Anyone Need Help Ditching Anxiety?
Friends! Do any of you struggle with anxiety? How about worry? Wringing your hands over what may (or may not) happen?
Or, to be fair, when we go thru’ trials, are you hard pressed to find a sense of peace, calmness, gasping for a deep breath while you pray for God to take care of whomever or whatever you’re currently concerned with? (Notice the word “concern”. ‘Tis a tactful, undercover word for worry….)
Well, yours truly, having answered all of the above questions in the affirmative, jumped at the opportunity to read a book that came out last year by one of my favorite authors, Robert J. Morgan. Check out the cover:
Rob candidly shares with us readers he, too, struggles with anxiety, but from the very beginning, he promises us there’s a way out of our self-dug cisterns.
Did you know “George Muller spoke for many of us when he said, ‘Many times when I could have gone insane from worry, I was in peace because my soul believed the truth of God’s promise.’” Rob adds a preview of coming attractions: “What has taken the comfort of God’s Word to the next level in my life has been learning to make the promises and truths of Scripture a part of my regular routine.”
And in this book, he will show us exactly how to cultivate these eight habits:
The Habit of Joy
The Habit of Dependence
The Habit of Nearness
The Habit of Gratitude
The Habit of Thinking
The Habit of Gentleness
The Habit of Peace
We’re reminded of a simple phrase (I often forget) I’d like to show you:
Psalm 119:130a says,
Rob tells us building on the above eight habits will lead to less anxiety and improve our mental health. Then he adds this punchline to the end of the Intro’:
Chapter 2, on the Habit of Dependence, made me laugh out loud. I’m thankful Rob is so vulnerable as I believe we’ll all relate to much of what he’s included in the book. Case and point:
After we’re given several Scriptures about worry/care/anxiety, Rob relays,
“Truthfully, I have a hard time accepting this biblical premise to depend on God rather than to be anxious. Anxiety is so deeply ingrained into my personality that I feel guilty when I don’t worry. When something is deeply troubling me, I feel responsible to worry about it. There’s a moral obligation, so it seems. How can I shrug off issues that so deeply affect me and those I love? If I don’t worry, who will?”
“Prayer, he tells us, is the answer.” Look at these game-changing visuals:
“Prayer is the closet where we change clothes and replace a spirit of despair with a garment of praise.
It’s the bank where we present the promissory notes of God’s promise and withdraw endless deposits of grace.
It’s the transfer station where the pulse of fear is exchanged for the impulse of faith.”
Many of the chapters include ideas to coincide with the habit they’re discussing. For example, in the dependence chapter, we learn about 3 types of prayer:
Everyday prayer
Through-the-day prayers
D-Day prayer
These are all excellent tools. You’ll find yourself running out of ink while underlining/highlighting….
Another eye-opening chapter is Chapter 3 on The Habit of Nearness. It’s one of the most comforting chapters because it stresses the importance of these four words: “The Lord is near.”
In this particular chapter, we’re gifted with 4 types of verses (each section of which includes beautiful, reassuring Scriptures):
The Nearness Verses
The Presence Verses
The With Verses
The Close Verses
My favorite part of the chapter is a great reminder from Rob regarding visualizing the Lord’s nearness. Sadly I forget He is with us. Watch how Rob encourages us to look for the Lord:
“When you awaken in the morning, He is there.
When you shower and dress to stagger on to work or school, He is there.
When you board the plane He is there.
When you get a bad report, He is there.
When you face a difficult person, He is there.
As you press thru’ the day working or resting, He is there.
As you turn the doorknob and renter your house at night, He is there.
As you retire and go to bed each night, He is there.”
This entire picture of a day reminds me of one of my most favorite verses. Let’s close with savoring Deuteronomy 31:8,
So today, we’ve touched on only two of the eight habits from Calm Your Anxiety: Winning the Fight Against Worry. (Chapter 8 on Peace is another favorite—well, actually, they are all excellent!)
If you or your small group might be interested in trying this book as a Bible study, email me and I’ll send you some discussion questions I’ve written to go along with the book. Email: elizabeth.hoagland@icloud.com I believe a transformation is in your future! Worth a try, right?
Now run, don’t walk to your nearest bookstore and grab Calm Your Anxiety. Your heart and soul will thank you.❤️
‘Til next time!
P.S. This post on anxiety is especially timely this week as John and I will be celebrating our 40th anniversary a bit early by hopping the pond to Italy, Croatia, Greece, Malta, and Sicily. We would covet your prayers for travel mercies: health, safety, and wonder in the wandering on this adventure. Blessings to you all.🙏🏼❤️
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the page above are “affiliate links.”