Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)
The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
It was 11:00PM on a Friday night. I was lying in bed, doing my best to focus on reading the C.S. Lewis classic Mere Christianity, but my mind simply wouldn’t settle. My heart was pounding, my stomach was turning and my legs felt weak. I texted my fiancé to tell him what was happening and called the 811 nurses line to ask if I should be concerned. After a series of questions they advised me to see a doctor within the hour and my sweet fiancé was already outside waiting for me without me even asking him to come. We went to the hospital and stayed there until 4:30AM before finally heading back to our respective homes. We determined it was a panic attack.
I had a few months recently where I was in a very stressful situation and it was a time that really tested me emotionally and mentally. I praise God that He helped me get to the end of it, but I didn’t allow myself to truly rest afterward. As a result, all the moving parts in my life right now, good things in and of themselves began to feel overwhelming. Instead of a time I look forward to, bedtime became a time of mental battles with worry, fear and anxiety, when all the concerns I pushed to the back of my mind come rushing at me like a tidal wave.
I believe we are like sponges. We may look clean on the outside, but then we get wet and squeezed in the storm; suddenly there is dirt coming out of us that we had no idea was there. Instead of being embarrassed by it, let’s celebrate the opportunity to deal with the dirt, find the root of it and cut it off.
For me, that dirt is worry, fear and anxiety. I am thankful for the opportunity to realize that I still have some re-programming to do in this brain of mine. Feelings are not fact. I can choose to operate on my feelings or I can operate on Truth. The Truth that I am choosing to operate on is the Word of God. I have posted a list next to my bed of 33 verses dealing with worry, fear and anxiety and I am working on committing these to memory.
These verses speak of a God who is with us in every season. He will never leave or forsake us! He is sovereign and works every detail of our life together… the good, the bad, the ugly.
In stormy seasons of life, we can hold on to the Truth that God will never let us go. We can choose to believe His Word rather than focusing on our circumstances and feelings which can change in the blink of an eye. God is the firm foundation we can trust when it feels like we’re falling apart.
COMMENT BELOW: What Bible verse have you held onto in the midst of a stormy season?