Have you been acquainted with anxiety for years? We were recently introduced and I wish we had never met.
I’m learning that if you don’t control anxiety, anxiety will control you.
THE FIRST KEY TO OVERCOMING ANXIETY IS TO MAKE A CHOICE
Control #anxiety before it controls you Click To TweetAm I okay?
The alarm clock in my chest wakes me at 4 a.m. every morning. My heart rate spikes and I gasp like a guppy out of water for 3 or 4 seconds until I reach enough consciousness to remember why.
My life is no longer upside down; it’s inside out with my guts on the floor.
And no, I’m not okay.
I’ve slipped into an unfamiliar mire of negativity; my stomach is in knots, I thrash through nightmares and lie awake hours before dawn.
Well hello there stranger. So this is anxiety? Why don’t you go back where you came from?
Make it stop. I just want to sit in the middle of it all and cry until my eyes are swollen shut. Then maybe when l open them all of this was a nightmare and time has been turned back to the days when my life followed the script.
Will I be okay?
Right now, no. No, the future I’m facing is worse than my incurable diagnosis. It’s hard knowing the cure is available, yet optional. It’s a bitter pill to swallow and I’m not the one with the capacity to reach out and gulp it.
In case you don’t already know, I write talk to myself.
Dear Self,
God is already there in your tomorrow. He is always faithful. You can trust Him with your life, your family, your health, your eternity and your present. He is the same yesterday, today and forever
.
Jesus is the same. Anyone besides me need a little same?
Hebrews 13: 8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” NKJV
Is anxiety optional?
I may not be okay today and tomorrow is way off track, but my eternity is secure and life is short. So I choose to be okay. The sooner I choose it, the easier it will be to get unstuck from this deepening mud hole.
Choose to be okay from day one because the way out is shorter. Make a decision now. Turn from sin, despair, depression or anxiety. Choose it before you read the next sentence. But you have to be ready to change. What is your choice?
John 5:8, “When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?'” NIV
Do you want to get well?
If you’re stuck knee-deep in a rut of anxious thoughts then choose to stop. Stop the habit of overflowing thoughts which swirl until they spill out as sweat, tears or regrettable words. Quit flooring the accelerator and activating the same destructive path. If you want to get well cry out to God and ask Him to bring the tools.
2 Corinthians 10:5-6, “We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.” MSG
I believe freedom is possible and trust me, I need it more than anyone. I’m not sure how long this series will last but I’ll keep clawing at the door until it opens. Click here if you missed the introduction to “Prescriptions for Anxiety.” Be sure and enter your email address for the next step in our journey to freedom. Spread the word and let’s do this together.
By the way, I really am okay now, but this is how I got here and I want to you know it wasn’t easy. I want you to see; I know what I’m talking about. It works, I’m living proof.
Thanks for sharing—words are hard to come up with at this time.
It’s therapy for me
May GOD bless you and continue to use you for HIS GLORY.
And I will let Him
Amazing writer. I am continually blessed by your words. Thank you.
Thanks. Sometimes they are wrenched up
Out of the deepest parts of my soul
Such a good post! Thanks. It’s true. How we face the challenges is our choice, and the Good News is we never have to do it alone.
Amen
It hurts to see you hurt but what a blessing to see you give it to God and showing us Victory in Him Prayers and love for you
Another great post! My experience as well…trials are about choosing not to let them drown us. God indeed is in control…and for our good. Thanks so much for the reminders!
Trials will come. Trying to be faithful through them
Envision a limitless expanse of wide black fabric. Put a single pin into the fabric and peek through to the other side. This limited view is the source of our fear and anxiety. Stand and look above that expanse of black fabric and see God standing high above the limitless expanse. He has already seen the beginning and He sees the end. Our peek hole is worthless, God sees all and knows all. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full into His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace!” Such is our relief from anxiety.
What a beautiful picture!
I so recognize that pattern of waking up! I KNOW where to look, but sometimes I feel like I have been blinded! Anxiety is horrible & I can’t wait for the day that I am completely delivered from its entangling threads!
In all my years, I never understood. Then my husband left and I couldn’t breathe. I am much better now, but the symptoms are so real!