Step 1: Call Upon the Lord for Help

Alone, I sat in the darkness of my bedroom bearing a heaviness I could not shake. Anxiety tightly gripped my chest, and a dark cloud of depression loomed over me. I know I can’t give up, I told myself. But I can’t keep going! Rocking myself on the tattered carpet of my bedroom floor, with tears streaming down my face, I was utterly desperate for escape from the prison of my mind. The pain gouged so deep it felt almost more physical than emotional. I had reached my breaking point, and in my tormented state, I cried out into the darkness, “I just can’t do this anymore . . . I want to die.”

These thoughts came to me at my darkest time, when I couldn’t see a way out of the prison of anxiety and fear I was in. Perhaps you’ve felt this way, too. You’ve given it your all, but you’ve found it’s not enough to free you from the grip anxiety and fear have on you. Believe me, I know the feelings of frustration, anguish, and hopelessness that come from struggling with anxiety and fear for so long. I know the tears you’ve cried, because I’ve cried them, too. I have felt the consistent tight grip on my chest that makes it hard to breathe freely, and I’ve nearly collapsed from complete exhaustion at the effort it takes to keep fighting anxiety day after day. I’ve experienced stabbing pain in the pit of my stomach—and the digestive upset that follows—whenever my fear is triggered.

I know the torment and debilitating pain that living with anxiety and fear causes—emotionally, spiritually, and physically. However, I can also say—because of how the Lord has since rescued me—I know the peace, healing, and freedom that is found in knowing and relying on God’s unfailing, perfect love, and living in full surrender to His plans and purposes for my life. This is how I can say to you now, with confidence, that God has made a way for you to overcome anxiety and fear, hand in hand with Him. The question is: are you ready to take ahold of God’s hand now, and begin your journey out of living in fear toward living perfectly loved?

Jesus was with me when I could not find my own way out of the darkness. In my darkest hour, when I called upon His name, Jesus came to my rescue. His light broke through. My Savior was right there fighting for me—His light shining within me and all around me, commanding the darkness to flee. Jesus is with you now, too! He will lead you out the darkness of living in fear, and into the light of living perfectly loved in relationship with Him. It will take time, but by calling upon the Lord for help, you can begin the process with Him.