*Warning* This might trigger you. Do you remember the first day of starting school or starting a new job? Do you remember the anxious thoughts you had? What should I wear? How should I act? What if they ask me a question I don't know? It felt like you couldn't handle the situation if things went differently than you imagined. The anticipation of things going wrong often prevents us from making the present moment the best it could be. When we don't have enough information, the prefrontal cortex in our brain uses a memory from a past experience to create a prediction of the future. We think of the worst outcome as a safety mechanism to prepare for what is to come. But oftentimes it is detrimental when we haven't developed a healthy mindset to protect us from a perceived threat. Anxiety is not a new concept. Throughout history and the Bible, great leaders and prophets experienced varying degrees of anxiety. Anxiety is a result of fearing the unknown. And while we can’t predict the future, we can put our faith in God's promises for us. God's word will strengthen our minds and guard our hearts. If God gave victory to those in the bible, you can believe He has also given you victory. In Him you can drown out the fears that fuel your anxiety and enjoy all God has for you.

Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad. Proverbs 12:25

1. Name the Trigger

Do you know what triggers you? A lot of times we try different methods to ease the anxiety we experience. But we need to go to the root and identify the stimuli that causes it to be able to resolve it. Even Jesus on occasions first called out a demon by name before casting it out. We too can attack anxiety by calling it out in our lives.  Sometimes this means removing the spotlight from us and our own insecurities and mistakes and allowing God to turn our focus on what he says about our situation.

“You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” Eleanor Roosevelt

2. Stop Catastrophizing

Do you ever find yourself playing out catastrophic events in your mind? When we encounter fear, it is often a reaction that prevents a bad incident, for example, not crossing the road when a semi truck is approaching. As uncertainty rises in our lives we may want to play out what will happen to prevent painful experiences. However, we end up wasting our imagination on things that will never actually happen. God calls us not to worry about what could go wrong, but to seek Him and trust that He will provide.

Matthew 6:27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

We often trap ourselves in a box. We place boundaries on our identity and the belief that the best days are behind us. We let the period at the end of the sentence define us, however we have the opportunity to add a dot dot dot at the end of the period, redirecting and positioning us for what’s to come! Instead of reflecting on what was, we can look to what is YET to come. We can take refuge and comfort in God's word Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” With this we can charge forward confidently knowing that as long as we are breathing there is more to come after the period. Christ is faithful to completion, he doesn’t leave you anything less than whole, if you are still here, reading this, your story isn’t done. The best is YET to come.