How Can I Overcome My Anxiety Over What's Going on in the World?
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How Can I Overcome My Anxiety Over What's Going on in the World?
If you are consuming a steady diet of news, you may develop a sense of anxiety over what you see. Most news reporting is focused on negative events, or what has gone wrong. So, you could get the impression that everything is spinning out of control. A solid biblical perspective can look at the same events and conclude: "everything is proceeding according to plan."
Here are key elements of a biblical perspective:
Believe that God exists and His power is not limited
Calamitous events are not an indication that God has lost control. The universe is not a contest between good and evil in which we do not know the outcome. The outcome is certain and is moving forward on a schedule determined by God. Faith in God's power and a good understanding of His Word can help you overcome worry and anxiety.
Believe His Word
Your Bible is filled with prophetic statements about events that have come to pass. These fulfilled prophecies testify to God’s power and validate the authority of scripture. Accepting the Bible as authoritative gives us confidence regarding all it has to say about events that have not yet come to pass.
Get to know the plan
Gain perspective and understanding on God's plan and how it is unfolding according to biblical prophecy. To help you with this we offer two high-quality Bible study guides which you can get free of charge: The Book of Revelation Unveiled and You Can Understand Bible Prophecy
Let’s get personal
Your Creator also has a personal plan for you. Its a step-by-step plan that will lead you into a glorious future in His family. Learning more about this plan is the project of a lifetime. To get you started, we offer two helpful study aids, free of charge: Why Were You Born? and The Road to Eternal Life
The comfort of God's Word
God's Word can offer a great deal of comfort in the face of worrisome events. This "comfort" is not a form of blissful ignorance but rather is based on understanding. In 1 Thessalonians 4:18 Paul finishes a detailed review of future events saying "comfort, encourage, strengthen one another with these words."
That same strength and encouragement can be yours.
Readjust what you think about
In addition, you might want to reconsider how much time and attention you devote to news watching. You cannot avoid seeing firsthand the disturbing changes in our society and surrounding culture but you needn't dwell on it.
Focus your attention on the positive future God has in store (Philippians 4:4-8).
Spend more of your valuable time thinking about God's plan for you and His plan for the future. Don't waste time fretting about things you cannot really control anyway (Matthew 6:33-34).
People who have this biblical perspective are not unaware of the evils all around them. They are grieved by what they see (Ezekiel 9:4). But they are not overcome with anxiety or fear.