Anxiety is
that feeling that makes you have to decide to breathe in and breathe out. It makes you sick to your stomach; sometimes
your head feels like it is going to explode.
All you want is relief. The
physical sensations desensitize you from the issues that make you anxious, and
you become anxious about your inability to control your life. Eventually, anxiety can overtake your
walking, breathing, and living of life.
It is for
just those reasons that God draws your attention in the opposite way that your
anxiety directs. God boldly says: Cast
all your anxiety on him because
he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). Letting God care for you in the midst of
your anxiety-causing circumstances is a giant spiritual step.
I am
constantly bemused when I see this action in process. In my personal life and with those I minister
to, I witness that the life-giving remedy to anxiety is knowing how much you
are loved by God. It is only through His
love that I am able to release the tension from my shoulders while my world is
falling apart. It is an immediate relief
from fear and pressure.
The best
way to see how much God cares for you is to look for the gifts He gives each
day. I have been keeping a list of ways
I see God at work in my life every day.
It helps me tune in deeper to His constant care and love.
When
something is stirring up my soul so that I have lost touch with God’s care,
another tool I draw on is reading the Psalms.
I read for a word or phrase that shows me a new way of recognizing God’s
care. My circumstances don’t change, but
my state of being moves from anxiety to a deep awareness that God is bigger
than any of my troubles.
I remember
that I belong to God. I remember that He
has taken personal responsibility for remaking me. I remember that He will never leave me or
forsake me. I begin to breathe normally
again. I feel rested. I find out that the worst is not the
worst. I discover that God is bigger
than the worst.
I need good
friends in my life who remind me of God’s love and appreciation for me. I’m grateful that I have several friends who
are a phone call away if I need to cry or doubt or wonder. They know God is bigger than my fears, and
they remind me of who He is and what my life is all about.
The best
cure for anxiety is the love and care of God.
His care is free. It is
powerful. It is enough. It will overflow your soul if you let
it. There is absolutely no way to be
overcome by anxiety when you are thinking of how much God cares for you. Imagine the embrace of God through Jesus
Christ. See Him holding you close, even
from the hard wood of the cross, hanging there with his right arm torn free so
He can embrace you. Recognize how great
a love has been lavished on you, and
notice your anxiety dissipate though your circumstances remain the same.
Copyright © 2015. Deborah R Newman
teatimeforyoursoul.com All Rights
Reserved.
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