Therefore

When it seems hard to find God, it’s often because your head is where He isn’t. Your heart desires Him, but you want Him to come into your anxiety, anger, and pain—not to change your thoughts about your circumstances, but to revenge them. He will go there (He’s rescued me out of those places more times than I want to admit), but He has to approach you more as an insecure, bitter orphan rather than as His completely loved son or daughter. Because you’re focused on what could go wrong, rather than on who He wants to be for you, even when you do let Him get you through your difficulties, you feel weak and apprehensive, instead of becoming stronger and more confident.

When you choose to live in your anxiety, you lose sensitivity to His voice, forgetting His most powerful words are often whispers. You hear others’ voices louder than His. Some are religious–sounding, but just as exhausting as your own. Others are even more wounded, bitter, and dark than yours. You know you should be repulsed, but they validate your pain. You never feel joy, but you get a degree of self–empowerment. It just doesn’t last.

When you’re ready to let God change how you’re dealing with your external circumstances, His first response is usually going to first deal with your internal state. There’s no 37–step method to overcoming. Part of you may want there to be, because you’re afraid to not be in control. But that’s pretty much the point. He transforms you as you respond to who He sees you as, and who He wants to be for you in becoming that, not on who you think others expect you to be, and trying make yourself live up to that. This is about you and Jesus. It always is. As soon as you allow His peace to displace your anxiety, you’re able to see from His perspective, and agree with what He says about what’s in front of you, and respond in His grace, wisdom, and strength.

There is no fear in His presence—no anxiety, no confusion, no rejection, no powerlessness, no hopelessness. Therefore, there’s no need to control others or your surroundings to deal with life.

His love for you is constant, unchanging, and unwavering. Therefore, there’s no need to perform to get His attention.

He is for you. He loves to rejoice over you for doing what He gave you the power and grace to accomplish. Therefore, there’s no need to fear failure.

He is a genuine Father—loving, kind, joyful, encouraging, and truly good. Therefore, no matter what experiences you may have had, there’s no need to fear what He will say to you, or be anxious about how He wants to deal with your past, present, and future.

Allow yourself to be at peace in His presence right now. Trust in His love for you. Let His presence wash over you. Listen. Let Him have access to your heart and your mind. Let Him show you where you need to think differently, where you need to repent of destructive thoughts and habits. Let Him speak to who you really are in Him, receiving His strength, joy, grace, favor, and wisdom to become who He says you are. You may want to pray something like this:

“Jesus, I’m numb. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by everything, it’s just easier to keep life at arm’s length and stuff my feelings down. But I’m so tired of that. I give you my heart and my mind—all of it. The good, the bad, the really ugly. I don’t want You to have to shout over any other voices in my head. Heal me and make me whole. Help me to be so at peace in You, nothing can pull me away from hearing Your quietest whisper. Replace my broken thoughts with who You want to be for me right now, and who I am in You. Show me how to see my circumstances as You do, and to deal with my life from Your joy and wisdom. I want to feel again. I receive Your love for me—let me experience it in greater ways than ever. Let me see others for who they can become in Your love so I can give it away to them. Amen.”

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).