Comfort in Anxiety

“ What do you do to stop feeling anxious?” My coworker asked me. What do I do? The tension in my shoulders, knot in my stomach, and pounding heart reminded me the answer was currently “not much”. 

“I’m not very good at stopping.” Was my first response. I’m sure you’ve heard it said before that the Bible instructs us “do not be afraid” 365 times. It’s the most often given instruction in the Bible. 

If you are anything like me though... knowing I shouldn’t be afraid or anxious doesn’t just take those feelings away. Thankfully, the Bible doesn’t just tell us not to be afraid, but it also tells us what to do in those moments as well. 1 Peter 5:7 instructs us to cast our anxieties on Him. In Philippians 4:6-7 Paul tells us “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Sis, let me tell you something. Anxiety has ruled some part of my life for years! I have often been a slave to my worries. But, Psalm 55 tells us to cast our care upon the Lord (PRAY) and He will sustain us (vs 22).

“I try to pray. Sometimes I write my prayers out. And I try to remember all the ways God has been steadfast in the past.” That was the rest of my answer.

I still get anxious. Tonight I’m still praying through my current anxieties, but it’s gotten easier. My shoulders have loosened a bit and the boulder in my stomach is a bit more pebble shaped at the moment (still uncomfortable but much more livable). 

So my encouragement to you is this, take your anxieties to the Lord in prayer. The full verse of 1 Peter 5:7 says “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” He wants you to approach Him with your fears. He cares deeply for you. You don’t have to sit in your anxiety any longer. You don’t have to carry that boulder alone.

Psalm 23:4 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

Rest

Rest

I often don’t sleep well. I have poor sleeping habits and a weird schedule, and so my sleep suffers. I’m pretty much stay tired. My counselor used to joking tell me that sometimes the most biblical thing you can do is take a nap, and I believe it.

Even God rested.  “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” Genesis 2:3

I don’t know what you do for a living, but I know what I do is much less then create a whole world... and yet I often feel like one day off (or more) isn’t enough. Over the past year I’ve been learning that I think a big part of that is that I’m not resting well.

Biblical rest isn’t just sleep. Biblical rest is sitting in quiet before the Lord (Exodus 33:14). Biblical rest is surrender (Matthew 11:28-30). It’s prayer and meditation (Mark 6:31). Biblical rest is laying down your burdens, it’s pausing work, it’s letting the Lord fill you back up.

True rest is a form of surrender. It’s a form of worship. It’s a way for us to cast aside worries and distractions and be with our Creator. True rest restores and lack of biblical rest can lead us astray (Hebrews 4:11).

So make time to rest my sister. Be still before the Lord. Allow Him to lead you beside the still waters and calm your soul, so that in rest you may better know your Creator. 

 

Psalm 23:2-3

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters. 

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

Steadfast Love

Confession: I’m a mess of a person. And not the cute mess you often see in movies that’s endearing and whimsical. The type that’s lead others to make such comments as “she’s not a good influence”. Yeah... that type of a mess.

See, I’ve made some mistakes. I lived in a pretty big open rebellion towards the Lord for a bit a few years back. I fully embraced what the world had to offer and in anger and bitterness I turned my back on the Lord. 

This happened shortly after my earthly father passed away. It’s hard to admit anger at a dead person, but I think I was pretty mad at my dad for leaving. I was also pretty mad at God. I felt alone and betrayed and instead of running towards the Lord I ran away.

Deuteronomy 31:6 says “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” 

These were the words Moses told Israel as they prepared to cross the Jordan. Moses wasn’t to go with them, but he knew the Lord would. The same God that had freed them from Egypt, the same God that had gone before them for 40 years, He is the same God that would go before them into the promised land. He was the same God that my dad pointed me towards and the same God that was there after he left. When I realized that by diving head first away from God I was going deeper into loneliness and pain I desperately began to swim back.

He will not leave you or forsake you! When I turned my back on the Lord, do you know where He was? Right where He had been and will always be.

In Lamentations we are told, 

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (3:22-23)

I was the prodigal son. I’ve been lost and found. The Lord waits with open arms to bring us back to life, and hallelujah what a God!( Luke 15:11-31)