Based on Kevin DeYoung’s: Just Do Something
Respectable Sins – Chapter 8 – “Anxiety and Frustration”
We will be spending a little time on some sins that Jerry Bridges refers to as “Respectable Sins.” These tend to be those sins in our lives that we accept or excuse. Today we will be looking at anxiety and frustration.
▪ The opposite of trust in God is lack of trust which usually manifests itself in anxiety, worry, or frustration.
Anxiety & Worry
▪ Prominent passages:
~ Matthew 6:25-34
▪ Word “worry” or “anxious” in the text we tend to use only in a negative sense.
▪ Not always the case [1 Cor. 7:32; Phil:2:20]
~ 1 Corinthians 12:25 – so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts
should have equal concern for each other
~ 2 Corinthians 11:28 – Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern
for all the churches
▪ You see Scripture talks of two kinds of worry or concern.
~ There is a godly, circumspect and moderate concern that is appropriate for a believer;
while there is a distrustful, inordinate, and overwhelming concern that is not only
inappropriate for a believer, but also sinful.
~ Philippians 4:6 & 1 Peter 5:7
▪ What is at the bottom of anxiety? What are we truly saying when we are anxious?
~ Distrust
~ Lack of acceptance of God’s providence in our lives
~ Bridges – “Unwillingness to submit to and cheerfully accept God’s agenda for me.”
~ John Newton – “How happy are they who can resign all to him, see his hand in every dispensation, and
believe that he chooses better for them than they possibly could for themselves.”
▪ Pray that God would give us a spirit to submit to His providential will when it is contrary to my own plans
▪ Difference between worry and anxiety:
~ Worry is associated with more long-term difficult or painful circumstances for which there appears to be no resolution.
▪ We are to rest in the promises of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit
Frustration
When we struggle with God’s providential care, sometimes this results in our being upset or even angry at whatever or
whoever is blocking our plans
▪ Failure to recognize the invisible hand of God behind whatever is triggering my frustration
▪ When my printer doesn’t print (offline) or drivers are struggling with the simple rules of driving, I tend not to think about God in the situation but focus entirely on the immediate cause of my frustration
▪ Psalm 139:16 – “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
▪ Bring to bear specific Scripture and dependence on the Holy Spirit
▪ Pray that God would help us see what He might be seeking to teach us through these events/circumstances ~ ways in which He is growing our faith
For more information about this group, please visit their website at reformationboise.com.
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