by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
When your nerves are frayed, and you are afraid of what is going to happen in view of what you just lost, it can consume you with stress, worry, and anxiety. I believe that God helps us through things even when we cannot see any hope at the moment.<\/p>\n
I’ve been through several valleys of anxiety in my time, and each time God helped me through those valleys. Reading about such anxious moments David faced and how he affirmed God’s care and help in the Psalms showed me that anxiety was real for David, but he handled it by affirming faith in God as a “very present help in trouble.<\/em>“<\/p>\n He had to remind himself that even if the mountains are falling all around him, there is a stream of refreshment that makes glad the city of God (Psalms 45). “God is my refuge<\/em>,” he repeated over and over. And in a while, the frightening storms began to subside and settle into a peaceful new day.<\/p>\nThere are many unpleasant tasks and challenges to our faith, and it is then that the quality of our faith is up for review. I have to ask myself in those moments, “Do you truly trust God to see you through this? Have you been playing at faith? Is there no hardship that tests the quality of your faith?” [Am I a Soldier of the Cross, Isaac Watts]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Is this how you get a grip on your anxieties? In anxiety, it is always time to draw near to God, and He will draw near to you! He cares for you! But what about your trust <\/b>in Him?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Terry Wane Benton When your nerves are frayed, and you are afraid of what is going to happen in view of what you just lost, it can consume you with stress, worry, and anxiety. I believe that God helps us through things even when we cannot see any hope at the moment. I’ve been…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[507],"class_list":["post-92420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-anxiety"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52886,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/muddy-times\/","url_meta":{"origin":92420,"position":0},"title":"Muddy Times","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 40 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Psalms 38-40 cover related themes on the problems caused by sin \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sin is an overwhelming burden and they cause problems in life - Psalms 38:3-8 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sin can cause anxiety - Psalms 38:18 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Even close friends and family tend to avoid you when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64227,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-should-christian-parents-do-about-itching-hysteria\/","url_meta":{"origin":92420,"position":1},"title":"What should Christian parents do about itching hysteria?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I hope you can help me regarding some\u00a0Relentless Itching \"Hysteria\" that has swept through the local school district.\u00a0As a church if parents come to the Lord's church, how do we handle the following news? A wave of hysteria swept through [schools] last week when several learners, primarily girls, began\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Parenting"","block_context":{"text":"Parenting","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/parenting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":97954,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-am-in-distress\/","url_meta":{"origin":92420,"position":2},"title":"I Am in Distress","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ray Warfel, Jr. On Wednesday evening here at Winston-Salem, we are studying through the Psalms. Just a sampling of Psalms through the end of the year. I chose Psalm 31 for us to begin with, and I call this psalm: A Life Entrusted to God. One of the features\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61272,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-anxiety\/","url_meta":{"origin":92420,"position":3},"title":"Notes on Anxiety","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 9, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Psalms 46:10 Psalms 55:22 Psalms 94:19 Isaiah 26:3 Matthew 5:44 Matthew 6:25-34 Luke 6:28 Luke 10:38-42 Luke 12:22-31 John 14:27 II Corinthians 1:3-4 Philippians 4:6-7 I Peter 5:6-7","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34939,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-medical-conditions-be-behind-negative-thoughts-worries-and-anger\/","url_meta":{"origin":92420,"position":4},"title":"Can medical conditions be behind negative thoughts, worries, and anger?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I often wonder if medical conditions can be an excuse for how we feel? Take someone that has started having anxiety attacks out of the blue. They have never been someone that worries but because of a hormone imbalance they often have negative thoughts. Are they in sin? How\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23540,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-to-do-when-the-country-is-falling-apart\/","url_meta":{"origin":92420,"position":5},"title":"What to Do When the Country Is Falling Apart?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 1, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 by Gardner Hall The prophet Habakkuk was overwhelmed with anxiety about two things: The injustice in his country (Habakkuk 1:1-4) and the resulting destruction at the hands of the Babylonians (Habakkuk 1:5-2:1). 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\nWhen anxiety seems to be winning, it is time to check our faith in God.\nMust I be carried to the skies
\non flowery beds of ease
\nwhile others fought to win the prize
\nand sailed through bloody seas?\nAre there no foes for me to face?
\nMust I not stem the flood?
\nIs this vile world a friend to grace,
\nTo help me on to God?\nSure, I must fight if I would reign!
\nIncrease my courage, Lord!
\nI’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
\nsupported by Thy Word!\n