(Don't) Be Anxious

By nature, I tend to be a tad anxious. Anxiety can be a really tough thing to live with, getting in the way of relationships or deterring advancement in a career. Anxiety causes us to be fearful of certain situations, causes us to be tense, or can create a feeling of impending danger. Anxiety manifests in restlessness, worry about uncontrollable situations, and insomnia. Anxious people have trouble not fixating on possible negative outcomes and spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about things that haven’t happened yet, or things that can’t be changed.

As Christians, we have supernatural assistance in dealing with anxiety, fear, and worry. In Philippians, it is written “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Our praise and thankfulness are all God asks for in exchange for His peace. We can put all our worry and anxiety on Him. By our requests, God will grant peace.

In 1 Peter 5, elders in the churches are given encouragement. This is important for all of us, because we should all consider ourselves to all be Elders in our churches since we are directed to Be the Church. “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7)

God cares about you! That’s the greatest gift and promise of all time. And aren’t we fortunate that with God we can cast all our anxieties and fears to Him and live in the promise of living in his honor?

You will be presented with challenges that will test you. You may be anxious or fearful of the possible outcomes of these challenges. Make sure you take the time every day to speak to God and tell Him about your anxiety. You will receive the greatest peace there is.