Tumult and Anguish

Fear and Apprehension

Do not be anxious about anything, sbut in everything by prayer and supplication twith thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Phil. 4:6 ESV

Anxiety is fear and apprehension resident in our hearts created by constant worry. A troubled, disturbing, uneasiness of mind characterizes our anxious feelings. Anxiety develops as we fear an impending event, anticipated trial, or unexpected disappointment.

Our anxiety is due to a lack of confidence in God’s promises and covenant faithfulness. This overwhelming apprehension is a symptom of our unwillingness to believe God with unanticipated, unpleasant events. We are delivered from our anxiety by laying our fears at the feet of Jesus through prayer and worship.

It is so easy, we think, to “rest in the Lord,” and to “wait patiently for Him,” until the nest is upset; until we live, as many are living to-day, in tumult and anguish—is it possible then? If this “Don’t” does not work then, it will not work at any time.

Resting in the Lord does not depend upon external circumstances, but on the relationship of the life of God in me to God Himself. Fussing generally ends in sin. We imagine that a little anxiety and worry is an indication of how wise we really are; it may be an indication of how wicked we really are.

Oswald Chambers, God’s Workmanship (UK : Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1953).