Taming the Anxiety Elephants

Excerpt from Anxiety Elephants by Caris Snider

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18)

The constant pounding.
The constant berating.
The constant attacks.
The constant stomping.

It is a crushing feeling. Anxiety Elephants sneak in undetected. Immediately, punching. Beating. Verbally attacking you. This is their mission. You might look like you are standing tall on the outside, but you are crushed into a million different pieces on the inside.

While all of this is happening, no one else knows. People cannot hear the cries you withhold. They don’t see the pain and the emotional bruises you cover. You believe no one feels what you feel. “You are alone,” Anxiety Elephants spew out as they pummel your mind. They hope to convince you no one cares. Is there anyone out there who really understands what you are going through?

At my lowest point, today’s verse cracked the dam around my soul. When I first read it, a river of tears rushed over the walls I had carefully constructed. No amount of waterproof mascara would have helped. I wept, because it felt as if God reached down and held my face between His two gentle hands. He lifted my chin up from the downward position it had been in for years. He drew near to me and through Psalm 34:18 said, “I’m here and I love you.”

I’d like you to close your eyes and imagine God is sitting beside you right now, doing the same for you. Let God’s tender words remove any shame or embarrassment you might feel.

When I went through this exercise, God let me know He was with me and He loved me. He had not given up on me—and God has not given up on you. Our ABBA Father knows how to break through the rough exterior we have built up. He wants to permeate the broken places in your heart in a way only He can.

God has more for you. He will show you this gift of grace as you journey out from under the Anxiety Elephants. He no longer wants you to be in a place where you experience pain alone. Jesus came for the sick and hurting which means you and me. He is near. Open up to Him today.

ACTION STEP: Close your eyes, sit, or kneel in your place where you feel comfortable. Experience God’s loving embrace. Allow His presence to enter into those broken places in your heart, the ones you are convinced can never be healed. Open your soul and give His love a chance to restore your hope. Your Good, Good Father wants to be the lifter of your head. He is cupping your face in His hands right now and He is saying, “I love you.”

Prayer: Father, I need your love today. I am asking you to pull me close to you. Lift my head and wipe away my tears. Begin to breathe life back into the shattered pieces of my soul. Put me back together again, the way you know my heart and life needs to be. Amen.

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Read part 1 of our interview with author Caris Snider, talking about Anxiety Elephants

Read part 2 of our interview with author Caris Snider, talking about Anxiety Elephants

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