Panic attacks and anxiety make us fearful of everything. Even of God.
Wherein we are the strongest of Christians, hormones can trip us up, and there is nothing we can do. So know I am not speaking of constant lack of trust in God but a freak of chemistry that temporarily over rules that trust.
We can be the most trusting of Christians, but sometimes our bodies create too much cortisol and not enough seretonin, and we can find ourselves, against our own belief and trust in Christ, becoming overwrought and anxious.
Wherein we are the strongest of Christians, hormones can trip us up, and there is nothing we can do. So know I am not speaking of constant lack of trust in God but a freak of chemistry that temporarily over rules that trust.
We can be the most trusting of Christians, but sometimes our bodies create too much cortisol and not enough seretonin, and we can find ourselves, against our own belief and trust in Christ, becoming overwrought and anxious.
We can find ourselves teetering on the edge of panic and the Pit Of Despair is beckoning. We feel guilty for being anxious, but we can't seem to stop it.
We know we are told to not be anxious and not to fear, but here it is: anxiety has raised its' ugly head again. Is there no hope for us? Oh yes, our hope as always is in the compassion of Christ!
We know we are told to not be anxious and not to fear, but here it is: anxiety has raised its' ugly head again. Is there no hope for us? Oh yes, our hope as always is in the compassion of Christ!
In times like this, we can find ourselves doubting that God loves us and we are totally miserable. But it is at this time that we need to hang on to Jesus's hem and stay still. In spite of our feelings, He is still there with us.
Our accuser, Satan is anything but stupid and if he can get us to feel guilty about being anxious, then he has succeeded in causing us further pain.
Jesus never makes us feel guilty: the Holy Spirit will convict us of sin and with true repentance, comes freedom.
Satan is the accuser who leaves no room for repentance or mercy or grace or forgiveness.
Guilt is a nail through the heart, conviction is a softening of the heart.
By taking hold of God's promises by reading scriptures of hope you can climb out of the Pit.
By taking hold of God's promises by reading scriptures of hope you can climb out of the Pit.
Please don't feel guilty for being down or anxious with panic attacks. It is what it is. But it's not a sin. It's a chemical imbalance. And it's an emotion.
© Glenys Robyn Hicks
Faith can be such a double edged sword when you're suffering with anxiety or any other mental illness. It can be either your rock and give you strength, or as you have said so well, can make you feel guilty and inadequate. Beautiful post, thank you for your wisdom x
ReplyDelete#StayClassyMama
Yes, faith often is our rock and we draw strength from it, but excessive anxiety can make us guilty. Making us feel guilty is a master attack from the evil one. Anxiety is a normal emotion. The trick is to accept it and try to move on and work through it regardless. Not easy at times of course. Thanks for sharing a cuppa with me today!
DeleteI respectfully disagree. The Bible clearly states that we are not to be anxious (Philippians 4:6). This is a command. Anxiety is a tool used by Satan to disrupt our relationship with God.
ReplyDeleteIf we give in to anxiety, we are sinning because God tells us not to. He tells us to pray & turn that emotion over to him. Anxiety & fear are a lack of trust in God's sovereign plan for us.
I fight anxiety often & it's because I view life from my limited perspective rather than God's broad lens. When anxiety occurs, I am learning to use my fighter verses to counteract Satan's attacks.
I agree that we are told not to be anxious, but any anxious person will tell you that it is a fact that anxiety will come for no apparent reason. My point is that Satan will use this hormone induced attack on our bodies to make us feel guilty, alienate us from feeling close to God, and cause us to be more anxious. We know it is written we shouldn't- but here we are with anxiety and guilt as our companion. I wrote this in response to people feeling helpless. It goes without saying that we should be clinging to Christ, but sometimes one simply does not feel loved by God especially in a panic attack. We know we should trust but often it's not so clear cut and defined. It does us no good to be told we are sinning when it is clearly a chemistry problem which manifests itself as anxiety. In our stronger moments, we are aware of the scriptures. One who suffers from anxiety does not need to be told they are willfully sinning. We need Christ's compassion, especially during an anxiety attack.
DeleteI agree with you anonymous, what are your go to fighter verses? I do the same thing. Scripture reading and Scripture memorization has led me to much victory over anxiety and a ptsd diagnosis. I memorized Ephesians 6 and focus on putting on my spiritual armor daily. God will not fail me. Fighting the good fight with you!
DeleteUnfortunately, having an adrenaline rush will induce a panic attack, and to imply that one is lacking faith is wrong. We are told not to sin, yet we do. We are told not to get angry, yet we do. My point is that implying this stress is sinful will make us feel guilty. We are the strongest of Christians most times.
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