Do you need a prescription for anxiety?
I spent 20 years sitting on a rolling stool dispensing advice. Women confided their deepest struggles, frustrations and fears. I quoted scripture and recommended remedies for anxiety. When my life turned upside down my own words mocked me. Did I really trust a sovereign God who would take away a career I loved and all my active hobbies with a debilitating neuromuscular disease? The answer was absolutely, “Yes!” Scriptures stored in my head and heart carried me through what I thought was the most difficult time in my life. Well, turns out that was a cake walk. Then my life unraveled at the very seams. Now I am living in survival mode.
Isaiah 54:10, “Though the mountains move and the hills shake, My love will not be removed from you and My covenant of peace will not be shaken.” HCSB
INVISIBLE WAR
Maybe you know what I’m talking about. Anxiety is an invisible war waged inside your head. I know the keys to finding peace; I’ve handed them out for years from my smug little perch on the stool. Now I’m having to stick those keys in the locks to see if they really open the doors to freedom.They aren’t easy-to-turn locks, no, more like those you have to jimmy and jiggle.
Proverbs 12:25, “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.” NIV
EFFICACY
All those recommendations I made; now I’m the one who needs them. Do they work? Yeah…but doing them? Well that’s another story. It’s a hard choice, especially when decided in the middle of a consuming trial. If you aren’t fighting any major battles right now I urge you to train. “In this world you will have trouble,” Jesus said. He also said, “Take heart, I have overcome the world.” You need an overcomer. You need to know Jesus. I suggest the best way to know His heart is to know His word. Get into Bible study, dig in deep and camp there, because let me tell you, life is hard.
1 Peter 5:7, “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” ESV
To know God's heart, know His word #HolyBible Click To TweetDECIDE NOW
The fighter pilot was securely strapped into his seat when the catapult flung him down the abbreviated runway of the aircraft carrier. The F-16 nose-dived off the end of the ship, plunged into the ocean and sank within a few seconds. His shipmates stood wide-eyed as they realized the pilot safely ejected. Later, they crowded around and wanted to know, “When did you decide to eject?” His answer, “About 10 years ago. I decided if I passed a certain point and my engine didn’t start, I was out of there.” We would be wise to do the same. Decide now what you will do before you cross a certain line. Then if you get to that point, pull the lever and get out of there before you crash. We all need a plan in place before we are faced with dire circumstances. Decide now to prepare yourself, then when your life falls apart you won’t.
Ephesians 6;10-11, “And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way.” MSG
Decide now to prepare yourself, then when life falls apart, you won't #beprepared Click To TweetTHE LONGER YOU STAY IN A RUT, THE DEEPER IT GETS
Lately I’ve worn a rut in my brain. Thinking the same thoughts over and over again, it gets easier to go down the same path. The problem is, then I wind up at the same destination and it’s not where I want to be – fixated on my problems, frustrated at my powerlessness and knotted up with worry and anxiety. I can’t breathe; I can’t eat and my heart pounding against the mattress wakes me hours before daylight. My mental tires spin futilely trying to gain traction but instead I’m just slinging mud. Call me a tow truck, please! I’ve got to get out of this rut because it’s quickly becoming a stronghold. You see, the deeper I dig the rut, the harder it is to get out.
Psalm 55:22, “Cast your burden on the Lord and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” NKJV
When I recently spoke to a group of college students on anxiety, I noticed some of them taking notes. So I decided to share my thoughts on “My Journey of Faith Radio” podcast. If you’ve got the time listen here. Otherwise, I will share my remedies here for the next few weeks. If you need a tow truck to pull you out of your anxiety, make sure you get my posts by email. Enter your address in the box that pops up. Feel free to share with a friend or on social media. We need all the help we can get.
Yep! Been there. Am there. Sort of. The burdens are getting lighter the closer I get to Jesus anyway. Anxiety is tough. It’s not as easy as it sounds to get rid of. The pills only do so much to get rid of the physical symptoms but they still don’t heal the root. That’s a place only the Holy Spirit can go, “God is close to the brokenhearted and He saves those crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18 XO Coming to you from the RaRa Link Up today 🙂
Glad to be your neighbor. You are literally the 4th person to give me that exact same verse! Going to memorize it, I think God is trying to tell me something
Amen! What an important message!
This sounds like such a great series; I’m going to be returning to hear more! I certainly agree with you that the Lord wants to prepare us for the battles that lay ahead of us. We may not know how, even, but His Word is that shield for us. Through chronic illness myself, and the anxiety that accompanies it, I am learning to lean hard into Him in different ways than I had before also. The anchor holds, we just need to remember that! Blessed to be a neighbor over at #LiveFreeThursday!
Glad you stopped by You are so right, I could not survive without His word
Great advice, Vickie! Yes, training when the battle doesn’t exist or is small will help us stand later. Hugs!
Hugs back at you Thanks for the encouragement
I am my own worst enemy when it comes to anxiety. I feel like a crazy person when it rears its ugly self out of no where. It occurs totally out of no where day or night and takes 100% control of me no matter where I am, who I am with, or what I am doing. The anxiety started after my lung collapsed at home and I had to have a chest tube put in. I am always in fear of it happening again. When I mentioned anxiety to the Dr. I was told, “It’s all in your head.” DUH, I knew that, but knowing that does not solve anything. I now have another Dr. and medication for severe anxiety and keep the medication with me at all times. I don’t feel like I am living anymore, I just feel like I am alive controlled by the anxiety.
Praying for you to find freedom from anxiety. It’s hard, it really is, but fight for it. Fight for it in the Lord’s strength