I have a close family member who struggles with anxiety and depression.
These struggles tend to ebb and flow, so some days (weeks, months) are better than others.
When she's really in a tough spot, my prayer for her isn't just for relief.
It's also this: for her to experience overwhelming, supernatural PEACE and JOY.
Prayers for peace - a quieting of her heart and mind, to relax and rest in God's arms.
Prayers for joy - to feel the thrill of what is and what is to come.
But the more I think about it, I'm wondering if I need to change my prayer a little to address what is actually the root of the problem.
Lack of trust in God.
She doesn't trust that the “bad” stuff she worries about probably won't happen to her (and even if it does, she'll still be ok).
She doesn't trust that God will take care of her.
Which is understandable. She's still young and has a lot of spiritual growing to do.
But how about you?
You are called to have complete trust in God. Because when you don't, your lack of trust gets in the way of your ability to follow His will.
And it can be sneaky. We can think that we completely trust Him, but at the same time we're really not.
When we start to be too self reliant and forget to lean on Him, we're failing at trust.
Remember - we are called to seek, respond, and trust His will. Doing this will lead to that peace and joy that we all need more of!
Jesus, I trust in You!
