For When You Feel Afraid

“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” –Psalm 94:19

It’s comforting to me to know that many of the men and women of faith in the Bible wrestled with fear. “Anxiety was great” within them just as it can be in me.

If you are a parent, you know exactly what it means to bring “consolation” to a frightened or anxious child!

The dark.

Doing homework.

Making new friends.

Waking up in the middle of the night disoriented or alone.

 

Sometimes the anxiety is real, and other times, unwarranted. But it can still feel “great” within them, just as it can, in us. And so as a parent, you know exactly what it means to console. Your calming, reassuring, and encouraging words or presence brings joy where there is anxiety.

You teach your children to trust what you say no matter how they feel. Doesn’t God invite us to do the same?

I love the psalmist, who doesn’t hide how he feels, but he surrenders the emotion to something bigger – God’s Word. It is what his Father says that stills the chaos of what he is feeling.

He replaces our anxiety with joy. He quiets our fears with His presence. He whispers to us His words of truth and encourages us with faithful promises.

But most of all, throughout the Scriptures, our Father gently turns our eyes back to His own Son. He helps us to look at the cross, beyond the cross, as if to say, “I didn’t forsake Him; I won’t forsake you. If you are in Him, I am with you.”

Is anxiety great with you today? Do your circumstances feel too big – The future too overwhelming? Has fear robbed your faith, stopping you in your tracks?

Whatever you are facing today, be encouraged that in Christ, God is with you. You have a Father who is good. Whatever feels like it is spinning out of control, know that it is in His hands. Be reminded that He is wise, loving, and faithful! Let your anxious thoughts be turned to joy.

Blessings,

Patrick Schwenk