Is anxiety interfering with your work or sleep? You do not need to be a victim of worry. Reduced to its simplest form, what is worry? It is simply an unhealthy and destructive mental habit.
You were not born with the worry habit. You acquired it. And because you can change any habit and any acquired attitude, you can cast worry from your mind. Use these five faith-filled steps to help you find peace and comfort by truly giving your worries to God.
1. Write the source of your worry on paper.
Give specific details. A fear that may seem enormous bottled up in your mind can assume quite normal proportions when put in words before you.
2. Relieve your stress.
Sit in a chair and breathe deeply, slowly. Find comfort in John 14:27: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” Continue this exercise until you’re sure the tension has drained out of you.
3. Search the Bible for passages that express great faith.
Commit these to memory. Say them over and over, until they take hold of you, as they will, until finally they completely dominate your thinking. Example: “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4). Another is: I will fear no evil: for thou art with me” (Psalm 23:4).
4. Trust and believe in God with all your heart.
Draw from Proverbs 3:5: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Regardless of what goes wrong, you must believe that God loves you and cares what happens to you.
5. Surrender your anxiety.
Take the sheet of paper with your fear written on it. Ask God to help you. Begin: “Lord, I have brought this matter to Your attention. I am leaving it in Your hands. I know now that with your help I can release my worry and anxiety. I put my trust in You.”
Then tear up the paper and let the pieces fall into the waste-basket.
