Hey friends! Today I will be sharing with you one of my absolute favorite pieces of scripture - Philippians 4:6 which states “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”
Although so many beautiful pieces of scripture touch me with God’s deep love, as a person with high anxiety, Phillipians 4:6 stays with me every single day. The prospect of not worrying about any situation is extremely appealing to me. Not worrying about what others might think of me, not worrying about feeling like a burden, not worrying about never being enough. This worry free world seems like quite the dream. But as I have come to terms that as imperfect humans created by a perfect God, the ups and downs of life will inevitably cause us to still feel anxious.
But the extremely profound part about having faith is that all of my worries racing through my mind and ruining my peace can easily be turned into prayers towards our Heavenly Father. All of the racing and intrusive thoughts can be put towards growing stronger in my relationship with God.
An example of this is when I am in the car alone, I get extremely anxious about driving when the roads are really busy. It is just one of those little things that causes my already high anxiety to rise. But I have realized a trick to finding peace within chaos. And the cool part is that it's not even a trick, it's a gift. The gift of a friendship with God. As I am worrying about driving through traffic, I talk to God as though He is sitting in the passenger seat next to me, because in reality, He is sitting in our hearts. This simple act of turning to God in times of stress, such as driving on busy roads, is so powerful that it has spread into so many other actions throughout my day. While I’m nervous about what other people are thinking about me, I say a prayer. While getting overwhelmed studying for a test, I say a prayer. When my eating disorder thoughts get loud, instead of listening to them, I say a prayer. See, simple yet powerful.
Although I still do my fair share of worrying, I rest in knowing that the comfort of God’s friendship is always one prayer away from turning my anxiety into peace. I pray that each and everyone of you feel God’s friendship as he grants you peace.
xox
AG
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