Don’t Let Anxiety Ru(i)n Your Life, Part 2

Lee Harvener • September 29, 2022

Part 2: Using the Psalms

Last week we talked about how fear and anxiety can run and ruin our lives. This is not unique to us. So we asked the question, how did Jesus and his disciples deal with it?


We probably know the verses and the one-liners. How we shouldn’t be “anxious about anything,” (Phil 4:6), but how do we get there? How did Jesus and his disciples get there? How could they pray through their anxieties and fears, and experience freedom in any circumstance?


They used the Psalms.


You’ll see what I mean.


Read Psalm 3. I really mean it. Please read Psalm 3.


What’s the first line that you read in the Psalm? (hint: It’s not talking about the foes)


It talks about who is writing this and what is happening as he’s writing this. Mine reads like this

“A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.”


Why do you think that the author included that? (hint: It’s not because he likes to record history.) 

It’s so that you can know what is going on. So you can have a window into what David is experiencing. So that you can imagine what he is feeling.


When you see this background in a psalm, just go back and read the story it’s referencing again. Google it if you don’t know: “David fleeing from Absalom”. Where does that bring you? 2 Samuel 15. Take the time and read the story. It’s worth it, I promise.


What is happening in the story? Spark notes version: one of King David’s sons has formed a resistance army, slandered David’s name and has successfully overthrown his father’s throne. So David leaves with some advisors and his family and they are running for their lives, terrified,  as an army of over 12,000 chases them through the wilderness. 


That sums up the worst day I can think of.


Can you imagine the terror that you would feel? What would you do? How would you confront that kind of fear with God? That’s what this is all about.


In Psalm 3: 1-3, David begins by confronting the source of his fears. 


What does he keep repeating in these first verses?


"Lord, how many are my foes!

    How many rise up against me!

Many are saying of me,

    “God will not deliver him.”


(I may or may not have highlighted the repeated word)


This makes sense!!!! AN ARMY WANTS TO KILL ME!!! HELP!!! David identifies his concrete source of fear. He’s not sugar-coating it. A lot of people want him dead. Fear is literally running his life!


 But that’s not all that David says. 


Apparently Absalom’s people are saying that, “God will not deliver him.” Essentially they are saying that God is done with David. That David’s relationship with God is over. I think it’s important to note here that this is a whole different kind of fear. This isn’t an army coming to kill you, it’s an attack on his identity, importance, and self worth. 


It really helps to have a picture of where David came from to see the scale of this attack.

  • David begins as a runt-of-the-litter shepherd boy, he is only chosen from God’s grace.
  • He grows in fame because God allows him to defeat a Philistine champion in battle.
  • From there he became the best general in Israel’s history. 
  • He was protected from the previous king's jealous rage. 
  • Big point: God’s grace and deliverance got him everything. But now everything’s gone.

It’s at this point that David’s whole life is broken. His kingdom, his family, his reputation, all gone. And Absalom is capitalizing off this. 


So who is David if he is not a king, a father, or a nation builder? The answer according to what David is hearing is that he’s nothing. Not even his relationship with God counts for anything anymore. Have you felt that?


This is anxiety. It’s an attack on who we are, our self worth, our identity, the idea that "I am a meaningful, valued person". It’s a feeling of dread and powerlessness. 


Whether it’s someone else telling you those messages, or yourself creating them, they are paralyzing. They can paralyze us from seeing who we truly are, who God truly is, and they can ruin our lives. 


What does it look like to walk with God through that?


David begins by addressing his fears and stating his anxieties before God. That is step one.


This is where we end the blog for today. But for you, (and me),  it can’t stop here. You need to follow this model.


What fears are you holding onto?

That can be a person or a situation, or both.

What would you identify as the root of that experience?


Do you have that feeling of dread or powerlessness?

It’s the question of “where’s my life going?” “Nothing is working!” “I am not valued.” That is anxiety.


How is this anxiety rooted in your fears? How is this rooted in your identity? 


Write out your version of Psalm 3:1-2


In this blog, we focused on addressing our fears and anxieties, but it does not end here. Next week, we are going to talk about how David turns his anxieties to God and how we can do the same.
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