This month, I've been writing about anxiety and placing our faith in God in those times. This week, I wanted to share my personal story about facing anxiety.

I have faced anxiety off and on for years. Many of those times, I turned to things other than God in the midst of the anxiety. I turned to friends, music, and even weed.

I turned to the things of this world rather than God. Then my biggest struggle with anxiety came along.

I was in the midst of a tough relationship, one where I wanted to do my best to please the other person, as well as please my parents. I was being pulled in two different directions, and it came to a point where I was physically drained.

My grades were slipping. I was getting sick more often than normal. I was not myself. I was going to church, but I was only going through the motions.

Then that relationship ended. The following semester (semester of the tornado), Engage JSU started off with a series on anxiety. That's exactly what I needed.

I realized I strayed from the path God had me on. I realized God was and is always in control of our lives. We don't have to worry about acceptance of others, our future, our failures, or situations we can't control.

We can put our hope in the fact that Christ is always in control, and that God will never leave or forsake us.

One passage of Scripture that has stayed with me since that series in the Spring of 2018 is Philippians 4:6-7, which says, "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard up your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (ESV)."‭‭

What this passage of Scripture tells us is that no matter what, we can trust in the fact that God gives us peace in the midst of our anxiety. God wants us to make our requests known to Him in our anxiety.

Why do I share my story of facing anxiety? Because even in the midst of anxiety, God has blessed me. I'm blessed with a wonderful relationship who wants to grow together in faith. I'm blessed with friends who want to grow in faith, and show encouragement to one another when we face anxiety.

I share my story of anxiety to show there's light on the other side. Do I still struggle with anxiety? Absolutely. I get frustrated and anxious when plans don't go the way they're supposed to. What I hope is the outcome of this article is to show others that anxiety is real, even in Christians.

God tells us not to be anxious over anything. The Bible tells us so many times not to be anxious. However, we have hope that when we go through times of anxiety, we can turn to God. It's absolutely okay to turn to others and share your anxieties with others, but we have to put our hope in God in those times.

I hope my story helps someone. Another thing I want to say, if you ever have anxiety and need someone to talk to, I am always here. I also want to share a picture that shows Jesus pulling us out of the water of our anxiety, called The Hand of God, by Yongsung Kim.

Photo from Facebook