Garwood Presbyterian Church

Worry and Fear Vs Trusting God and Resting In His Love

God's Way to Health, Healing, and Wholeness

May God Himself sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless." I Thes. 5:23

1. Fear, Anxiety, and Worry Cause or Encourage More Diseases Than Any Other Emotion

   Acne Allergies Amenorrhea Angina Asthma Backaches Colic Constipation Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Diarrhea Diuresis Eczema Environmental Illness Fatigue Frigidity High Blood Pressure Hives Hyperthyroidism Hypoglycemia (Low Blood Sugar)

   Hypothyroidism Impotence Insomnia Irritable Bowl Syndrome Malabsorption Migraines Mitral Valve Prolapse Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Nausea and Vomiting Neurodermatitis Panic Attacks Parasites PMS Reflux Shingles Sinus Infections Tension Headaches Toxic Retention Ulcers

   Some of these diseases may be caused by other emotions in addition to fear, anxiety, and worry.

2. They Cause So Many Diseases Because of the Physical Harm They Cause In the Long Run
   1. When we are afraid, or to a lesser extent anxious or worried, our brain determines that we are in danger and tells our hypothalamus to go into fight or flight mode, also known as the General Adaptation Syndrome.
      1. The hypothalamus tells the autonomic nervous system that we are in fight or flight mode, and to supercharge the body with strength, which it does.
         1. Our respiration rate increases.
         2. Our heart rate increases.
         3. Our blood pressure increases.
         4. The blood vessels in our skin constrict to conserve blood for our muscles. So if a person always feels cold, it may be because of worry, anxiety, or fear in their life.
      2. The hypothalamus also tells the anterior pituitary gland that we are in fight or flight mode, and to supercharge the body with strength.
         1. The anterior pituitary gland sends out signals to the other glands in the body that they should release their hormones so that the body is made as strong as possible.
         2. The thyroid gland releases less thyroxin.
         3. Other glands, especially the adrenal glands, release more epinephrine = adrenaline, norepinephrine, and cortisol.
   2. Because cortisol is a steroid, it makes our body stronger, but harms it in the long run.
      1. The longer we stay afraid, anxious, or worried, the more damage cortisol will do to our immune system. (Similar to what anger does. See "Letting Go to God", I., C., 1-2.)
      2. When our immune system is damaged, we are vulnerable to getting many diseases.
   3. When our immune system is healthy, our body will defeat almost any disease
3. We Need to Replace Worry, Anxiety and Fear With Faith
   1. With trust in God and His Word, and by resting in His love for us.
   2. Pastor Gary Wetzel went to Pleasant Valley Church in Georgia with allergies that he had had for years, but came back with almost none because he found out that he had a deep-seated fear in his life and he dealt with it using the 9 R's to health, healing and wholeness. (See IV. B.)
   3. Worry, anxiety, and fear are sinful, and need to be replaced with faith.
      1. II Tim. 1:7
         1. A spirit of fear does not come from God.
      2. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus says, "Fear not" and "Do not be afraid".
      3. Psalm 56:3-4
         1. Faith and fear are opposites.
      4. Mat. 6:25-34
         1. Three times Jesus says "do not worry" and says that worry shows a lack of faith.
      5. Mat. 8:23-27
         1. When there is a lot of fear, there will only be a little faith. But when there is a lot of faith, there will only be a little fear.
   4. Yet, we live by fear more than we think.
      1. We have fear of rejection by people or their disapproval, fear of failure, fear of the loss of people in our life, of our job, or of our independence, fear of getting sick, fear of the unknown, fear of death, and more.
      2. Pastor Gary Wetzel found out that he had a fear of a loss in his life, and when he dealt with it spiritually, the pain he had in his shoulders that would not go away before, went away.
   5. We can trust God because of His love for us.
      1. Isaiah 43:1-5
      2. Romans 8:33-39
4. What We Need to Do
   1. Ask for the Lord's help, and with it, search our heart, our memories, and our subconscious for when we became afraid, worried or anxious.
   2. Take each incident and apply the 9 R's to health, healing and wholeness to it.
      1. Recognize - that the worry, anxiety, or fear is sinful.
      2. Responsibility - take, that we have it in our life.
      3. Repent - and tell God that we are wrong to have it.
      4. Renounce - it and tell it that we don't want it in our life any more.
      5. Remove - it from our life; tell it to get out of our life.
      6. Replace - it with trust in God and His Word, and resting in His love for us.
      7. Resist - it if it tries to come back into our life.
      8. Rejoice - that it is getting out of our life.
      9. Restore – others like we have been restored