Daily Devotional: Why do I have Anxiety?
Why do I have so much anxiety?
There are bible verses we’ve all probably heard (even if we haven’t been reading the bible for long). Verses about anxiety, fear, and sadness are reasons we turn to the Bible.
Have you ever felt overcome with anxiety in a situation? It could be walking through a building you don’t want to be in or answering a phone call you don’t want to be taking. Whatever the situation is, anxiety is a real feeling and it can be crippling (I know the feeling first hand).
So what can we do to overcome anxiety? Well, we can turn to distractions like social media or take things into our own hands and utilize Google OR we can turn to God and read our Bible.
Today I want to focus on to 1 Peter 5:6-7
1 Peter 5:7 tells us “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” and he does care. I’m bringing these verses up backwards because you’ve likely heard of 1 Peter 5-7. It’s a very common verse! Even if you didn’t know it was in 1 Peter, you’ve probably heard about it.
When this verse tells us to cast our anxieties on God, it doesn’t mean to just tell God about our anxiety and try to move on from it. If we look at 1 Peter 5:6, we see a command to humble ourselves. It says “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
Can you imagine a world where we humble ourselves daily before God? I have a great analogy I want to share.
Imagine your friend has something planned for you and you show up with a backpack full of items you might need but then find out that you are taking a 5 mile hike and don’t need anything you brought. Would you still take the backpack with you or leave it? You’d probably leave it!
When we are called to humble ourselves, it’s a great reminder to follow God’s word/way instead of our own. We need to remember that our way isn’t the best way. We are called to submit to the Lord and we need to think submission when we think humble!
As we humble ourselves and submit to the Lord, we need to also cast our anxietiest onto the Lord. Which doesn’t mean to simple hand them over, it means throw them out and really give them up to God.
As you move on with the rest of your day, make a point to submit to God. Take time today to cast your anxieties onto God and leave the anxiety with God. He cares for you and will not leave you alone.
Whatever anxiety you are dealing with today, I pray you are able to release the grip it has on your and cast it onto the Lord. I pray that you feel relief and find refuge in God.
If you have a prayer request, please comment below, I’m happy to pray for you, friend!