In the first week of our series on Battling Anxiety with Biblical Truth, I mentioned that the knowledge that God is in control was usually enough to settle my anxiety. But what about the days when that’s not enough? Because let me assure you, those days do happen.
The good news is that you are not alone, literally.
You are not the first person to battle anxiety and until Jesus comes again, you won’t be the last. But you never have to battle it by yourself. I’ve said it before that one of the most dangerous lies we can tell ourselves is that we are alone in our suffering. But we are never alone. You have me, for one, on your side. And probably several members of your family and a few strangers in the grocery line.
Remember our Day 1 stat? It is estimated that as many as one-third of the American population struggle with anxiety issues. That’s one in three. You are not alone.
But here’s the best news: you are not alone, spiritually.
God’s Word promises that He is always with you. Below is an excerpt from my devotional: 14 Days to a Courageous Heart. The excerpt is based on Joshua 1:9, one of my favorite verses from the Bible, where God commands us to be strong but also promises to be with us.
The little girl curled her toes around the concrete edge of the deep end. She looked down into the pool’s cool water, deeper than anything she had ever imagined. She looked back at the plastic wading pool where she had been content to play all day until this very moment. Then she looked just ahead of her into her father’s eyes where he stayed, tall and steady, arms outstretched and waiting for her to take the leap.
“You won’t leave me, will you? You’ll stay right there?” she asked.
“No, daughter. I will be right here. I will never leave you and I won’t let you down,” her father replied. She set her chin and bent her knees. She leaped. She flew. And she landed squarely in the arms of her father.
What lies in your deep end today? Courage has little to do with earthly bravery and everything to do with heavenly focus. Instead of keeping our gaze on the deep end before us or the shallow end behind us, let’s keep our gaze steady on our heavenly Father who is always with us. He will never leave you or let you down.
If you enjoyed this excerpt and you are not already a subscriber to The Rescued Letters, you might like the full devotional: 14 Days to a Courageous Heart. It is free, but only available to subscribers. If you’d like to receive your free digital copy, along with email updates from me, you can subscribe below.
If I’m honest with myself, there are some days when even the promise that God is with me does not immediately comfort the anxious thoughts wandering through my head. Stay tuned for next week when we’ll take a closer look at God’s promise of His presence. I’ve been doing some research on what the Bible says about God’s presence, and I think you’ll agree that there is abundant power behind the presence of God, strong enough to slay the fiercest of anxiety attacks.
Until then, carry on warriors.
