Spiders and fleas and mice, oh my!

I have aways been prone to anxiety. As long as I can remember I have been plagued with fear and anxiety about everything. I am not sure if this condition is nature or nurture but I do know it has kept me from doing a lot of things in life. When I was small I would pray every night and the end of my prayers would go something like this, "Lord please do not let any animals, insects or spiders come near me, harm me, bother me or bite me and please keep me from death." In hindsight, that is pretty heavy stuff for a fourth grader to be praying about! The amount of anxiety I feel has only gotten worse as I have grown into adulthood. Now I am the one expected to keep the above mentioned harms from my family.

Several years back we lived in a townhouse where I discovered, to my horror, a number of brown recluse spiders. I shudder even thinking about it because it was truly my worst nightmare come true. I had to deal with the situation as an adult with no Mom and Dad to run to. My husband and I had to figure out the best and safest way to take care of the problem. In the middle of my spider problem it felt like the world was ending. Now looking back I see that the Lord kept us safe and worked out his plan of redemption even in that situation.

When presented with a problem such as spiders, or my dog having fleas or a mouse in our home I freeze. It is the proverbial straw that broke the Camel's back in every instance. You see the problems seem to compound, one on top of another until even the smallest thing seems to send me to tears. The funny thing is how the Lord has never let me down and yet I freak out as if he will. The presence of problems or pests does not indicate the absence of God.

Philippians 4:6 says,"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Why does God tell us to be anxious about nothing, doesn't he know about plagues, fires, famines, rabid dogs and the other 9 millions problems or perils that could befall us everyday? The answer is Yes! I think the problem is we make God too small or at least I do. God knows about everything under the heavens. Why then does he call me not to be anxious about anything? I think the reason is two fold, first he is in control of everything and will provide in all situations.  Secondly he knows the havoc anxiety can wreak on or minds, bodies and souls and he does not want us to live in that havoc. The first point is crucial. Whether or not we feel or believe it, God has our best interests at heart at all times. The perils that befall us in out life's journeys are not a surprise to God. He knows about them and he also know how he will get us out of them. Much of what we walk through prepares us for situations that we will face in life's journey ahead or people we will meet and influence for God. Our thoughts, actions and state of mind can play a huge part in our overall health and well being.

I love the second half of the verse above. "And the peace that transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." God promises a peace that we can not comprehend. When our minds are busy worrying and fretting God promises us peace. The God who created the heavens and earth promises us peace that we can not understand. This same peace is promised to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. I love that God promises to guard our hearts. Our hearts are so fragile and the Lord who created us in his own likeness knows the tenderness of our hearts. God promises to guard our tender hearts and protect our minds from worry, worry that can steal our joy, our peace, our contentment even our sense of adventure or enjoyment. God means for us to enjoy this adventure called life. Are we needlessly worrying about things we have no control over or are we trusting the Lord with all that we of our hearts and letting his peace reign in our hearts?