 I have something to tell you and it's kind of hard to admit. It's a place of vulnerability that to you I would like to submit. I'm coming clean with you in the hopes that you'll benefit and be set free from the shackles that are so prevalent. Sometimes my anxiety gets the best of me. It drains the life right out of me until I can barely stand. I've heard from more than enough of you to understand that this isn't only my issue. But hold on tight, because this isn't going to be a comfortable conversation. From the time I was a kid, the weights of anxiety have never hid. But I did. I would lie down and feel the rhythm of my heart beating out of my chest. I would try to sleep, but this new master wouldn't give me any rest. I would try to pray to God and ask Him to take away this worry, stress and anxiety away from me. But there were so many nights that I believed lies about the God I couldn't see. Years later, still the battle rages. Evil tries to break in and tell me lies about the Rock of Ages. They say God's not with you. He doesn't care. He won't take care of you. He doesn't hear your prayer. When I believe these lies, I stare, stare into a darkness of reality without a good God, without a holy God, without a merciful God, without a loving God. But that is not our reality. Yes, sometimes my anxiety gets the best of me. You could say I'm prone to anxiety, but I don't use that as an excuse. We all have burdens to bear, but God doesn't want us to stare into the darkness of a reality built by lies about who He is and who we are. He wants us to stare at the eyes of our loving Father, who says everything will be all right. But will it? Will it really? What about my family, my friends, my hopes, my dreams, and everything in between? But it strikes me when I step back, when neglected to see. Not one mention of God in my laundry list of anxiety is probably because He's the furthest thing from my mind when it's consumed by worry. I think about me, my friends, my family, but not the God who's orchestrating it all for His glory. My anxieties draw me inward and leave me stuck inside. But God is calling me to look on Him because His face He'll never hide. His truth He'll never compromise. His character He'll never change. His love will forever reign and our anxieties He'll take. If we take His hand with faith and see that He's already taken our anxieties for our sake, so we can rest. But no anxieties will still come until His kingdom come. Still our faith is placed on Him because His will be done.