I have been dealing with severe anxiety for
the past three months and it's interfering with
so many positive aspects of my life.
I would love to hear the Lord's and
your wise words and thoughts on this subject.
Well, we pray, my beloved, for you to
recover fully from this anxiety and to come
back to your normal duties and be always
strong, built on the rock of salvation, who
is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
What does the Holy Bible say?
Well, very briefly, I will refer you to
the epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians,
Philippians chapter 4, verses 6 to 7, and
we will read that to you.
Philippians 4, verses 6 to 7.
St. Paul says, do not be anxious about
anything, but in every situation, by prayer, number
one, and petition, number two.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in
every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God and the peace
of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard
you, will guard your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus.
What a beautiful, beautiful two verses in the
epistle to the Philippians chapter 4, verses 6
and 7.
St. Paul says, do not be anxious about
anything, but in every situation, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God
and the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus.
Why do we become anxious?
Here's the question.
Every time, any one of us, my beloved,
it's not just you, any one of us,
we get placed in a situation, in front
of a situation, where we do not see
the outcome of it.
So the future of this situation is obscure,
unknown.
Every time I am placed in front of
a situation, the future of it is unknown,
obscure, I become anxious.
You know why?
Because the Lord God created me on, based
on love, and with love came freedom, and
with freedom came choices, and with choices came
the will to decide to do or not
to do, to say or not to say.
Since I am created in the image and
likeness of God, I am created on the
basis of love, with love freedom, with freedom
choices, with choices the will.
Since I am free, whenever I don't know
what the outcome of my current situation, I
become anxious of what the future holds for
me.
I'm worried.
What's going to happen to me tomorrow?
What's going to happen to my family, to
my children?
What's going to happen with my, with my
work?
Am I going to find a job tomorrow?
Am I going to be able to pay
this?
Am I going to be able to get
married?
Am I going to be able to be
successful in business?
Am I going to be able to continue
walking in the Lord's path as a faithful,
as a faithful Christian?
All kind of questions come through our minds,
our heads, and that makes us anxious about
the unknown future.
St. Paul, in his epistles of the Philippians,
chapter 4, verses 6 and 7, he says,
in every situation, be in prayer and in
petition.
Give your request through the prayer, give your
request to God, and what is God going
to do for you?
And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding.
Who is the peace of God?
Christ.
That's why, in the end of verse 7,
he says, in Christ, Jesus.
I wish I had the time, why St.
Paul mentions Christ before Jesus.
In some places, you'll see St. Paul says,
Jesus Christ, and in some other places, you'll
see St. Paul saying, Christ Jesus.
Is there a difference?
Huge.
When you come to God, and put every
concern, put every request, put every anxiety, put
every unknown and the known, everything, in every
situation, whatever the situation may be, whether it
be difficult or easy, small or huge, whether
it be a small stone or a huge
bulldoze that you cannot carry anymore, all your
burdens given to God, in all situations, in
prayer and in petitions and requests.
And when you give that to God, and
the God of peace, the God of peace,
well, the peace of God is Christ.
Because the only way I received that inner
peace, where I became reunited once again with
God, that was only made possible when Jesus
Christ died on the cross.
But why St. Paul says, in Christ Jesus.
Christ Jesus is the peace of God.
Christ, he's referring to the church, because in
his epistle to the Ephesians, chapter 5, St.
Paul says, the church is the body of
Christ, not Jesus.
We receive the body of Christ when we
come to Sunday Holy Mass.
We receive the body and blood of Christ,
not Jesus.
Some people misinterpret, misunderstand how the Bible talks.
What St. Paul is telling you, my beloved
and all of us, you want to be
anxious free, put everything in God's hand, but
do it through Christ Jesus, who is the
peace of God.
Me, be close to the church.
Now, how are we attached to the church,
to Christ?
Well, since St. Paul in Ephesians 5 says,
the church is the body of Christ and
Christ is the head.
So how are we attached to Christ?
Through the neck.
The neck attaches the head to the body.
The neck, biblically speaking, represents faith.
When you have faith in the Lord, that
he has already done everything good for you.
When you have faith in the Lord, that
he has already delivered you, that he has
already paid the price on your behalf, that
he has already redeemed you, that he has
already placed you in the core of his
heart, that he has already given you the
kingdom of God, that he has already made
you the child of God, that he has
already made you the heir to the throne.
You are the inheritor of the heavenly land,
the heavenly Jerusalem.
When you believe in every promise Christ our
Lord and Savior has done and fulfilled and
given you and promised you, you will not
be worried about absolutely nothing.
Be strong, have faith in the Lord Jesus.
Be strong my beloved.
Do not be afraid of the world and
what is in the world and who rules
the world, who is Satan.
Because Satan was crushed under the feet of
our Lord on Calvary, on the cross.
So the ruler of the world is crushed
under your Christ's feet.
Why are you worried?
Do not be anxious.
Whatever is coming tomorrow, put it in God's
hand and God will give you peace through
his Son who died for you and rose
from the dead for you.
When you have faith in this, and I'm
not just saying, talking, saying it.
You need to live it.
Live it.
When you invoke the name of Christ, there
is more than enough power in this name
to give you the heaven of all heavens
my dear.
Just by invoking this name, it is more
than enough to save you forever.
Then why are you worried?
Stand up and be strong and say, Lord
in your name I will walk forward, never
look back.
In your name Lord I am triumphant.
No matter how many times I fall along
the way, you will always raise me back
on my feet.
For you are the Savior.
You are the Redeemer of all of us
and you are always known to save.
Jesus our Lord, he never begins a journey
without completing it.
He will never stop halfway.
He will never let you down.
He will never forsake you.
He will always look over you and watch
over you and protect you in your going
and in your coming, in your sleep and
in your awakening.
In every single moment, Jesus Christ is there
for you.
Be happy.
Rejoice.
No more anxiety.