Hope is My Anchor for Anxiety

Hope.  Hope is one of the most important things we need to live a peaceful life.  I would say that 90% of the people I visit with have high anxiety and low hope.  It’s not uncommon for me to feel this way too.  Anxiety is normal.  That’s right, anxiety is normal!

Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.  Hope is to cherish a desire with anticipation : to want something to happen or be true.  So basically anxiety and hope are the same thing with one being negative and one being positive.  Anxiety is worry that maybe the worst will happen.  Hope is belief the best can happen.  I have to look at them this way to understand how hope can balance anxiety.  How changing a negative to a positive can give some relief.

Matthew 6:25-27  “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

We as humans introduced anxiety and worry into the world with the first sin in the Garden of Eden.   Our constant inundation of negativity from the news, social media, etc. can cause our anxiety. God did not place is quality within us. I would ask you to remember that as you read this blog.  If God didn’t place it within us the good news is it can be reduced or eliminated.  I have no medical proof of this, just proof in the Bible.  Please keep an open mind as your read this.

Isaiah 35:4  Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”

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.

Now I know I can give you Bible verse after Bible verse and pray for you to hear me but I want to show you why HOPE is better and available always for you.

We become hopeless which will lead to worry and anxiety through feeling alone or maybe life seems out of control or chaotic, you may be grieving a loss, deeply wounded or feeling defeated.  Lets look at this first reason of feeling alone.

I would ask you to know and recognize that God lives within you as the Holy Spirit.  You have Him with you always.  You are never alone.  This is my basic comfort to alleviating my anxiety.  I ALWAYS have God in me and with me.  If you don’t know much about the Holy Spirit I would ask you to learn more about this powerful gift. God will never leave you and will help you always.  I sometimes picture Jesus sitting at the foot of my bed if I wake up in the middle of the night anxious.  This is a reminder of who is with me.

Romans 5:5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Another very important point about hope is it is our anchor.  An anchor is used on a boat to keep the boat from drifting.  When a storm comes the boat’s anchor is dropped to hold the boat in the same location and to offer stability.  Hope is the same.  When you feel anxious draw from your anchor, the Bible.  We use our gratitude hearts as anchors.  We anchor others to God’s Love by holding a gratitude heart.  Once you have held the gratitude heart multiple times you will be able to hold it and focus on God’s Love instead of worry.  Old anchors were a basket of stones. It is no coincidence that God placed stone hearts in my ministry.  When I carry my tray of gratitude hearts I feel like I am carrying little heart shaped anchors.  I spread these anchors in God’s Name.

I now want to tell you why I anchor others to God’s Love and what God offers us by choosing HOPE over anxiety.

The first one is a reminder of what I said before, God is always with us and will never abandon us.

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.“

Next God’s power is greater than any problem.  Our problems to Him are tinier than a gnat.  He will solve any issue or problem through prayer.  You must trust in Him and allow Him to work.  Allow yourself to give up control just once to see how wonderfully God works.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

I also remember the Bible tells me that God has promised to help me.  He knows we will have the problems of mankind but He will solve anything for you (maybe not how you expect)  because He does good in all situations.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Jesus taught His followers to always pray and never lose hope.  We are His followers, please never lose hope.

I know anxiety is real.  I feel it just like you.  It has taken me a long time to practice my prayers and to trust in God to solve all my problems but every time I turn to God with my heart, my mind becomes peaceful.  I pray your mind becomes peaceful too.  God’s blessing for you all-LoLo