Overcoming Fear & Anxieties | What's your one thing?

"Jesus name can break every stronghold;

FREEDOM IS OURS when we call His name!"

If I were to ask who has ever experienced some type of fear or anxiety in their life, how many of you would say yes? I'm assuming 100%. Fear is part of our human nature, as is anxiety. Everyone has experienced this to some degree or another. Many of us let fear interrupt our everyday living. Others have learned how to overcome. And then there are those of us, me included, who suffer from crippling anxiety and fear a lot of the time. If this is you, and you have experienced the devastating feeling this brings on, don't you find that you get into a state of negativity and are unable to function/think properly? I know this happens to me. Let me tell you, this IS NOT how God intended for us to live. The bible says that there is NO fear in love and that perfect love casts out all fear.

(1 John 4:18)

So therefore we can conclude that if the Lord is telling us that there is NO fear in love, that love and fear cannot coexist, then the Lord himself cannot reside in the same place as fear. As his children, saved and redeemed, we are calling to abide in Him. We are his own children. God himself is love so remind yourself of this reality/truth when fear and anxiety sets in. You have the ability as his child to overcome all fear and anxiety because you are in Him and HE IS LOVE.

I never struggled with anxiety as a child/teenager, the way I do now as an adult. Sadly, it seems like there has been a big epidemic of people suffering from crippling anxiety lately. Am I surprised? No. The reason I say this is because I know how hard the enemy works to keep us living in this state of fear. Fear keeps us from living the way God intended, from loving people freely and serving others. How can we serve others and extend wisdom and love to those in our lives if we ourselves can't seem to get ourselves out of a perpetual state of negative thoughts, crippling fears and even anxiety attacks? I'm not writing to you guys as someone who has all their stuff together. I'm not writing as someone who has figured out how to defeat the anxiety and fears I deal with. However, I am writing as someone who, like you, has been there. I've been down this road many times, sometimes day in and day out, where I allow the fears and anxieties to creep in and take over. Something a friend/mentor of mine told me was to try and stop anxiety in it's tracks. If you can catch those thoughts before their spiral, you're able to negate them with praise and thanksgiving of the good things you have before you. I will literally sit and list off things I am thankful for. There's a saying that goes "Interrupt anxiety with gratitude". I find this to be true. There's a verse in Philippians 4:8 that says,

" Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable --- if anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think of these things!". (Philippians 4:8)

This is such a good practice. We tend to allow negative thoughts to control our thinking, which in turn produces negative behaviors and a state of heart that is weary and broken. When we set our thoughts on the things listed above (Pure, true, right, lovely, etc) then our thoughts will be filled with positivity. This will produce a very different outcome in our behaviors and our hearts will be in a much stronger and peaceful state.

I find that there's always an underlying issue behind our anxiety. What triggers your fears/anxieties? What is it that makes you feel intense rush, panic attack, sweaty hands, fast beating heart, etc? There are things we can do to avoid these feelings from coming on. We can pinpoint our triggers and do our best to avoid them at all costs.

I'll be real here. For me, a lot of my anxiety comes from what others think of me. I do my best to fill my mind with truth. If I don't remind myself of what the Lord thinks of me, what my husband and child think of me, then when fear and anxiety creeps in, the lies start pouring down on me like a waterfall. Once i'm in this state, the lies become so real that they seem to be the truth. When I can't control things, I find myself getting anxious. If my daughters toys are picked up and put away in the proper place, I start to panic, sweat and feel extremely overwhelmed. The lies I hear are " You're a terrible mother. You can't even keep your house in an organized state." However, when I stop and think of the truth, I can out loud, tell myself I am a good mother. Being a good parent has nothing to do with how the toys are put away. It is about relying on the Lord's strength, grace and wisdom to raise your children right."

So let me ask you, what is your ONE THING? What is it that you can pinpoint that causes you the most anxiety and fear in your life? And are you allowing this one thing to win? Does this control your thoughts and dictate your day? If so, you are not living the way God intended. There's a life waiting that frees you from these shackles of fear. There is freedom!

Abiding in Jesus doesn't mean your life is instantly be perfect. By no means is that what I am implying. However, it means that as we abide in Him we will start to see truth revealed in the lies that the world/enemy throws at us every single day. Anxiety and fear will always be something we need to fight against. But let me tell you, abiding in Jesus will provide you with the weapons and the armor you need to fight this battle!!

" I have told you these things so that you may have peace. In this world you WILL HAVE TROUBLE. But take heart! I have OVERCOME THE WORLD". (John 16:33)