Tag: #Anxiety

Greetings, Precious Family:

May the Peace of the Lord be with you.

Family, last night, we sat in the truth that God is with us in the middle of it all, every day, every moment. The good. The bad. The ugly.

Not after things settle. Not once everything makes sense. But right in the middle of it all.

And today… I found myself thinking about what that really looks like. Because if I’m honest, there are moments when I know God is present…and yet, I don’t feel at peace. It has nothing to do with God and everything to do with my anxiety that can at times be crippling.

Make that make sense!!!!

Moments where I’ve prayed, I’ve believed, I’ve reminded myself of what is true…but my thoughts are still moving, my heart is still heavy, and my mind hasn’t quite caught up to what I know.

With anxiety, I can still love God with all of my heart but sometimes the anxiety slips through. And for a long time, that disconnect felt confusing. How can I know He’s here… and still feel this way?

How can I trust Him… and still feel unsettled?

But I am learning something gently, something that is changing the way I see these moments.

God’s presence is not dependent on my ability to feel calm. He does not come and go based on whether my thoughts are quiet.

He does not withdraw when my mind feels full. And He is not waiting for me to “feel better” before He draws near.

He is steady… even when I am not.
And maybe peace doesn’t always arrive as a feeling first.

Maybe sometimes…it begins as a truth we choose to hold onto before our emotions fully align with it. Maybe peace, in its quietest form, looks like staying anchored in God
while everything inside of us is still shifting.

I have to remind myself, “Remember to breathe. Inhale deeply…hold….exhale slowly. 5-4-3-2-1…Grounded…

I don’t have to rush this process.
I don’t have to force myself into stillness.
And I don’t have to question His presence just because I don’t feel it the way I expected.

I can sit with Him here.
In the in-between.
In the not-quite-settled moments.
In the space where I know… but I am still learning how to feel.

And even here…
He is still faithful.
He is still near.
And in the middle of it all…
God is still here.

Family, before I close tonight’s blog, I told you that music is my love language. My biggest form of therapy comes from music about the one I love the most, Jesus. In the moments when I listen to music about my Savior, my anxiety disappears because my total focus is on the music.

Tonight, Im going to end the devotional with a song by one of my favorite artist, Karen Clark Sheard, as she sings a song inspired by Matthew 11:28-29, “God Is Here.”

Matthew 11:28-29
New King James Version

28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am [a]gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Rev. Marcia Davis

Covington, GA (USA)