Hi, Friends! Tawni here, and I wanted to share with you today something that God’s been speaking to my heart lately. I battle anxiety, along with many,many others, maybe including you. It’s not something I’ve ever been able to pray away, even as much as I’ve longed to be able to. My husband and I have studied scripture on the topic. We’ve read self-help books and articles; we’ve prayed and sought prayer from others; and we’ve had long, long conversations about how to take our thoughts captive. But somehow, sometimes, our heads just won’t align with our hearts, and we have moments, or hours, or days when we are overcome by an anxiousness that we can’t explain and can’t escape.
Usually, in my case, my anxiety comes out of nowhere for seemingly no reason at all. I could be peeling potatoes, reading a book, or watching a movie, and suddenly my heart will feel as though it’s being stabbed and pressed in a vise and I will have to stop what I’m doing to take deep breaths until my heartbeat slows. In moments like those, I’m sorry, but turning to the Word or singing a song of praise is not always my initial reaction.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been having more frequent episodes. And by “frequent” I mean only once or twice a week, but that’s enough to be annoying, at the very least. At church a couple of weeks ago, our Pastor gave a message about the Mystery of Godliness, with focuses on anxiety and fear, and how to battle them. One of the things he said was that “our lives – and history lies – in God’s hands.”
That same evening at home, I read Luke chapter 21 (I’m reading through the Bible from cover to cover, and Luke 21 just happened to be where I was at on that Sunday). In it I read “do not be terrified” (v9), “I will give you utterance and wisdom” (v15), “not a hair of your head will perish” (v18), and “by your endurance you will gain your lives” (v19).
And as I read on in my study Bible, it said this in reference to verse 18:
…He will always remain in control, and every detail of our lives will be safe in His loving hands…. Our eternal lives are secure and our victories are guaranteed. So we should not worry, but should always stand firm in our faith in the Lord.
What an awesome truth! And so similar to what our Pastor had said earlier on that same day!
Immediately after I read Luke 21, I knew God was speaking directly to me. Through our Pastor’s words, through His Word, and through the insights of my study Bible, God was speaking right to my heart.
So my challenge to you – and to myself – is this: Whenever you’re feeling afraid or anxious, even when you feel you’ve been completely overcome by your fears and anxiety like I do sometimes, remember that you are safe. Say a prayer, do some deep breathing, drink some water, and tell yourself: you are safe. There are hardships and disturbances in this life, for sure; God didn’t promise us easy lives, but we are safe.
Our lives – and history lies – safe in His loving hands.
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I’ve found holding my anxieties up to God to be very helpful…. It’s not totally taken them all away, but each time I find that talking them through in minute detail with Him gently eases them and makes then occur less freuqently. However, I can easily be excessively anxious all day long, paralysed by it to a certain point, so there is a lot of progress that can be made :-)
I’m glad you were able to find help!
Thank you so much for sharing Tawni. Your honest openess speaks straight to the heart – as always! XO
Love, love this.
Hank you so much for sharing this! Your so inspiring!
Thanks for sharing what we all struggle with daily, Tawni.
Isaiah 41:10 has become my life verse…
“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’”
Isaiah 41:10 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/isa.41.10.nkjv
Upheld,
Mary
This is good. So good ????