Anxiety

Oh, you know what this is. You've experienced anxiety before. And it's horrible, isn't it? But with our wonderful, glorious Father, we don't have to live in anxiety.

"...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

In Philippians 4:6-7, it explicitly states that we are not to be anxious. Instead, we are supposed to pray to God about the things that are bothering us.

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." - Matthew 6:25-34

I absolutely love this passage. Again, we're told not to be anxious. We're reminded that God cares for the tiniest of things, so obviously, He can care for you.

In 1 Peter 5:7, we're told to "cast all our cares on Him". Why? Because He cares for us! He cares enough to take all of our pain, anguish, troubles, and fears.

"fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." - Isaiah 41:10. We're not supposed to have fear or anxiety or be dismayed because God has us in His hand!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." If we're trying to handle our anxiety on our own, we are not trusting in the Lord. So many times in the Bible, we are explicitly told to trust in Him.

Another wonderful thing about God is that He knew some of us would struggle with anxiety. So, He tells us how to deal with it in His word!

Moral of the story: We can do nothing alone. We need to give our anxieties to God.

There are so many more verses in the Bible that tell us how we can trust in the Lord and get rid of our anxiety. Just read the Psalms!

Hope you are encouraged!