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Winds of Adversity Part 3 – Extreme Pressure

The third wind of adversity in our four part series on the Winds of Adversity is extreme pressure. One of the winds of adversity that we are dealing with today is anxiety and pressure. "The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith; and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety." — George Muller

The Bible addresses anxiety in a number of places. Daniel 7:25 teaches that one of the tactics of the enemy is to "wear out the saints." The enemy's strategy is to wear us down with extreme pressure. Anxiety and extreme pressure will leave you emotionally drained – exhausted, and without hope. Many of you are experiencing great pressure. Satan's plan is to wear you out physically and emotionally, and move you out of God's timing. Daniel 7:25 reads, "And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws:"

What does the Bible say about dealing with anxiety? Anxiety and worry are both attacks on the mind intended to distract us from serving the Lord. The battle we are engaged in today is an attack on our minds. The enemy will use both of these to press our faith down, so it cannot rise up and help us live in victory. Joyce Meyer is quoted, "It is absolutely impossible to worry and live in peace at the same time." The follow Scriptures will help us during times of anxiety, stress, and extreme pressure:

Matthew 6:25 – "Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?

Matthew 6:31 – "Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? What are we going to have to drink? Or, What are we going to wear?"

Philippians 4:6 – "Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God."

1 Peter 5:6-7 – "Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you," "Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully."

Dr. E. Stanley Jones is quoted as saying, " I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath--these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely--these are my native air. A John Hopkins University doctor says, "We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact." But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality."

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