Jesus, himself, dealt with anxiety, you know. You look in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before Jesus was crucified, He was sweating blood. This is how anxious — I’d call that the world’s greatest panic attack, sweating blood. So, I have a savior who not only is with me and will never leave me but that can actually relate to me in exactly how I’m feeling. That’s been a great comfort to me.
So, maybe you’ve dealt with that maybe you’ve dealt with those panic attacks or just anxiety. As much as it feels like it’s life-threatening, you know, if it is anxiety or panic attack, it’s not life-threatening in that moment. And that’s one thing has been helpful for me is — I’m going to make it through this. This is a feeling, this is an emotion that’s happening.
And then, you know in those moments when I’m feeling more anxious, there are certainly practical things that have helped me. Prayer in those moments, there are certain verses that I almost recite, like a mantra. Exodus 14:14 is one of those. It says, “The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be silent.” I say that verse a lot. I’m going to say, “God, I need you to fight for me in this moment because I can’t fix this thing that’s happening inside me.”
I don’t have it all together and the fact that I’m a Christian doesn’t mean my life’s going to be easier. It just means that I’m not alone. It’s okay not to be okay, because Christ is the one holding my life together. Colossians 1 says, “In him and through him all things were made and all things hold together.” And so, I think back to when I was younger, thinking I had to hold it all together. I think that was the problem. Trying to be good, trying to be perfect, trying to be okay. That’s not what it’s about. I used to try and hold onto that so tightly and, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that following Jesus is more about opening my hands and surrender.
So, that’s what I do every morning now. I wake up and I say, “God this day is yours. I’m Yours.” That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. It doesn’t mean it’s going to be simple, or clean, or all the answers are just going to fall into my lap. It might even get more confusing and difficult than this, but you’re never going to leave me. You’re never going to forsake me. I’m going to rely on that promise.