If you would’ve asked me two weeks ago if I was nervous about The World Race, my answer was a resounding, “No! I’m just really excited!” and I would’ve been telling you the truth. I hadn’t felt any real nervousness about the trip. This all changed when I was at Falls Creek (church camp) this past week.
Anxiety began to creep its way into my life. The feeling started small and I dismissed it, but before long it began affecting my week at camp. It squandered my appetite, and it kept me awake at night. It grew stronger throughout the week, and continued to get worse as I got home. I had never been more nervous in my entire life. “The unknown” is a scary place to be, and the next year my life was the definition of “the unknown.” All of the constants in my life were seeming to shift around. I wasn’t in control and the thought of that terrified me.
I was attempting to go to sleep Saturday night when God laid a scripture on my heart that I had heard many times:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20
I had read this verse over and over in my lifetime, but had never really caught the final sentence until that moment: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Jesus is sometimes going to call us into “the unknown,” but he also promises the He is going to be with us during those times. That night I was filled with peace in knowing that my God will never leave me or forsake me.
I serve a BIG God. I know that there is no situation that I will ever be in where He isn’t walking right beside me. I trust that His plan is better than my plan, and that He is working all things out for my good. I’m not always in control, but I can have confidence that He always is. I also know that Satan is going to do whatever he can to trip me up along the way. This anxiety was meant to slow me down and to get me to doubt God’s sovereignty. As I lay in my bed, I couldn’t help but smile as these lyrics ran through my mind: “I’m no longer a slave to fear! I am a child of God!”
Anxiety has no power over me.
Sin has no power over me.
Satan has no power over me.
Jesus Christ died and rose again, conquering sin and death. I am no longer a slave to sin, but to righteousness. I have built my house on solid foundation.
“And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”
Matthew 7:25
