The Weeds of Anxiety

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

Philippians 4:6

The past several months have been a time of “hoping and waiting” for my husband and me. We are selling our large home in order to build a garden home. So we have a big “For Sale” sign in our front yard. We spend our time hoping someone will come look at it and waiting for them to make us an offer.

We felt pretty confident going into this. We have sold two homes in the past; one took two days, and the other took two weeks. Didn’t happen that way this time! We have prayed for a buyer, but God has not yet answered.

The other day a friend and I were discussing our situation. She said something that really got my attention: “Georgia, have you really given this to God, or are you still trying to control the situation?” Wow! She stepped on my toes.

After much soul searching, I realized that I was not trusting God in the sale of this house. You see, I had laid out in my mind when it should sell and how soon we could start building. When this didn’t happen as I planned, I became very anxious. This brought on nervousness, sleeplessness, irritably, and headaches. It isn’t that I don’t trust God; it’s that I want my timetable instead of His. This time of waiting has been good for me. God has shown me that He is in control and that I must seek and follow His will.

Have you had times of anxiety?  We must stop trying to work things out before their times have come. I realized that I was cluttering my mind with things that God was taking care of. I realized that I must trust Him in all circumstances and with all of my heart. I was allowing the sale of this house in my agenda to become an idol in my life. Christian friends are helpful in causing us to see things in our life which are not pleasing to God.   

Anxiety can be a bitter weed in our lives. It can be dangerous to us physically and spiritually.

We must evaluate our priorities. Don’t worry about anything; pray about everything.

Georgia Andrus