If you have told another Christian about your anxiety, you have more than likely heard this one. And if you haven't, give it time. #ItWillHappen
Trust: firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.
Often times those of us that open up about our struggles will get some kind of backlash from those around us. Most people just don't get it. It's one of those things that if you haven't gone through it yourself, or been really close to someone who has...it's just hard to understand, and to place yourself there.
I have heard the statement SO. MANY. TIMES.
"You just aren't trusting God enough."
"If you were trusting God then anxiety, and fear wouldn't be there."
"Your struggle with anxiety has everything to do with that fact that you don't trust God."
Any of those sound familiar? I have seen, read, and been told by others all of these. Never in person, but through a message...or a text. We as Christians (again, a generalization) tend to throw out the super spiritual answer to a problem, or an issue...come on, we've all been guilty of it at one time or another. 😉
The reality of these statements though is that for most of us that are born again and suffer daily with anxiety, they aren't true. We are trusting SO MUCH for most of our day.
When we leave the house, we are praying and trusting God to bring us back home safely. We are trusting God when we walk out that door and say "It's all going to be okay".
Does this stop a panic attack from happening? (sudden onset, no warning) No.
Does this mean that the anxiety will magically vanish and we will be just fine? No.
It simply means that we are trusting God to bring us through our panic attacks while we are out of our comfort zones. It means that we are trusting God to walk with us through our anxiety that is trying to make us feel absolutely miserable. It means that we can truly sing with tears in our eyes in the middle of our biggest battles "I still trust you, Lord".
We can cast all our cares on Him, trust Him with all that we are going through...and still have to go through it! Trusting God doesn't remove the anxiety no more than trusting God through a diabetes diagnoses removes diabetes. I'm not being snarky there, just trying to make a point.
Anxiety is not the lack of trusting in God...if anything it's pushes us into trusting Him more than we ever have before!
Be kind, you never know someones struggle.