons us, “Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you” (Psalm116:7). You can’t be any more burdened than the Apostle Paul was who said “there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches” (2 Cor 11:28), but even Paul knew that when he was weak, the Lord would show Himself strong.

Summary

Why would Paul boast about His weakness and his inability to go on at times, where he even despaired of life (2 Cor 1:8)? It was to boast of the power of God Who uses weak, broken, clay vessels (that’s us!), so that He alone receives the glory. God didn’t tell Paul to grow his faith first in order to make it on his own, but rather, God would use Paul’s weakness to show how strong God was. This is why God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor 12:9). Who wouldn’t want “the power of Christ” to “rest upon” them!?

Conclusion

I pray you have put your trust in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If that has not happened yet, my friend, you are in real danger of hell fire. And I mean, in immediate danger. You’re one breath, one heartbeat…one accident away from eternity when it will be too late to repent. Today is the best day to believe (2 Cor 6:2) since tomorrow is no guarantee. If Jesus Christ came today, here is your fate (Matt 7:21-23). This is why I plead with you as you read this, repent today…and I mean right now. Put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you do not, you will face God’s judgment after death guaranteed (Heb 9:27) or at Jesus Christ’s appearance (Rev 20:12-15), which could happen at any moment.

Here is some related reading for you: 7 Bible Great Verses for Your Times of Trouble

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: Anxiety, Trials, Tribulations, Troubles