Be Anxious For Nothing

Breathe already. With all of the juggling currently in our lives it is so easy to fall into the trap of anxiety. I find the need to remind myself to even breathe sometimes. I know it sounds crazy, but if you have ever felt anxiety it causes your breathing to start to change which can lead to a cascading emotional storm that is hard to stop once it starts.

I am reminded today that I need to take my thoughts captive as opposed to letting them run rampant as if they were a classroom full of malicious third graders. The emotions of my heart can be like "The Lord of the Flies"...chaotic and destined to failure if unrestrained. Instead, I need to remember to "think on these things"...things that are lovely, true, of good report...etc.. We are to think on the positive as opposed to entertaining those negative thoughts which are the yeast in a loaf of anxiety. After all, in Philippians 4:6 it says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. "

So, I will be purposeful to praise the Lord throughout the day, thanking Him for His faithfulness and the blessings I have and that He loves me...with or without anxiety. It is so nice to know that the Father's love for me is not dependent on my performance. He loves me because the blood of Jesus covers my every failing, so when He looks at me He sees Jesus. He sees me as lovable, precious and adorable as opposed to the smudgy-faced, disheveled waif that I sometimes feel like.

So, I will praise Him. I will choose to trust Him. I will pray about the concerns on my heart and give them over to God. I will take my thoughts captive. And I will breathe...slowly in and out...and have a grateful heart. It's the choice I am making today. I will not be anxious about anything.