Recently, I was experiencing OCD again, and it kind of took me off guard. After months of feeling on the rise and understanding wonderful strategies of how to combat this weird disorder I have learned about, I thought I had everything under control. However, as stress crept up in my life, and as I tried hard to utilize the strategies I had learned, I found myself smacking into the same old patterns of fear and dread.
There has been one thing that has given me hope in this time of distress, and it is a simple Bible verse. This is a verse I have heard a billion of times, but this time it really sank in. I needed it. Maybe you need it too. It is found in 1 Peter 5:7…
“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
This verse should not get overlooked because it is an incredible verse in our arsenal as Christians. I do believe in spiritual warfare and that the enemy does attack us – especially when we are vulnerable and tired. Sometimes, stress gets to us and we find ourselves in a quicksand of despair and doubt.
One thing that I think those of us who struggle with OCD need to watch out for is making up catastrophes in our minds. I’ve noticed that this is something I tend to do when I’m facing extreme fear: I begin thinking of worse-case scenarios and come up with truly obscure outcomes in my mind. It is only later that I see how truly silly these worries are. At the time, however, they seem like an impossible mountain I must climb. This is when I need to take a second to reflect on God’s Word…
“Cast your cares on the Lord
and He will sustain you;”
- Psalm 55:22
Interestingly, I just saw this verse on my screensaver. It seems obvious God is speaking this theme in my life.
So often, we try so hard to fix things on our own. We don’t trust God to come through for us. We make mistakes and don’t trust Him for His forgiveness. We grow weary and don’t trust Him for His strength. We have needs and don’t trust His provision.
However, it is clear in God’s Word:
“‘My strength is made perfect in weakness.’” – 2 Corinthians 12:9
Who’s strength? Jesus’ strength. Now our own. On our own, things are impossible. We need to remember that “‘with God all things are possible’" (Matthew 19:26).
When we let go of our burdens, we are putting our faith in Jesus. We are surrendering, saying, I can’t do this, but You can. We give room for God to work out the mess in our lives into a message. It may be painful and at times we may lose heart, but God’s Word is truthful and 100% reliable.
When you were younger, you probably at some point did a trust fall activity where you had to trust the person behind you to catch you. Of course, it takes complete trust that the person behind you will not back out on you and let you fall. God is the One Whose arms are always held out for us to fall into. Even when He feels far away, it may be that we just need to fall in trust to know that He is there. To feel His arms around us – that He was there all along.
Take the plunge by giving God all your problems. Not some. Not halfway…but all your problems. See Him work out your struggles on your behalf as you trust Him with childlike faith.
Blessings, dear brothers and sisters in Christ. <3