When Anxiety And Fear Are Within Us

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. Psalm 94:19 

Fear builds its phantoms which are more fearsome than reality itself. 

---Jawaharlal Nehru

Many things have caused me anxiety and fear over the years. A new or old health issue rearing its ugly head, financial difficulties, new problems arriving out of the blue. Life can seem like an endless stream of anxiety producing events.

And then there are the “phantoms”. Things that appear threatening or dangerous but never really materialize. I’ve had to deal with many phantoms over the years and the fear they leave in their wake. In hindsight I feel foolish for letting myself get so worked up over nothing.

It is helpful to look back and consider the “dire threats” that have arisen only to fade away soon after causing us much anxiety. When we learn from the past we are less likely to repeat the same mistakes. But too often we lose the lesson and repeat familiar patterns and behavior.

If at the first sign of trouble, real or imagined, we go to God in prayer, giving Him our fear and anxiety, we can ride out the storm or simply sail under the dark clouds that appear threatening but quickly fade away. 

It begins with focus. Do we focus on the things that threaten us? Or instead focus upon the Lord who can deliver us from our fears?

Fear and anxiety rob us of joy, hope, strength, and the ability to reason and think clearly. Fear is a hungry wolf that stays with us as long as we feed it. Let’s give our worries to God and stop feeding the wolf of fear.

Prayer: Dear Lord, life can seem an endless string of fear producing events. Help us to look beyond our fears and focus instead upon You. Help us to conquer our fear and anxiety through Your awesome power and the faith You have given us. Amen.