We all face fear and anxiety at different times in life and sometimes, the fears and the anxiety feels so real that is cripples us. We don’t know what to do, we don’t know where to turn. All we want to do is find a way to escape the things that are plaguing our minds. While these two things weren’t things that God ever intended us to experience, they are common things we battle against in this broken world. When problems arise or we begin to fear the unknown, we can start believing that God has lost control and we begin to doubt whether or not He really is good. In the first week of this series, Pastor Sean shares how we often want to base our faith on the mountaintop experiences that we have in life, but the Bible says that our lives here are short and full of trouble. So what do we do when we find ourselves struggling with fear and anxiety in the valleys? In this message, Pastor Sean gives us two practical things.

PLAY AUDIO ONLY

MESSAGE NOTES

We all deal with fear/anxiety, just with different things.

Job 14:1 – “How frail is humanity! How short is life and full of trouble.” What TROUBLE is bringing you fear and anxiety?

  • Money, health, friends, relationships?
  • What do you need to be happy?

1 Kings 18:38-40

  • 3 years of famine. King calls him “Troublemaker of Israel”
  • Elijah turns it around, “You and your family are the troublemakers because you refuse to obey the Lord and instead worship Baal.”
  • Calls everyone to Mt Carmel
  • He gets exactly what he asked for.

Have you ever had one of those mountaintop experiences?

  • Birth of your child, renewing of your faith, baptism, opening your new business, finishing classes, etc.
  • Sometimes our faith is built on the mountaintops.
  • We come down from the mountain with our guard down.
  • Watch what happens next…. 1 Kings 19:1-4
  • He wondered if God was good and if God would do what’s best.
  • His doubt, led to fear, isolation, and depression.
  • We come down from the mountain with our guard down (adrenaline leaves our body, we get tired, it’s the exact opposite experience and that’s when the temptation hits.

Our Faith is not built on Mountains, it’s built in the Valleys.

Faith is easy in the crowd, tough when you’re alone. Easy in church , hard at school/work/dorm.

What do we do when that happens? 1 Kings 19:5-8

  1. vs 5 Keep moving
  2. vs 8 Go back to God.

 

Your fear comes from doubt that God is good and his way is best. Like Adam and Eve we feel God has lost touch and control.

If there is sin, repent. Learn from it. If not, lean into it and hang on tighter.

 

What do we do when we get back to Him? James 1:2-8

  • Recognize that every struggle is an opportunity to grow.
  • Ask God for wisdom to see how to exercise your faith muscles
  • Recommit your loyalty to God as being good, and your confidence that his path is best.
  • Then you can count this present struggle as an opportunity for great Joy.

This great struggle is preparation for God’s great glory and your great joy.

Is your confidence in the world and your ability to manipulate your circumstances OR is God good and is his path best?

Are you running from the very thing God wants to bring you through?

God’s love for you has never changed. He’s still here. He knows where you’re at and where this is going. Trust Him.