Category: Ministry

Welcome back!

On the first week of March 2020 I was on an island with no phone reception or internet. I came back to world of quarantine, fear, anxiety and stress. We were told that as Christians, we need to a be light to this world. Love on those who need it, and help those who really need hope and rescue right now. I’m sitting on a ferry thinking, “how in the world can I help people emotionally, I am just as stressed as everyone else.” But today I got a spark of inspiration, I was scrolling through Pinterest looking for bible verses about anxiety. Eventually I stopped because I wasn’t finding what I was looking for, and started finding my own verses. So here I am, trying to help anyone who will accept it, here’s some verses from the Bible that I personally love, and help my anxiety in times where there is so much grief and loss.

1. The little children and Jesus. Mark 10:13-16 “¹³ People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.” NIV.

This passage is not directly about anxiety, but there’s more under the surface. Remember what it was like to be a child? To not care or worry about what you were making for dinner, or how much money you have? To just trust everything because nothing had hurt you? Such a precious time to be a child. In this quarantine period, the children are the ones who are having a blast. Parents are home all day, family dinners, movie nights, children love togetherness. This is what Jesus calls us to be like in our everyday! This passage reminds me that I don’t have to be this big strong adult for Jesus to love me. You are NOT valued by your job, how much money you have, how good looking you are. You are a child of God, and he wants and loves his children. So look up child! Jesus wants to place his hands on you and bless you.

2. The Passover. Exodus 12:1-12

 “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, ² “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. ³ Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. ⁴ If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. ⁵ The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. ⁶ Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. ⁷ Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. ⁸ That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. ⁹ Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. ¹⁰ Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. ¹¹ This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.” NIV

3. Isaiah 41:10

10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

God reassuring Israel, and the world, do not worry, trust me. God needs to tell this to Israel over and over and over again. So do not be frustrated when you need to read this every week or everyday, we need to remember God’s promises.

4. Psalm 94:19

19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.

Consolation – Noun. the comfort received by a person after a loss or disappointment.

Do you ever have a terrible day, but someone wonderful is able to cheer you up or maybe just sit and weep with you. This is when consolation turns into joy. I saw something the other day that said joy is the result of deep wellness. God cares about you, and sends us things like nature, music, art, other people, and his word to cheer us up. He consoles our souls.

5. Proverbs 12:25

25 Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.

A sweet verse :), I want you to remember when we feel anxious, and stressed, to give ourselves a “kind word”. Because really what tears me down the most is my own words. This verse is just a nugget of wisdom! Love yourself in this time! Take time to tell yourself the kindest things, to enjoy life itself.

Of course the Bible has so many more passages for us to turn to. I suggest if you want to study more use a bible app! I use BibleGateway, and I can search the whole bible for certain words! so you could type in the word “anxiety” and they will give you direct verses with that word in it. It is a great tool that I use all of the time.

How are you guys doing with staying home? I know others are working as well and my heart goes out to those people. This time is the most bazaar situation I’ve ever lived through. Let me know what you’re doing to stay busy!

Until next time,

Morgan