Purify Your Mind Series (Part 3) by Joe Kirbyნიმუში

Perhaps This Is Why You’re Anxious . . .

"The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion." (Proverbs 28:1)

You’ve probably heard that people who frequently consume Internet porn are also more prone to depression, loneliness, and anxiety. Even secular psychologists are noticing this strong link in their research. The truth is, this sin turns men into cowards. There is nothing worse than the terrors of a guilty conscience. Adam was the first man to flee when no one was pursuing him. “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden . . . and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Gen. 3:8). God was walking, He wasn’t stalking. And Adam hid because he thought God was chasing him.

When I was eleven, I stole some shiny hubcaps off a Mini-Cooper parked at a gym near my house. The man caught me and began to chase me from the parking lot. I hopped on my bike, cycled into the woods, and hid, terrified. After the incident, I cut my hair short and started wearing different clothes. Every day for several months, I kept looking out the window of my house, afraid that every passing car was that man, bringing the police to arrest me.

I also remember once asking the teacher who gave me detention if it would go on my record for life and keep me from getting a job. (The teacher, spitefully, said yes!) Sin makes us paranoid; I could tell you stories, even as an adult, where I “fled without a cause.”

If we have been saved and redeemed by the blood of Christ, we are no longer wicked, but righteous—but that doesn’t make us immune from the terrors of sin. So my question to you is, have you considered that perhaps you’re so anxious because you are burdened by a guilty conscience? I pray that you will repent of this sin and let the Lord transform you into a bold lion for Him.