Philippians 4:4-7 – Giving Up Control

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:4-7 (ESV)


Anxiety is an incredibly heavy burden to bear, and giving up control is the first step to make it just a bit lighter.

I deal with some amount of social anxiety, and I have for a long time. It’s not crippling, and I’d even say it’s nowhere close to what some people have to deal with. But it is there, and it surfaces so often that I’ve sort of accepted it as part of who I am. That might sound dramatic or defeatist, but I really don’t think it’s a “bad” thing. It’s a downside of the way that my mind functions on its own, but I think it’s forced me to become a lot more intentional with people and put real meaning behind the things I say. Words and interactions in general carry a lot of power, for better or for worse, and if I didn’t have that social anxiety, it would be a lot more difficult to keep myself reminded of that.

That anxiety sneaks into other areas of my mind, too. And I can step outside myself and understand that there's nothing behind it that I should be worried about, but that doesn't make it much easier to deal with. What helps me though, is surrendering control of certain things to God, if they're things that I can't help, whether it's a real issue or not. 

We only have two hands and one mind, so there's only so much we can focus on. When we're worrying about one thing, it's usually keeping us from something else that could use our attention. That being said, anxiety is completely normal, and no one should ever feel guilty because of it. It's easy to let that lead to complete isolation, which gives our sin way too much power.

Life is awkward and filled with uncertainty! Anyone who seems to never feel that, is either incredibly lucky, or they're just doing a good job of faking it. And I don't believe in luck. Be patient with yourself!

"What do I need to give up control of? Take my anxieties, and give me the peace that only You can."

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