Anxiety

Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong, fear not! Behold your God will come with vengeance, with recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Isaiah 35.4

 

A story

 

Without warning, you feel intense, impending doom. Your mind shrieks, ‘Something bad is going to happen!’ Fear squeezes your heart, and it begins beating at F1 speeds. The sounds tolerable just moments ago become blaring sirens. Your throat spasms, threatening to suffocate you. Fighting for breath, you become dizzy. Waves of dreadful fright bash you with hurricane force. Heavy horror surrounds you, closing in, there’s no escape. You’re petrified and sinking under the weight as your mind screams in terror, ‘I'm going to die!’

 

A letter from God

 

My Precious Child,

When fear and anxiety attack, reach out to me. I’m the true safety you ask. I’ll rescue you from the terror that comes upon your heart, for your heart belongs to me.

Peter, a disciple of Jesus, knew the feelings. He and the disciples were in a boat when a ferocious storm of deadly consequence quickly rose against them. With all their might, they fought in the dark, through the battering wind and waves, to stay alive.

Miraculously, Jesus was walking on the water. He asked Peter to come to him. In unprecedented faith, Peter stepped out. Even more miraculously, he too walked on the water! As quick as lightning, his bravery and joy turned to peril when he felt the blustering wind and the violent, crashing waves. Though close to Jesus, Peter was away from the safety of the boat. Panic struck him.

His faith in Jesus quickly turned to doubt when he thought his circumstances were bigger than his God. Consequently, Peter began to sink. He cried out to Jesus, who immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him from the watery depths to safety. Like Peter, reach for my hand of safety. Put your trust in my love, for I not only give it, but I am love.

This is where I long to be, generously pouring out my Spirit on you, protecting, and loving you. Though your emotions roar and you feel out of control, your physical body's reactions don’t reflect truth, I am truth, and I’ll calm the ominous waves of emotions that torment you.

Turn to me and the safety of my unrivalled love for you. I myself will take you by the hand, pull you out of the depths of emotional pain, rescue you from the stronghold of anxiety in your mind, and tenderly comfort you.

 

A Scripture

 

Whenever I am anxious and worried, you comfort me and make me glad.

Psalm 94.19

 

A prayer

 

God, I’m frequently attacked by anxiety and need a Saviour.  Thank you that you are more powerful than anxiety and its emotional and physical manifestations. When anxiety attacks, immediately pull me to safety from its depths with your all-powerful, loving, and saving hand.

In Jesus’s name, Amen

 

Reflection

 

1 Anxiety is not from God. It’s entered your heart through fear, worry, or trauma at some point in your life, likely through no fault of your own.

What brings on, causes, or triggers anxiety when it strikes you? Write down your triggers and why you think they give you anxiety.

 

2 What are some Scriptures that you can personalize and call to mind when anxiety attacks you?

 

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