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Mother answering the door to her family

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Do you ever feel guilty for being a Christian who isn’t “anxious for nothing”? Does having anxiety give you more anxiety because you feel like you’re not supposed to feel it?  Lori was in the same boat until she discovered one thing that changed everything.

My marriage was in shambles.  I was shoulering all of the responsibility of raising three kids, two of them teenagers (Lord help me!) all on my own.  Working, cooking cleaning, carpooling, fixing, financing, supporting, loving, providing – it was all on me.  My anxiety was through the roof, and I didn’y know what to do about it.

I was trying everything I could think of:  counseling, meditation, medication, music, excercise, reciting Scriptures, you name it!  Nothing seemed to take it away.  Don’t get me wrong, it was definitely helping to do these things.  I learned to use the tools I needed to get myself centered on Christ again.  But I was still struggling.  Looking back, one thing I realized I wasn’t trying was “not trying”.

If you search Scripture, you will find a ton of verses about worry. I know because I was looking for a magic formula to help me conquer it once and for all.  In my search, I found something unexpected.  You have to pay attention to see it, but in these verses there are implicit instructions from our Father to do nothing.  Yes, seriously – nothing.

In Matthew 11:28NIV, Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” He is doing the work here, ot us.  We just have to come to Him.

Again in Matthew 6:25-34 NIV, this famous passage tells us not to worry, for God even “clothes the grass of the field,” so how much more will He take care of us?  We’re told to seek first his kingdom…and all these things will be given to us.  That’s right – did you catch that? Given!

God is a giver.  He has the answers, and He has our backs.  Some things we just can’t do ourselves, but that is exactly how He designed it.  For us to need Him.

All of those things I worried about worked out, one way or another.  It wasn’t until I took a breath, rested, truly came to Jesus, got quiet, let go of all the details, told God that I trusted Him completely – and then learned to do nothing – that I finally found peace.  Ultimately, my prayers became less about my situation an more abut my trust in Him.

If you need to do the same, I highly encourage you o rest in Him.  You can trust Him.  Here’s what I pray when I’m feeling overwhelmed by anxiety again:

Dear Lord,

I come to You today to ask for help.  You are my everything.  Lord, I need rest.  I give You my worry.  Take it, Lord.  I accept Your peace, love, and understanding.  Help me to turn to You and not to myself.  Help me to stop doing and start trusting.  Help me to wait on Your answers, because I know that they are good.  Give me wisdom, hope, and peace.  Thank you, Lord, for Your patience and grace.  I love You, and I know You love me so much more than I could ever imagine.

Scripture:

Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Matthew 6:25-34 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Inspirational Lifestyles: Anxious For Nothing (Day 5)  was originally published on praisedc.com