What to Do About High Anxiety

Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV) - "Be anxious for nothing, 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 your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. __________________________

You know those times when you're so excited about something you can hardly think straight?!  Maybe your Great Aunt Maggie is coming to visit for the first time in several years.  Maybe you're sister is having a baby.  Maybe you're just going out for ice cream on a hot summer's day.  Your anxiety level is so high you feel like you're about to burst. 

Oh No!

Then something happens.  Aunt Maggie's flight is delayed.  Your sister goes past her due date and still no baby.  The car gets a flat tire on the way to the ice cream store.  Your anxiety is increased, but not in a good way.  You're on the edge of your seat, maybe literally, waiting for the big moment.  

I'm there right now.  I'm expecting a delivery that I'm excited about.  It may come today, or maybe not until tomorrow.  I don't know when, but I'm so excited my anxiety level is through the roof.  I've even had the TV on all day (and I don't watch a lot of TV normally), watching the channel with the closed circuit channel that shows me the cameras around our apartment building.  I've been watching the front door waiting to see a delivery guy walk in with a package under his arm. 

I can't help but wonder why is it that we don't get so excited about Christ's return?  Why do we focus so much on worldly things and not our Savior? 

Jesus is Waiting for You 
I guarantee you that Jesus is waiting for us to come to Him.  I'm even thinking that if it weren't for the fact that He already knows what's going to happen, He'd be anxious and wondering if He's going to get to spend eternity with me and you.

He loves us so much that He died for us.  He doesn't want us feeling anything negative including anxiety.  And, He wants our focus to be on Him always and in every situation.

Focus on Him

Philippians 4:6-7 says 

"Be anxious for nothing, 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 your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  

During those high anxiety times we need to focus on God, pray to Him, asking for His peace and understanding.  He will guard your heart and mind trough Jesus.  All things happen in His timing, not ours.  So, focus on that wonderful day when Jesus will be coming back to takes us home... to the place where there will never again be a high-anxiety moment.  

Let's Pray

Dear God ~~ You are so loving and merciful that You don't leave a detail that is not dealt with.  Even our moments of anxiety concerns you.  I admit that sometimes I don't focus on You when I should be.  I often create my own anxiety where there need not be any.  Thank You for Your attention to detail.  Please help me bring everything to you in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.  In Jesus name, AMEN.  

Now It's Your Turn

Thoughts?  Questions?  Want to share your story?  Ask for prayer?  Please consider sharing in the comments section; even if the link you clicked to get here was on another site.  (If you’re on the homepage, click on the post headline, and scroll down to find the comments section.)

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Can You Recognize a Blessing in Disguise?

~~ Hebrews 11:1 (NIV84) ~~  Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

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by Carley Cooper

Photo Credit:  Microsoft Office Copyright Free Images

God often talks to me through the things I read.  Today it was devotional messages in my email.  I bet you didn’t know that God has email, did you?  I got two emails this morning that spoke to me about something that’s been bothering me for a long time.  I realized that I’m stuck on this and God wants me to move on.

Uh Oh!  Now What?

Lynn Cowell, with Proverbs 31 Ministries in an article called When I Stray, talks about  how she said something that accidently made one of her friends look bad.  She stressed about it, feeling guilty.  Basically she didn’t think before she spoke and then felt terrible about it.  In the end she turned to God, and then to her friend for forgiveness.  She received it from both and her friendship was left intact.  But what about those times when we don’t get forgiveness from a friend?  What then?

Another devotional message I received was by Mary Southerland of Girlfriends in God, and was titled Doubt your Doubts.   Mary starts out talking about how we are so willing to accept man-made things even though we don’t understand them, yet we find it difficult to accept stories of miracles God tells us in His Word.  This is because of our lack of faith in Him.

God Will Help You Climb the Mountain

Mary says: 

God does not promise to remove the mountain or that we will even understand the mountain. However, God does promise to help us climb the mountain and He does promise to climb it with us. We must make the continual choice to fix our gaze on God and our glance on the circumstances. When doubt comes, reject it.

That’s when I realized that I am stuck on this situation that’s been bothering me.  You see a number of years ago in my BC (Before Christ) days, I said something to someone in an email that was meant as a joke.  However, it wasn’t received as a joke.  Not only that but this private conversation was shared with three other people.  They all took offense to what I said even though three of them were not involved.  I lost four friends.  One of them called me and gave me a nasty run down one side and up the other that left me with nightmares for months.  I’ve wanted to fix things with these people for a long time.  I think a lot about it.  I recently reached out to all of them hoping that we could move beyond the past as being more mature, and more forgiving.  I wanted them to see that I forgive them, and hoped that they forgive me.  I was rejected.

