When Fear and Anxiety Tried To Overcome Me!

"Every tomorrow has two handles.  We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith."  Harold Ward Beecher

I always want to be honest with you here on this account.   I wouldn’t be telling you the truth if I didn’t admit that this week I could feel anxiety and fear welling up inside me.  A few days ago I was on my daily 3 mile walk.  As I was walking all the emotions of everything that is going on in the world finally hit me and overflowed into tears.  I started thinking of it all - the mandates, people losing their jobs, food and other supply shortages, inflation and the price of everything going up, the southern border, election integrity, medical freedom and so much more.  

As the tears began to flow  I looked up to big blue, vast sky that had big fluffy clouds floating in it.  I tried to look as far as I could see even past the clouds as if I was trying to look right into heaven.  I then said to God, “Lord, I know you must see what’s going on down here but it feels like things are spiraling out of control.  Every day we wake up to another insane reality of what’s going on.  It seems the only place I feel peace is when I am asleep. I know you are bigger than my fear!  I know you are bigger than my anxiety!  I know you are bigger than the problems and chaos we face!  I know you are the true Peace Giver!  I need You God more than every before!  I need to feel Your presence even stronger than ever before.  I need You Jesus!!”   

After I spoke those words to God I felt a calmness and peace come over me.  I kept looking up to Jesus!  I felt the burden lifting!  I felt the anxiety lifting!  I knew it was a sign that He had heard me and He was there and He was going to see us through.  That peace and strength He gave me that day was just what I needed to keep on keeping on.  He took away my troubled heart and caused me to instead be courageous to face whatever we have to face.

Are you facing something that is causing fear or anxiety to well up in you?  Is peace missing from your life?  Look up to Jesus!  Call on His name and He will answer you!  He will fill you and He will cover you with the most beautiful peace.  John 14:27 says, “I leave the gift of peace with you - my peace.  Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world but my perfect peace.  Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts - instead, be courageous!”

I took the picture above while staring out at the Sea of Galilee the last time I was in Israel a few years ago.  This is the same water where Jesus calmed the waters and even walked on water.  In Matthew 14:22-33 we read the account of Jesus walking across the water to the disciples in a storm. They were frightened and thought he was a ghost. So Peter,  yelled out, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.”    So Jesus told him to, "Come!"  Peter took a step out of the boat and we can see below what happened when he did.

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith, he said, “why did you doubt me?”

When we read this story of Peter we kind of hone in on Peter's fear but it wasn’t the fear that sank him. Jesus didn’t say, “why did you fear?” He said, “why did you doubt Me?” Look at verse 30 ... "But when Peter saw the wind, he became afraid."  Peter only began to fear when he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the storm.

So here is a lesson we can all learn.  When we  take our eyes off Jesus, we start to lose faith. When we don’t see Him in what’s happening around us, we lose focus and we lose faith.  Is there something you are fearful about that is taking away your faith and peace?  Let me know below in the comments and I will be pray for you that the Lord would take away all fear and replace it with strong faith and His sweet peace.