Great Is Your FaithfulnessSample

Faithful to Deliver from Anxiety

Click, click, click, click. It's likely you've heard the fateful clicking of the roller coaster as it inches its way up the track, leaving you wondering why you ever decided to endure the crowded line of thrill seekers to ride this death trap! Is this restraint going to hold me? Will I live to tell of this adventure? The anxiety is building and you haven't even reached the peak of the ascent to view the inevitable drop just ahead.

Perhaps just reading the words describing this otherwise mild experience has your heart rate picking up just a bit! Or maybe you're numbed to the adrenaline rush of theme park escapades and have Mount Everest creeping to the top of your Next Up list. But we can all agree that sometimes anxiety creeps into our lives, and if we don't take the onslaught of thoughts captive, we find ourselves ascending the peak of the coaster track, terrified of what's ahead beyond the drop.

Anxiety seems to be the theme of our 21st-century culture. Statistics regarding its impact on every single generation, from young to aged, are off-the-charts. Anxiety begins with the entrance of a thought, perhaps prompted by an experience, a conflict in a relationship, a word spoken, or even a suspected glance from someone nearby. Left unattended, the thought grows, fed by fear, and morphs into a far grander drama than the reality it represents.

While anxiety may be rampant in today's culture, we know it's nothing new to humanity. The psalmist David wrote often about his own battles with anxiety. Undoubtedly he faced countless traumatic experiences as encountered beasts in the pastures as a shepherd boy, taunting giants when delivering food to his brothers in the king's army, an enraged and jealous king who chronically sought to take his life, and a host of other terrifying battles in war when he became king himself. Jesus spoke about the temptation to worry or be anxious as He taught in the Sermon on the Mount. Paul the apostle wrote about anxiety on more than one occasion, reminding the reader to access freedom from and divine authority against such a nuisance through the power of our faithful God.

Hear from my own daughter Bonnie as she shared about her personal experience with anxiety:

One night, I was lying in bed, and I was contemplating a decision. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but it really gnawed at me for some reason. As I lay there, every possible worry in my life came to my mind at that very moment. I was panicking, on the verge of tears, completely overwhelmed. But in that chaos, a sentence rang through the noise: I need to pray. So I did, a very simple prayer, asking God to give me peace and get rid of all the worries. The second I said Amen, all the stress and fear instantly disappeared from my body and mind. I physically felt the knot in my stomach completely disintegrate! I went to sleep peacefully after that. That was the first time I truly felt God’s touch on me.

God is faithful to deliver from anxiety and fear when we call on His name. Situations may not change the instant you ask for His help. But the fear and anxiety can be obliterated by our vigilant trust in a faithful God who delivers from anxiety.

Dig a Little Deeper

Determine to no longer claim Anxiety as your personal possession. It may sound too simple, or even super-spiritual, but refuse to describe such a stronghold as "my anxiety". Speak about anxiety as a ploy of the enemy of your soul, Satan, as it is indeed a tool he loves to use to deter followers of Christ. As Paul wrote to the Philippians, choose to rejoice instead, refuse to worry, pray about what is tempting you to be or feel anxious, and thank God for what He has done. Be specific. Scripture reminds us the benefits of such decisions: "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7 ESV).