How to Overcome Anxiety – Part 1

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Matthew 6:25

Here are some steps to overcoming your anxiety: 1) Talk to God. Don’t bemoan the collapse of an investment; ask God to help you. Don’t pace the floor of the hospital waiting room; pray for a successful surgery. ‘Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him’ (1 Peter 5:7). 2) Slow down. ‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him’ (Psalm 37:7). Jesus’ first miracle took place at a wedding. They had run out of wine, which was a social disaster in those days. Mary could’ve blamed the host for poor planning, or the guests for overdrinking, but instead she took the shortage to Jesus and He solved her problem. You can do the same. Assess the problem, and then take it to the Lord in prayer. 3) Don’t let your anxieties get the best of you. When a mosquito lands on you, you don’t say, ‘I’ll take care of it in a minute.’ No, you kill it before it can bite you. Be equally decisive with your worries. The moment they surface, deal with them. Before you rush to diagnose that mole as a cancer, have it examined. Instead of assuming you’ll never get out of debt, consult a financial expert. Be a doer, not a stewer. Horace Bushnell said, ‘Anxiety is a word of unbelief or unreasoning dread. We have no right to allow it. Full faith in God puts it to rest.’ The crosses we bear over anxiety concerning the future aren’t crosses that come from God. So give your anxiety to God, and leave it with Him!

Prayer
Heavenly Father, I know it doesn’t help to worry, so help me to turn it over to You right away. In Jesus’ Name, Amen