Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 NIV
But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. John 3:21 NIV
The Preacher in Ecclesiastes didn’t write the whole truth on reality. There’s more. I bet you know someone like him, though. We’re all there sometimes. Sometimes life is in a dip where it seems so hard we believe that reality is nothing but unrelenting pain and struggle. Not true.
If you want to live a non-anxious life, you must realize that there are two sides to facing reality –the gray, hard side, and the sunshiny uplifting side. Jesus said that living in HIS truth (which is always 100% reality) eventually leads us into freedom and light.
Yesterday we talked about the gray, cloudy, scary reality; that life is not as you hoped and dreamed. You must face the facts about your health, relationships, finances, and choices. The things that have happened to you and the things you have done to yourself. But that is just part of the reality. Not all of it. You will waste your life if you go through it with your focus on what has gone wrong, your eyes and ears closed to the good around you.
The truth is, especially if you follow Jesus, your world is showered with light and beauty and opportunities for joy too. If you do not consciously look for those things, you will pick up an identity that dwells in anxiety. You will see yourself as a victim, a powerless pawn in the hands of others, and the neglected child of a God who either lacks care or capability for your life. What a false and unsatisfying way to live.
If you want to defeat your anxiety, you can’t live as a prisoner of the dark. You won’t examine and accept it because you’re scared. You can’t see the light because you are blinded by what has happened and what you fear will happen. But your life will only change when you choose to be honest about the good things in your life. You must quit ignoring the things, people, and experiences you DO have and HAVE HAD that many yearn to have. Everyone has discomfort, pain, and injustice. Everyone has disappointments; everyone weeps sometimes. Hard is not our enemy. It is part of being alive.
- Choose reality. The hard and the good. If you don’t, anxiety will destroy your life and wound your soul. Ask God to help you make a fearless, thoughtful evaluation of your life – the things that are great and the things that are not. Journey with Him with gratitude and willingness to change what is off that you can, and leave the rest with Him.