Anxiety

I'm coming to you to talk about anxiety today. We all deal with anxiety in some fashion. Some of us deal with it to the point where it totally thwarts us while others have figured out how to deal with it more effectively. I believe it has a lot to do with our perspective.

I have seen anxiety in people of all ages and it ruins people's lives. It hinders progress. It's paralyzing. We all struggle. We all have fear. We all have issues. We're afraid of what people think, of what our parents might think, we're afraid of failure but when you look at the Bible it's so clear that fear is not of God. God is love and love cannot exist with fear.

I used to be so afraid of being me and of what everyone else thinks of me and I was afraid of failing and having people realize that I don't have it all together (have you ever met anyone else that actually does have it all together?). When you realize you can't control life you either freak out or you rest in the shadow of your Creator's wings. I chose the second of the two!

I want to share three scriptures that have helped me to break free from fear and anxiety;

1. Psalm 94:19- This verse that has totally transformed my fear into peace. It says, "Your mercy, Lord, holds me up in a multitude of my anxieties, your comfort delights my soul." (That version is from the John C. Maxwell Leadership Bible). We tend to freak out and when we start freaking out we become people we're not. We buy things, we drink things, we eat things, we do things that we wouldn't when we're ok. It's not that we always have to be ok, we just have to know where to go when we're not.

2. Isaiah 26:3- "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is on you because we trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever." It's not only that we trust in Him but there's a weird kind of peace that comes from knowing the Lord and asking for his help. In the New Testament it's called the “peace that surpasses understanding.” People that don't know the Lord may look at you and wonder why in the world you're not freaking out when everything seems to be falling down around you. It's like you just know that you're going to make it, even if you don't know how.

Anxiety has everything to do with worry and desperately trying to control everything ourselves. Much of anxiety comes to those of us who try to live our lives on our own terms completely (never asking God for help or consulting him).

3. Philippians 4:6-7- There is a key word in this scripture that I use to change my focus when I'm freaking out. This verse 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 that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your mind through Christ." If we can guard our minds, everything changes. Everything we see and believe is based on perspective. Everything you're scared of or not scared of, everything that freaks you out or doesn't, everything that hurts you or doesn't is based on our perspective. I believe whole heartedly that no man can hurt me. No matter what happens I'm going to Heaven.

So here's the key word that changed everything. You ready? THANKSGIVING.

"Thanksgiving gives effect to prayer and it frees us from anxious thinking. All of the things we're anxious about need to be a matter of praise. So much less murmuring needs to happen and so much more thankfulness needs to happen. Peace is the companion of thanksgiving."-Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Obsessive worrying is a reflection of us trying to control everything and a lack of faith - not knowing who our faith is in or who we can trust. I want you to know that you can trust God. He won't let you down. I've been hurt, I've struggled financially, bad things have definitely happened but I've never been let go. Nothing can snatch you out of his hands.

Our business is about fitness but I rarely talk to people about working out or nutrition. I talk to people about their goals, their purpose and why they are so scared of reaching out. Their fear paralyzes them. That anxiousness stops us from living out our purpose and from being who God intended us to be. I know we're all afraid of being rejected but you know what? I've been rejected a thousand times but it hasn't stopped me from making forward motion, it has just taught me what to do differently in the future.