Comfort for My Anxious Heart

“When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Thy consolations delight my soul” Psalm 94:19 (NASB)

This verse came to mind when I asked a client recently if she had any prayer needs. After hesitating, she said, “I’m feeling anxious.” I had heard others express these feelings. It seems many of us are feeling anxious these days. I know I have felt a little “off” and not myself. It’s not surprising. During the past four months, our lives have changed without warning. First, it was COVID-19, then the tragic death of George Floyd, followed by riots and unrest. Just as our state was opening for business, we were ordered to shut down again. It is difficult not to feel anxious, fearful, and worried.

Woman sitting with hands and feet together

We want quick resolutions. If we were content with our lives, we want to go back to life as we knew it. How do we deal with all the changes? Each day we hear about people being hurt, murdered, or dying from COVID. At times, I feel as if life has gone out of control, and I am helpless. I don’t know how to affect change when we can’t gather in groups to discuss issues face to face. Zoom is available, but it isn’t the same as personal interaction.

I struggle with not being able to gather at church as a family and pray together for our country, community, and each other. I want to be with my brothers and sisters, to hug them, cry with them, and raise my voice in song and prayer for all the needs and hurt surrounding us.

The Only Source of Real Comfort

As Christians, I think we confuse our feelings and deep emotions with a lack of trust in God. I believe this is a mistake. We are created in the image of God; having deep emotions is a reflection of His image. Feelings of sadness, worry, and fear are human emotions given to us by our Heavenly Father.

Jesus wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus even though He knew Lazarus would be coming out of the tomb. When Jesus faced the cross, He asked His Father, “Is there any other way?” Scripture says He was grieved and distressed to the point of sweating drops of blood as He prayed at the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus expressed sorrow and disappointment when the disciples fell asleep after asking his friends three times to keep watch as He prayed.

The Psalms are filled with King David’s emotions as he expressed fear, worry, and sorrow as well as great joy, trust, and love for the Lord. Emotions are not a lack of spirituality or evidence of not trusting God. He is perfectly comfortable with our range of feelings. His purpose is for our discomfort to lead us to the only source of real comfort, His Son Jesus.

I am a worrier by nature. It took me years to realize my worry had become an idol. I held on to it because it was comfortable and like an old sweater with holes in it that no longer kept me warm, but I couldn’t give it up. I let my worry take over when I didn’t know what the future held. I had memorized Philippians 4:6, 7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)

My emphasis had always been “making my requests known to God.” One day in prayer, I realized this was not where my focus should be. When we pour out our hearts to the Lord, the promise is not that we will receive the answers we want when we want. The promise is His peace, which is beyond our comprehension, will guard our hearts and minds.

Having the Courage to Give Our Worries

The Greek word for guard is phroureō, which means to hold in custody, preserve and protect. God is protecting and preserving my heart when I pour out my concerns and offer thanksgiving even if it is a sacrificial offering. Once I realized God wasn’t judging my worry but understood it, I had the courage to give it to Him. Courage is an intentional decision. It is not a feeling.

When I acknowledge feelings of heartache and sadness, and yield them to the One who sees me, whose hand I hold, and who holds mine, I am comforted. Trusting God is not the absence of feelings; it’s taking those feelings, whatever they are to HIM, and laying them at the foot of the cross. My spiritual well-being is dependent on my reliance on Jesus, not just once but over and over. He is the constant; the beginning and the end, the unchangeable One.

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.” 2 Th. 2:16-17 (ESV)

Be comforted in the arms of Jesus and seek ways of comforting others.

Blessings,

Personal Parables is the blog of Dyann Shepard. Get Dyann’s complementary study in Proverbs and prayer guide, What to Do When You Don’t Feel Good Enough. If you need encouragement to remember the truth about yourself in times of doubt and anxiety, this free 5-day study is for you. Follow Dyann and Personal Parables on Instagram and Facebook. Dyann is available for speaking, guest blogging, and article writing.

Scripture for Meditation

Here are some verses for your meditation, selected in relation to my new post, Comfort for My Anxious Heart.

Isaiah 40:28-31

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 41:10 – So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

John 14:1 – Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.

1 Peter 5:7 – Cast all your cares on Him, because he cares for you.

Psalm 62:5-7
My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense; I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge is in God.

Deuteronomy 33:27 – The eternal God is your refuge,
And underneath are the everlasting arms.

Proverbs 12:25 – An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.

Psalm 34:4 – I sought the LORD, and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears.

Colossians 3:15 – Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.