A few weeks back I let you in my struggle with situational anxiety in my post entitled, "One foot in front of the other". Over the last few weeks I've noticed that struggle continuing to rear its ugly head in the weirdest of times and settings. For me it's simply a matter of over thinking things. I over think, get myself worked up and start to freak out over nothing. Although I know what it is, it's still difficult to overcome in the moment. I've prayed through this, talked with my wife and have done my best to work through next steps. This afternoon, after I finished up a few odd and ends I decided to take a short walk to get some fresh air. As I often do when I'm alone I talk out loud, some to myself, some to God. As I walked, I spoke freely of my struggle with this occasional anxiety and tried to continue working through the "hows" and "whys". As I made the turn at the corner, I almost unconsciously spoke the words, "I don't want to just cope with this." I paused for a moment to process whether or not I was really comfortable with such a bold statement but before I could complete that thought I heard myself say, "I don't want to just deal with this. I want to conquer this. I want to be fearless. I don't want to live with a spirit of timidity. I want to be bold. I don't want to just get by. I want to tackle this head on." Before I reached the next corner I had managed to give myself the chills. I felt like a million bucks. I felt like I could conquer the world all by myself. I was ready to defeat anything that dared to step in my path. I'm reminded of Paul's words to young Timothy on Bible Gateway, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." I'm reminded of Joshua 1:9, "This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” God's desire is that His children would not live in fear. He desires that we tackle life head on with full confidence that He is with us. I've heard for years that God walks with His children. I've heard that statement applied to those in grief, those who struggle, those who are in need of God's strength and encouragement. I believe that statement to be true. But I also believe that God runs with His children. He runs as we run head long into life. He runs as we tackle life at full steam ahead. He runs as we run into the unknown trusting that He is with us. Today I encourage you to run with God. Run with confidence. Run with boldness. Run with the belief that you cannot be stopped with God on your side. Be encouraged and keep moving forward. Comments are closed.
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