God Does Not Waste Anything

I’ve been trying to climb this mountain for a long time by myself.  These people are all what I call ‘worldly Christians’.  They claim to believe, yet they don’t live the life, read their bibles, go to church, or have a relationship with God.  Sometimes the relationships in our lives end for a reason.  I know now that I was stuck on trying to fix a situation… alone without God… when He wants me to let it go and move on.  If / when these relationships are meant to be fixed is up to Him and will be done in His timing.  God wants me to surround myself with believers who can support me and help me on my journey toward Him.  Going back into these relationships would mean surrounding myself with worldly attitudes.  Granted I hope that somewhere along the line I have planted a seed in them.  If so, it’s up to Jesus to help it to grow.  It’s out of my hands now.

I’ve been trying to hold on to relationships that God wants me to let go of.  It’s a hurdle in front of me in my path toward Jesus.  I have to let it go or I will be separated from Him.  Sometimes what seems like a bad situation is actually a blessing in disguise.  Keeping faith during the tough times is hard to do.  Letting go is hard to do.  Sometimes it’s a necessary step in order to go higher on the mountain.  We can’t reach the summit if we don’t trust God, have faith, work hard, and put up with some falling rocks along the way.

Let’s Pray

 ~~ Dear God ~~  Wonderful, graceful, Heavenly Father.  So often I try to climb the mountain by myself because I don’t have enough faith that You can help me get to the top.  Thank you that You never give up on me, or leave me stranded on the side of a mountain.  Please help me to see the blessings in every situation; and to let go of unnecessary baggage so that my journey up the mountain is much more enjoyable and filled with blessings.  In Jesus name, AMEN.

Now It’s Your Turn

Thoughts?  Questions?  Want to share your story?  Ask for prayer?  Please consider sharing in the comments section; even if the link you clicked to get here was on another site.  (If you’re on the homepage, click on the post headline, and scroll down to find the comments section.)

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What Do I Want to Crave?

~~ 1 Corinthians 6:19 (NIV84) ~~  Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own

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by Carley Cooper

Photo by Carley Cooper.  All rights reserved.

We started Lisa Terkeurst's Made to Crave study at the ladies bible study group at church this week.  I had a couple of realizations that resulted.  First, that emotional eating is beginning to be a problem for me for the first time.  The other half of the issue is that I've noticed myself feeling a little disconnected from God; or maybe it's that I'm craving Him more.  I just know that my prayer life isn't as up to snuff as it used to be.

Ah-Ha!  A Light Bulb Moment

My big insight was to wonder if these two things are connected.  Is my need for more of God being materialized in the form of emotional eating?  Am I craving what I should be craving; God instead of food?  As always, God has brought the perfect bible study into my life at the exact time when I needed it.

God Never Misses a Beat

He does that with everything but it never ceases to amaze me that God doesn't miss a detail.  Everything is important to Him, no matter how small my need, He cares about it.  Thinking about this makes me think about other things in my life; like my longing for a husband... someone to love and be loved by.  It makes me more excited about the future, what 2013 has in store for me.  I really believe this will be an exciting year for me.  I know I've said this before, but it deserves repeating... being a Christian is not restrictive.  It's freeing and adventurous.  Whoever said being a Christian was boring doesn't know how to be a real Christian.

God Cares About Your Health

This study is no doubt something God wants me to do.  He wants me to focus more on my health.  So I should; after all my body is His temple.  He deserves for it to be healthy.

What is it that you’re craving?  God or food, or something else?  Are you willing do what it takes to make your body strong and healthy for Him?

Just before leaving for bible study, I got this prayer as part of a comment left on one of my blogs.  It fits perfectly, if you’re struggling and need some help from God.

“~~ Heavenly Father , please help me to uphold my commitment to gaining positive health. Transform my thinking about food at a pace that is right for me so that I make choices that are consistent with weight loss and gaining health. Clear my mind of dieting and nutrition dogma that confuses, misleads me and cause me to not be as healthy as you have desired for me when I was just a thought in your mind and before creation of me in my mother’s womb. Order my footsteps so that I avoid eating out of control and to eat only when I am actually hungry and in need of fuel. Order my steps so that I resist the urge to eat when I am not hungry. Encourage me, Lord through your grace and merciful love, when I am down, afraid, angry, or any non-positive emotion to be honest with myself when it is difficult. Help me to forgive myself and others for any past indiscretions that I absorbed that have led to my weight gain. Help me Father to feel comfortable and satisfied in the shape that I am now and the resultant shape and size that you have for me. Fill my mind with truth and guide my footsteps in the best way to gain health, lose excess weight and glorify you. Thank You for Your endless mercy and grace. Amen. "

Now It’s Your Turn 

Thoughts?  Questions?  Want to share your story?  Ask for prayer?  Please consider sharing in the comments section; even if the link you clicked to get here was on another site.  (If you’re on the homepage, click on the post headline, and scroll down to find the comments section.)

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