Imagine you're in a rubber dinghy in shark infested waters, the only thing between you and being eaten alive is a layer of thin rubber and inflated air! You have the right to be anxious. Imagine you have now been transported out of the rubber dinghy into a aircraft carrier. How are your anxiety levels now regarding the shark attack? They should now have disappeared because there is no way they can eat you now! The environment hasn't changed but your position has!
All anxiety is based in fear and worry, fear and worry about what could happen, may happen has happened, could happen again. Fear of failure, fear of success. God doesn't want us to live in fear and worry, He wants us to live in faith. He has given each one of us a measure of faith but how we use it is up to us. We can use it to trust God that nothing is going to happen to us that He doesn't already know about (even if its a valuable lesson to teach us something). Believe He has our backs and desires a committed personal relationship because He knows we can't do life really well without Him. Or put your faith in chance, superstition, other people (people are flawed and will usually let you down or disappoint you)or some false god made from human hands or invented in the human mind, or perhaps no god at all.
To be really free of fear and anxiety God may not take you out of the shark-infested waters but He will provide a way for you to safely get through. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7.
Paraphrased; We are instructed to stop worrying and practice praying instead. After you have prayed give thanks to God for hearing you and believe help is on the way. There is no need to return to the anxious thoughts because God has put an armed guard around your heart and mind (around that issue) so you can be at peace.
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