By Megan Blansit
Founder of The Beautiful Movement - a youth ministry for high school girls. For more information, visit The Beautiful Movement’s Facebook page, where I post the time, place, and activity for each month
Is there anyone reading this who has struggled with fear or anxiety, or is it just me? Okay, great! Glad I am not alone. If anyone has had fear or an anxiety attack, you know it is difficult to shake. The thoughts in your mind are going 1000 miles per hour and the fear can be absolutely gripping, almost as if you are suffocating. Here is a little background of my story: As a young girl I let fear completely control me. I wouldn’t even want to spend the night with a friend (out of fear something terrible would happen.)… I will go as far to say, I didn’t even want to leave my house out of fear that I would die in a car wreck. Unfortunately, fear controlled me for a period of time and stole some of the best parts of my life. Newsflash! God is not the creator of fear, Satan is. Christ is the supplier of peace, and once I grabbed ahold of that, my life changed forever.
Psalm 91 became my absolute, hands down, favorite chapter in the Bible for probably two years (or more.) Let me share parts of it with you, “He who dwells in the shadow of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.’ Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness… for he will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways…”
I want to break these verses down a little. Verse 1 says that “He who dwells in the shadow of the most high will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” To be in someone’s shadow, we must be close (and “dwell.”) Also, this means we can have access to being as close to Christ as we want and that we can find “rest.” The scripture doesn’t say, “He who is perfect can rest in the shadow.” No, it says “He who dwells will rest.” I don’t know about you friend, but that is comforting to me. So how do we dwell? We simply spend time with God (reading His word, praying, singing to him, etc.) His presence brings ultimate peace.
I love verse 4, “Under his wings you WILL find refuge.” That’s a promise, friend! Under his wings, my mind rests without any fear because I know that He has me. It doesn’t say, “ You MAY find refuge under his wings if you have been good today.” Friend, He’s a loving father, who is ALWAYS there for his children no matter how much we have messed up. I also love verse 11, “He will command his angels, concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.” Isn’t that cool that God sends angels to protect us?!
My mom and I literally read Psalm 91 every morning when we woke up and every night before we went to bed. I also posted sticky notes on my mirror; anything to feed my mind with truth helped! I wish I could say I got freedom after a day or even a week, but sometimes freedom is a process. I can proudly say that fear does not control my life like it use to. Sure, I have some tough spots every now and then but I remind myself of Gods promises to me. Deuteronomy 31:6 says that Christ will never leave us nor forsake us. That’s also another verse I would stand on when my mind was bombarded with lies from Satan.
I want to encourage you, that whatever you are facing, you are more than a conqueror through Christ (Romans 8:37.) Christ did not die to give us 35% or 50% freedom, He wants us to live in complete freedom! This could be freedom from anxiety, depression, addictions, etc. If I wasn’t set free from fear, my life would be completely different today. We all face different things but we don’t have to keep living with them! So, friend, I challenge you to consider any aspect in your life that could be holding you back from walking in complete freedom. Then, dig into God’s word, find scripture that can feed your spirit, and then stand on those words. Christ is more than able and willing to set you free. Have a great weekend!
