Calm my Anxious Heart: Why Trust is the Key with God
Inside: To “be still and know” doesn’t mean sitting still but rather, God has us and we need to trust our lives to Him. He is guiding us through life.
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I am sharing at Maree Dee’s site, “Embracing the Unexpected.” Maree writes about embracing life in the unexpected. I find myself on her site a lot being encouraged and inspired. Her series for this month is “Be Still.” Thank you for the opportunity to share at your site, Maree.
(Psalm 46:10, NLT).
10 Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.
When I decided to write for this series, I was a little nervous. I mean, I could write something, but what could I say? The word “still” and I just don’t go together.
Being still is one of the hardest things for me to do. When you have an anxiety disorder, your mind is always going. The hamster in the wheel, yep, that’s my brain. Asking an anxious person to be still is an oxymoron.
I’ve tried numerous times, whether it be walking, sitting or lying in my bed to be still. I try to empty my thoughts and see if God will say something to me. It feels like minutes or hours of trying not to think when in reality it’s a minute and a half.
Why I Couldn’t Be Still
My whole life has been doing, striving and giving my brain workouts until six years ago. I found myself almost bed-ridden from years of stress. My balance was out of whack, so driving was out of the question. For someone who was always on the go, it was a significant awakening!
Anxiety became a new way of life. At that time, I was frustrated and hopeless, but as I look back, it was the way God urged me to find stillness.
Stillness in the form of two ways:
~To be physically still.
~And to trust in His ways and plans.
Previous to this, I had ideas and dreams, and I was beginning to live them out. However, it was an uphill battle trying to go on the path I wanted. Things were so hard because, in retrospect, I was going in the wrong direction. God needed to send a struggle to get my attention.
Letting Go
How about you, are you struggling with something right now? Do you feel frustrated as you battle this day in and day out?
I beg you to look differently at your struggle. Might God be teaching you something vital as you fight against it?
The Greek word for still is “rapa” which means to cease and let go. The idea is to stop your fighting and instead trust things will work out.
Be still and know that I am God.
Here’s what I’ve missed, I thought I was to cease all my activity, but in reality, I needed to stop trying to figure everything out by myself. To be still is to trust my Heavenly Father, know He has my life in His hands, and to allow Him to lead me.
To read the rest of this post follow me to Maree’s site
Finding Peace: God’s Promise of a Life Free from Regret, Anxiety, and FearAnxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World
Fierce Faith: A Woman’s Guide to Fighting Fear, Wrestling Worry, and Overcoming Anxiety
Overcoming Fear, Worry, and Anxiety: Becoming a Woman of Faith and Confidence
The Anxious Christian: Can God Use Your Anxiety for Good?
I love this picture that stillness is letting go and focusing on God. Thank you for sharing your heart! This idea is something we all, I’m sure, need to work on each day.
Emily- nice to meet you! Thank you! Yes, I certainly need to be more intentional on it!
I think learning to be still is one of the hardest yet most crucial spiritual disciplines we can cultivate!
Alice- I agree…it’s hard to do!
My whole life I’ve been doing and striving, too. Little did I know that I could live from a place of rest, yielding to the Spirit and not trying to control everything.
Susan- I hope you find the rest you’re looking for! 🙂
I’ve been reading the book of Daniel lately, and your post fits so perfectly with it! Daniel always sought God for every conflict that arose and he always was rewarded by God. Daniel, in fact, prayed to Him at least three times a day, which gives us all a great example of constantly and consistently petitioning worries and fears to Him!
Jess- thanks for sharing this! What a role model to look after! I read Daniel a few months ago, I’m going to have to re-read 🙂
I have been teaching myself to trust in God and be still in Him because indeed He is able and powerful!
Jackie- yes, He is able and powerful!
Missica- I have a hard time with the trust part too. I’m praying God will grow that in me!
I love your honesty. Prayer is my way of calming the storms of anxiety in my life. I think about Jesus and all that was demanded of Him yet, He always made time to “Be Still”. The world calls being still lazy, I call it smart. God knows our heart and what we need and I am grateful for that!
Sheila- thank you for sharing! I agree with what you said!
I had a similar experience where God had to grab my attention by halting me physically. It was painful but I learned so much through the process.
Kristi- Sometimes He needs to get our attention, doesn’t He? 🙂
Life is still a mystery when trying on your capabilities to solve the ridles that unfolds in each braking of the day without the one who caused the rising of the sun.
Onuchukwa- I agree, trying to figure out life in our own thinking won’t work. We need to trust in the Creator!
Good insights. Its not a “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” thing bit trusting God in it. 🙂
Angela- thanks so much! Glad you stopped!
I love this verse: “Be still and know that I am God” It’s a verse I need to remember and reflect on every day