I woke up with a vague sense of anxiety yesterday morning.
At first I thought it was because it was 6:15 and I panicked thinking I was late getting up for work. Then I realized it was Sunday and I had more time. And then I realized the anxiety wasn’t going away.
Have you ever had one of those mornings where it takes you a few minutes of sleepy consciousness to remember why you’re feeling unsettled?
There’s been a lot going on in my life lately. New challenges. Things I’m trying to sort out. Things I’m trying to manage on my own. And they came to the forefront of my first waking moments.
I don’t like waking up that way.
But waking up that way was God’s way of drawing me closer to Himself. He drew me out to my kitchen table, and then He drew me to Philippians 4:6. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. “
Really? Try to find something to be thankful for in the midst of my uneasiness? Before I make my requests? Despite my hesitation, I tried it. I wrote down everything I could find to be thankful for about my particularly anxiety provoking situations.
And you know what? It worked. It’s hard to be anxious when you’re counting your blessings.
The next verse says, “and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
It did indeed surpass understanding. My circumstances didn’t change. But my heart did.
Be anxious….for nothing.
Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Colossians 3:15
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:26
Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22
Anticipatience 
very true Sharon and needed to hear it myself… thank you… hoping your day is on the upswing and that the answers you are seeking are clear… hugs Jen
Amen to that!!! it’s always such a blessing to read these lessons 🙂
God bless you Sharon!
I often feel that way and fortunately I’ve found, like you have, that finding things to be thankful for did and continues to work in reducing my anxieties. It was difficult at first because I’m the person that always wants to know what exactly is going on. I needed to identify the problem and because I often couldn’t I mistakenly allowed it to dictate my days. So there were many days when I called out from work and stayed in on weekends while I “nursed” myself back to mental health. But my prescription for health meant sulking in bed and being glued to the tube. These days are not nearly as bad and it is because I’ve incorporated the attitude of gratitude during those unsettling times. I’ll find something… having breath (which, admittedly, at those crucial times, is hard to be thankful for, but I say it anyway), that my 80 something year old father can still care for himself, that my “baby” (ie, my car) hasn’t turned on me by falling apart…real meaningful things like that. And yes , it still works! So, thank you for reaffirming that truth and I thank God you wrote that book Anticipatience. I won’t go into detail on how “on time” that book was for me or how I prayed for God to have a book such as this one waiting for me in the Christian bookstore. You probably heard it all before so I’ll just say it was on target and a source of empowerment for me. I look forward to hearing and possibly exchaning progress reports. Until then, continued blessing in all your endeavors. CaSandra M.