Anxiety

Do you struggle with anxiety? Do you feel weighed down? Anxiety can be a heavy burden to bear. Solomon penned this, “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.” (Proverbs 12:25)

When we let anxiety into to our hearts we get weighed down. There is a heaviness in our life that does not need to be there. Anxiety does nothing to help resolve problems or remove trouble. Many of us know that our anxiety does not help accomplish anything, yet that knowledge doesn’t always keep our hearts from being anxious.

Why are we so anxious? At the root it is because we lack faith. We worry because we have a hard time trusting God in all areas of our life. I know from experience that it is much easier to encourage others to trust God in difficult situations than to trust God in my own life. However, when I am anxious it is because I am trying to handle things on my own. We are prone to be anxious.

Even the disciples were anxious when they had Jesus with them. Jesus and the disciples were in a boat when a storm came up. As Jesus was asleep in the boat, the disciples were overcome with anxiety. They woke Jesus and asked Him whether or not He cared that they were about to perish. Jesus woke, rebuked the storm, and then rebuked His disciples for their lack of faith(Mark 4:34-41). It can be easy to look at the disciples and wonder why they were so worried when they had the Son of God in their boat. However, we act just like them when we start worrying rather than trusting God.

This brings me back to the verse from Proverbs. We are prone to be anxious and to have heavy hearts, yet a good word can make us glad. Sometimes we just need a reminder of God’s goodness. A good word can refocus us and put our trust back in the Lord.

We all need to hear that good word at times in our lives. And at other times we need to give a good word of encouragement to someone. When we are left to ourselves, we are prone to have anxious and heavy hearts. Take encouragement today from the following passages, and encourage others as you are able.

• Bring your anxiety to God in prayer. Turn your worry over to Him. Philippians 4:6 says, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

• Bring the heavy burden to God because He cares for you. Do not try and carry it on your own. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”