Daily Delight
Anxiety has gripped my heart for the better part of five months. Every day I wake up and go through the same thing, nausea, heart racing, a million and one things going through my mind. I open my Bible, and it subsides for a while sometimes, other times it likes to pop up here and there, causing myself some unnecessary drama. Anybody else know the feeling? Well, the Lord whispered to my heart the other day, in a moment of fear and frustration, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God".
As a writer, I obviously write a ton, so it almost seems as though I'm not doing what He tells us to, "let your requests be known to God". But I do! I have a journal filled with the worries in my heart, the questions, the aches, the fears. I'm pretty sure if you were to read it, you'd think I wasn't listening for Him, because it's so repetitive! But thanksgiving had me stopping for a moment. Am I being thankful? Silly question, but one that made me think.
I know that I'm thankful for the blessings the Lord has given me! But am I thankful for everything that is currently making me anxious? I mean, these things are not necessarily bad, they aren't going to harm me physically, or emotionally, or even spiritually. They're simply things that require me to adjust, change, grow. Am I thanking Him for these opportunities to be molded by Him?
To be completely honest, no. They frighten me, these opportunities. They lead into the unknown and that makes me worry and grow anxious. So I'm not necessarily thanking Him for these chances, but instead let anxiety take over and pray for there to be a clear cut answer. All the while, He's waiting for me to thank Him and live in faith instead of fear, but I don't have to.
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus". If this was a cartoon, you'd see the light bulb go off above my head. He's not asking us to step into the unknown without Him, but to be thankful for the opportunities to guard us with His peace, and we won't have to understand fully before taking a step. We'll act in faith and let go of that fear.
So what is it that you are so concerned over it's making you physically sick? Bring it to Him with thanksgiving! I know it's easier said than done, but Philippians 4:6-7, promises us what we desire so strongly. And I don't know about you, but I'm ready to wake up without the anxiety that sneaks up on me throughout the day, and causes my heart to ache. So Lord, here I am so incredibly thankful that You want to make me more like You.
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Photo: @nhinton4
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Janine Carattini
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Janine is a twenty-something, grace chasing, heart writing, Kingdom worker.
Her passion is to encourage others to relentlessly pursue after Jesus and to live lives filled with strength, dignity, and grace.
Born and raised in sunny Southern California, her goal is to love people unconditionally. When they ask her why, her answer is simply, "because Jesus asked me to".
Her desire is that by the way she lives her life, by what she writes, people will see Jesus.
You can find and follow her journey on relentlesspursuit.net
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