Enjoying Your Walk With GodSample

See Adversity as God’s Opportunity

Did you know that being anxious is a choice? Yes, trusting God and being anxious are both choices we make. The Scriptures do not encourage us to deny our feelings. There are issues, people, and circumstances that can be unsettling and cause anxiety. It is part of the way the devil and forces of evil seek to encourage anxiety. He wants you to lose hope and faith. Author John Eldredge wrote, “… he [Satan] will play the ventriloquist. He will whisper to you as mimicking your own voice or if he were the voice of God." Remember, Satan is the accuser of the brethren. Melanie Penn talks about this important choice we can make.

Listen to Melanie...

As Melanie stated, choosing not to worry is “rebellion against the enemy.” That choice becomes stronger when we remember that Jesus is “The Way, the Truth, and the Life.” When we focus on the truth of God’s Word, we continue to refill our reservoir of faith for difficult times. We renew our strength in order to better lift the shield of faith. And we use the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, against the enemy. Satan wants us to focus on our anxious thoughts to rob us of our joy. We must instead focus on the goodness of God and the promises from His Word. Satan will be defeated, and we will see our anxiety diminish. This practice then helps us to see adversity as an opportunity.

Application Questions:

• One of the starting points to dealing with anxious thoughts is to identify them. What are your anxious thoughts today?
• What are some ways that you can redirect those thoughts to God and His word instead of becoming anxious about them?