08/05/2024 Anxiety

Last week, I caught a cold which is now progressing into the flu. Consequently, I was very lazy and spent most of the time in bed, supposedly "taking care of my body," though I was well aware that I should be preparing for my upcoming semester tests.

Today was no exception. I woke up at 7 in the morning, only to fall asleep again and wake up at 11. I had a slow start to my day and only sat in front of my books at 14:00. At 17:00, I decided to take a shower, and after that, as I sat on my bed, it seemed to stare back at me deceivingly, luring me to go to sleep. Fortunately, something drove me to sit in front of my books again.

As the night progressed, I became more and more anxious, facing the scary reality of the amount of work I still needed to learn and grasp in time for next week’s tests. At 22:45, I felt a panic attack coming on, so I quickly closed my books and began to pray silently as a packed up my things to go to bed. Usually, I would go to bed and watch series until I fell asleep, but tonight something told me that I needed to open my Bible app.

As I opened my Bible app, I started to read the daily verse, which was nice but had no context to the anxiety I was experiencing. Just before I was about to close the app, a weird notification (which had never appeared before) caught my attention. It said, "Learn what the verse 'Do not be anxious' means." It turned out to be a notification that took me to a whole page of various series of lessons on scripture relating to anxiety.

Without hesitation, I clicked on the second series titled "Do not be anxious, but how?" And, well, God works in mysterious ways and communicates with us through various resources in our lives.

I was in awe! It talked about the apostle Paul, who faced many daunting trials with resilient faith. Here’s what Paul writes in Philippians 4, verses 6 and 7: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for communicating with me and answering even the smallest prayers I send up speedily every day. I see Your holiness and faith in the smallest details of my life more and more over the past few months. Father God, thank You for Your Word that reminds me not to be anxious about anything. Even the things and situations that warrant worry are under Your sovereign control. Thank You that You never write off my worries but gently remind me that You hold all things together. In Jesus’ name, Amen.