The day after reading and journaling my way through Romans 8:35-39, I knew I had not yet completely uncovered all that those verses have to say. I looked up all the Greek meanings for tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword. As I looked over everything I’d discovered, I realized that of all of these very frightening situations, I do not deal with ANY of them on a regular basis. In fact, other than hardship, I have not actually experienced any of them.
My ah-ha moment was when I realized that I am prone to feeling an unhealthy amount of empathy. So although I have not personally experienced tribulation, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword, I experience them in my mind when I watch the news or an action-packed movie, listen to the experience of a friend or family member, or read the newspaper. It’s like everything I am hearing or seeing is happening to me.
I also am easily hijacked in my brain by something called catastrophic thinking. It’s very easy for me to take a situation and imagine all of the what-happens-next moments leading to a very dismal ending. (Get a grip, woman!)
This was the Lord showing me some triggers. It was square-one for me because prior to that, I felt like I was hovering aimlessly with no hope of finding where to land on the path to freedom from the grip of anxiety. Hope is a mighty thing. And this revelation about myself made me eager to continue the walk toward deliverance from my anxieties. It is not going to happen overnight. But I was more than ready to get going on the journey.
“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4