Emotional and Mental Health - Eliminating Anxiety

Life is insecure at best and terrifying at its worse. People say that bad things happen in threes, but at times in my life, I have counted five or six stressful catastrophes in a row.

I learned early on in life not to expect anything good to happen. That way, when good did happen, I was mildly pleased; but when it did not occur, I was not overly disappointed either.

As an authentic Believer, we learn to cast all of our anxious thoughts on God's strong shoulders - to leave them in His benevolent heart and to have faith in His faithfulness instead of in people (Mark 10:22; 1 Peter 5:7).

As we turn our attention away from our self and onto helping other people, we continue to heal from anxiety. This brings inner peace because we help to ease another's burdens and we find fulfillment in sharing our abilities and resources.

As we pray during each moment for God's will and direction, we acknowledge that God is in control of our life (Proverbs 3:5-6; Philippians 4:6-8). This reduces anxiety quicker than any mantra or affirmation we can repeat.

God orders our steps and gives us the grace to enter into His rest (Hebrews 13:5). His presence in our life allows Him to provide serenity in anxious situations. He helps us to set priorities and to follow them.

This habit is comforting and provides us with a routine to which we can establish and adhere. Routine limits anxious feelings and defines our responsibilities according to the will of God, rather than our own stressful agenda.

I do not hide from life any longer. I know from experience that our Daddy God is faithful, I experience security by walking in His presence and praying without ceasing, and I find fulfillment and peace in the comfort of the shadow of His wings.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that prayer is not created for us to manipulate You or to demand that You do our bidding in our way and timing. Our communication with You is for our benefit, however; and we do not need to wait for a crisis, which we can no longer control before we come to You. We wait in silence until we discover Your will for us during each moment of our day.

Thank You for giving us Your peace, which transcends any comfort the world attempts to provide for us. You are only a prayer away; and yet we fail to avail our self to the intimacy of our union with You. Thank You for abiding within us with Your presence and for filling us with Your Spirit and fruit.

Thought for the Day:

God is not our puppet to manipulate according to our will, but our Savior and King whom we willingly serve according to His will and way; He is not obligated to grant our wishes, but He chooses to give us only the best that we need to live a fulfilling life.

Encouragement from God

To be encouraged is to be filled with courage. We do not buckle under the weight of circumstances when we have courage, especially when that courage comes to us through God's Spirit within us.

As we continually set the Lord in the forefront of our thoughts, we will not be shaken, because He is near us and in us (Psalm 16:8). Even if fear or anxiety trouble us for some reason, we can keep our faith in His faithfulness (Psalm 56:3).

We trust Him and His Word, which gives us serenity in this sin-cursed world. There is nothing anyone can do to us that He is not capable of turning around for our ultimate good (Psalm 56:4; Romans 8:28).

God's Word is full of assurances, which give us peace, even in the direst of circumstances. We can be encouraged because Jesus already overcame the world, and He abides within us (John 16:33).

There is no need to feel anxiety about anything, because in every circumstance we can pray, cast our cares on God, and live in gratitude for all He already did for us (Philippians 4:6).

His peace, which overcomes every anxious thought, guards our heart and mind in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). He floods our soul with His peace, which goes far beyond human reasoning (Philippians 4:8).

It is not fleeting, circumstantial peace or peace we derive from things of this world, but peace that abides in us and eliminates all fear and discouragement regardless of our life issues (John 14:27).

God is our eternal hiding place and He protects us in times of trouble as He walks through it in us and with us. He floods our mind with worship songs to praise Him, so that we remain victorious each step of the way (Psalm 32:7-8).

Prayer:

Father God, hardships, turmoil, sleeplessness, deprivation, abuse, financial ruin, etc. touch everyone at some point in time. These external pressures add to our other worries about our family and the world around us (2 Corinthians 11:27-28).  Yet, when we cry to You for help, You hear us and rescue us from all of our troubles (Psalm 34:17).

Remind us that if we allow our sinful nature to control our thoughts and emotions and physical desires, we will destroy our self; but if we allow Your Spirit to control us, You will lead us into life and peace now and throughout eternity (Romans 8:6).

Thought for the Day:

We have no need to be overwhelmed by life, because the Lord goes before us and leads us, and He will never fail or forsake us.- Deuteronomy 31:8

Yoked With Jesus

Jesus told us to take His yoke on us and He would give us rest (Matthew 29:29-30). Picture a wooden yoke hooking two oxen together to pull a load.

One oxen alone bears all the burden, but two oxen share the weight and make the load lighter. Alone in this world without Christ in our life, we are not fully alive, because our spirit is dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1-5). We barely make it and even our success is hollow and meaningless.

If we are yoked with Jesus, He carries the full brunt of the load on His shoulders. The shared yoke also keeps us in step with Jesus as we traverse life (Galatians 5:16, 25). We are never alone again.

We have no worries or fears because our sin nature is dead, and our life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3, Romans 6:5; 1 Corinthians 6:17). Paul learned this lesson when God used him mightily even while imprisoned (Acts 16:16-40).

Like Paul, we too can keep our focus on Christ in us (Romans 6; 2 Corinthians 11:23-12:10). Paul considered the loss of his human achievements as trivial when compared to the joy of serving the Lord (Philippians 3:9).

We can make it the goal of our day to feast on God's Word in order to feed our spirit, to nurture our soul with spiritually beneficial activities and to sustain our body with wholesome foods.

Yoked with Jesus our burdens lighten, our worries diminish, our fears vanish and our faith in His faithfulness increases. This intimate union nourishes every part of our being through every moment of our day.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You invite us to yoke up with You and to permit You to carry our burdens. We do not crumble under the weight of our circumstances, because we are yoked as one with You. The closer we live in this union with You, the more peacefully life transpires for us, regardless of our circumstances. You set us free from caring about whatever is bothering us.

Because of Your plan and purpose for our life, we die to this concern and it no longer has power over our life. If we experience a similar trial, You remind us that we are dead to this issue. It is no longer a false god or a graven image, which consumes our time and attention. We experience total freedom in this area. Now, Satan has less and less to tempt or badger us with in the future. 

Thought for the Day:

When we follow God’s Spirit each moment of the day, we live in overwhelming peace and gratitude for all He has done, is doing and will continue to do for us, in us and through us. 

- Colossians 3:15