The more I spend time with Jesus the more I realise that He wants us to learn from Him how to live freely and lightly. He wants us to keep in the habit of bringing our concerns and requests to Him so He can help us deal with them and so He can answer our prayers. Heaven is on standby and at the ready to make that happen.
We were never created to do it alone and He has the wisdom and power to enable us to live a full abundant life, plus He has positioned people who are prepared to encourage and share our life with us and to make our journey bigger, better and brighter. He doesn't want us to live anxious, stressed-out lives and even though everyone’s anxiety triggers are different, a lot of the time it's usually our thoughts and schedules that can cause us to feel anxious with worries, concerns, negative thinking, and a mindset of preparing and waiting for something bad to happen.
Practicing some self-awareness when we feel anxious and checking in on our thoughts, choosing to deal with issues, handing over to Jesus some things out of our control, (but not beyond His loving care), and getting our schedules for the next few days out of our head and onto paper so we can delegate, offload and prioritize are helpful keys to dealing with anxiety.
Some other keys I also use to help me when I’m feeling anxious and to hopefully prevent me from going to that space in the first place are to:
Eat well Exercise regularly – cardio as well as weights Get outside in the fresh air Challenge any negative thoughts. To ask myself “are these thoughts true and valid or just full of fear, doubt and lies?”
Read and declare God’s promises in His Word, and remember what He has spoken and done for me already.
Fix my attention on Jesus and heaven “Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2)
Listen to encouraging preaching that builds my faith and reminds me of God’s goodness
Spend time with Jesus and with others who know Him and will pray and encourage me in my faith and believing
Use a diary to keep my schedule under control Have time away from technology and social media
Discover and participate in things that prosper my soul, just for fun Communicate with and share my life with others
I want to encourage you today that if you struggle with anxiety or have those days where you just don’t feel good, know that you are not alone. Jesus promises He will help; He wants and will lift the burdens from us if we will roll them over to Him, and there are people available for us to talk to.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
“Beloved, I pray you to prosper concerning all things and to be in good health, just as yiur soul prospers.” ( 3 John 1:2)
“Leave all your cares and anxieties at the feet of the Lord, and measureless grace will strengthen you” (Psalm 55:22)
Prayer: Lord I give you my anxious thoughts and ask you to help me to deal with those things that trigger anxiety in me. I trust in your goodness and the promises in your word and declare today is a good day and everything is working out for me. In Jesus name
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