Does anxiety haunt you? Are you ever jolted awake from a sound sleep? Maybe you are driving along, a thought crosses your mind, and immediately anxiousness grips your soul. What storms of anxiety overtake you without warning? Jesus tells us, “Be still.” Easier said than done? This 3-day plan will help us learn to live in the calm amidst the storms that rage within our soul and our lives.
Thistlebend
Day 1
Scripture: Matthew 8:23-27
THE STORM
Many of us spend numerous hours of the day worrying and fretting over things we have little or no control over. Our stomachs churn, our minds spin, and our hearts hurt. We can’t enjoy a beautiful spring morning, a walk in the park, working at a job we love, or being with the people we love because of the anxiety we are experiencing or the angst we are anticipating. What is it that we are afraid of?
Rather than peacefully walking forward through the day confident in God, resting in His character, trusting in His power, and believing in His Word, we are overcome with worry and fear instead.
Some of us may be so accustomed to feeling this way that we don’t even realize how much it impedes our boldness, our energy, and our focus. We don’t see how much it impacts our earthly relationships and ultimately our relationship with God. We live tossed to and fro by the waves of our flesh which hampers our ability to live fully in the Spirit of Christ and enjoy communion with our heavenly Father each day.
I can hear Jesus lovingly say, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” It was after He said these words to the disciples that “he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.”
THE CALM
Can we learn to find calm by faith amidst the waves of sin and the storms of emotion within our hearts? It may seem impossible, but there is hope, and there is comfort to be found. First, know that you are not alone and that this is not any surprise to your Lord. He is with you in it all, and He loves you. Second, know that you are not a failure in His sight because you struggle with this. It is an age-old challenge for all of God’s people. Even the great. The Lord told Joshua, a valiant leader in Israel who followed the Lord fully, to not be afraid. Finally, remember that with Christ nothing is impossible. He is able. When we understand that we are weak and learn how to look to Christ and cling to Him, we will begin to experience Christ as our calm.
Day 2
Scriptures: Psalms 103:1-14, Psalms 96:1-13, Psalms 42
Thoughts and feelings will come like waves on the sea and seek to capsize us. When these thoughts and feelings flood our hearts and minds like water into a boat, we are barely able to stay float.
You may be afraid to face a new day troubled with thoughts and feelings like:
- A strange sense that there is an abominable sea monster lurking beneath the surface, circling and waiting for an opportune moment to emerge from the depths and ruin your day.
- The feeling that since you struggle with anxiety there must be something “wrong” with you. If you were a good Christian you wouldn’t have this problem, right? You struggle with the idea that having anxious feelings or thoughts means that you are failing or that you are a failure.
- A subtle dread of what seems to be inevitable and the temptation to do whatever you need to do to avoid dealing with it. This avoidance can take the form of keeping distracted with social media, projects, tasks, to-do lists, shopping, self-medicating, etc.
Jesus taught us that we would have trouble in this world. Each day would have trouble enough of its own. Not only will the world bring us trouble, but we have trouble residing within. Even when we have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and accepted Him as our Lord and Savior, our sinful nature remains, and that nature is at enmity with the Spirit of God. So we don’t have to go anywhere to find trouble. Trouble is within and without. This is enough to make anyone anxious! Is there any hope?! YES! If you are in Christ, He is in you and you are in Him. Because He lives inside of you, there can be calm within.
The truth of God and His Word is not only our anchor in the storm. In Christ, we can actually find calm in the storm. In Psalm 103 David sets a good example for us as he instructs his soul to praise the LORD and bless His name. He reminds himself who he is and reminds himself not to forget who God is. Although he is aware of his sin and his weakness, rather than fret and worry, we see him worship. We can learn from his example how to train our hearts and minds in the storm. In fact, the way to care for our hearts is by caring for our minds. We must keep our minds fixed on the truth of God’s Word. When we do, we will begin to experience the calm of Christ.
Day 3
Scriptures: Psalms 100, Psalms 106:1-3, Psalms 107:1-3, Philippians 4:4-9, Colossians 3:1-3
The most effective and powerful antidote for anxiety is thanksgiving and praise. When we feel it coming on or even begin to think about the possibility of it coming on we want to nip it in the bud. We want to immediately stop and “BOW.” Here are three things to help us find the calm when we are encountering the overwhelming waves of anxiety.
BOW
Bow before Him. Bring all of your cares to Him! Lay them at His feet. Humble yourself before Him. Honor Him as God. He knows all. He can handle it all. Bring Him your heartache, your children, your spouse, your finances, your day, your future, your life — all of your concerns. He knows what is best, and He works all things according to His wise and loving will. Cast all of your cares upon Him believing that He cares for you. He is able. You are not. He is God. You are not!
Offload your angst. Humbly hold each thought up to the Word of God. Take your worry, your anxiety, your fear, your unbelief, your anger — all of the sin that is weighing down your little water craft — and confess them to the Lord. Throw each and every one overboard, and let them fall to the bottom of the sea of His grace.
Worship the Lord. Fix your eyes upon Him. Take your eyes off of yourself and off of your circumstances and set them securely upon your Lord. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and come into His courts with praise. Thank Him from the bottom of your heart following the example of the psalmists. Humbly acknowledge that you can’t see all things, but He can. Worship Him in the spirit of holiness, praising and thanking God because He knows what is best. He is all powerful. He is in control. He knows what He is doing. No one can stay His hand. And He has you in the palm of that mighty hand.
Take a moment to practice taking these truths to heart. Turn to Psalm 96 in your Bible and bow before God. If you are not able to bow literally, humbly bow before Him in your heart. He is God. He loves you with a love that knows no bounds. He is good, and He is working on your behalf even as you pray. BOW before Him now.