Having an anxious heart and mind makes navigating life a stressful process. The world is constantly changing and throwing things at you, day in and day out. There are thousands of split second decisions you make everyday and those reactions can make a world of difference. You have one second to either blow up or take a second and breathe before you react. Let’s be honest: we all really just want to blow up and respond with the first thing that comes to our minds, but those few seconds to breathe and calm ourselves helps us gain composure we often want to forget about.
Anxiety is a hard thing to explain, but here is to trying. When someone is talking to you, your mind could be in a different place completely, often thinking about something that happened two days ago that the other people involved forgot about two seconds after it occurred. You often get paranoid that people don’t like you or are talking about you. You look so far into the reactions people give or even messages people send to you. You analyze every single detail of life. You would think this would take a long time to process all of this but no all of this happens in a split second. Your mind is always going a mile a minute, thinking of every possibility and outcome. It's irrational but it's just an automatic response. It’s overwhelming. That’s the key word; overwhelming. Anxious thoughts take over your mind and you often let that define who you are. We need to stop that though. Anxiety isn’t your identity and it’s not how life has to be. Those few seconds taken to breathe and calm down before you react is really a simple thing and often helps eliminate the anxiousness.
Anxiety actually makes relying on the Lord easier and truly teaches you that you are a child of God. Your mind might be overwhelmed constantly, but when the peace of the Lord ceases those thoughts for just a few moments you know God is real. Anxious thoughts are a lot to handle but that’s why we aren’t supposed to handle this life alone.
Everyday decisions pile up and sometimes you just want to sit and cry, but remember Christ came to this earth and experienced every emotion we experience. He knows how it feels and is there to guide you through it. As Christians, we are called to be uncomfortable and with anxiety that can be even harder. This is the time to lean into Him, know He has a call on your life and act on it. Don’t let the spirit of fear overpower the Holy Spirit. Satan loves when we are fearful, but don’t let that fear stop you from the amazing things God is calling you to do. When you have those decisions to be bold or hide, be bold and lean into the Lord. He will guide your thoughts, words and steps.
