Putting an X Through Anxiety

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

Psalm 23:1

Each person’s anxiety is complex and unique. But all of us have the same hope today—God is fighting for us.

Walking free from panic attacks, depression, fear, and worry is a process, one with many steps and turns. But the key to living untangled from anxiety is not a plan, but a person.

Your hope is in Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep. He is the way, the truth, and the life. And he is inviting you to allow Him to lead you through whatever you are facing in this world.

God understands that we get stressed in life. Dozens of places in Scripture speak directly to anxiety, and hundreds more to fear and worry. Why? Because people have always been anxious.

Arguably the best-known text in the Bible is Psalm 23. At the core of this Psalm is an extraordinary offer from God—that He will lead and guide us through every season. Specifically, God promises to lead us through the valley of the shadow of death, that dark place where we doubt everything good and fear every possible negative outcome.

As David writes Psalm 23, he is facing life-threatening danger, but he is confident in his Shepherd. He describes it like this, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (v.4 ESV)

Do you know a valley like that?

Do you feel isolated and alone, as if no one understands the crushing load you are under, nor the enemy you fear?

Or is your valley less defined—a hard to describe cloud of doom that descends on your best thoughts, turning life into a shadowy mist of confusion?

If so, God is offering to walk with you through this valley. He does not lead you to the valley, but He promises to lead you THROUGH it. This current place of struggle will not be the end of you. Your hope is in Jesus.

This may sound simplistic or elementary. But, in a world that has quick-fixes at every turn, we have the God of Heaven standing in front of us, offering to be our shepherd in whatever valley we find ourselves in.

Jesus is offering to lead, provide, protect, and preserve you through the darkest valleys and most imposing nights. I invite you to call on Him right now, out loud.

You may feel like God is a billion miles away. You may believe your voice won’t even get past the walls of the room you are in if you were to call on Him. But, the name of Jesus is power. Call on Him now. Tell Him you can’t see Him, but you have heard He is near. Ask Him to stop and consider the pit of depression you are in. Tell Him you want Him to lead you through the valley of anxiety. Be honest with Him and ask Him to shine light into your darkness.

You may not know how He’s going to do it, but in faith tell Him you know He can.