Anxiety is something many people are all too familiar with. It’s the unwelcome house guest that overstays its welcome. It’s the pesky fly that gets into your kitchen and somehow always manages to escape the fly swatter.

I was 11 years old when I was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. My symptoms manifested in the way of obsessive over-thinking, anxiety, and worrying about literally anything and everything. 

Into middle school, I struggled with doubting my salvation. I came to faith at a very young age and wondered if I understood what being a Christian really meant–did it count? It wasn’t until high school that I could finally rest in the truth that my relationship with Christ is so much more than a prayer I prayed all those years ago. It is about daily surrendering my life to Christ, putting my faith in Him, and seeking to walk in repentance and fellowship with God. 

This is true with any type of anxiety or worry we experience. It’s not about being better or trying harder not to fall into patterns of worry and anxiety. It’s about a commitment to daily “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Isaiah 26:3-4 gives us hope that God has not left us to do this alone:

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, 
for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”

He wants to give us peace! He tells us to keep our minds stayed on Him. I have seen this to be true in my own life. When I am consistently spending time in God’s Word and in prayer—filling my mind with the truth of who God is—it is then that, despite any circumstance I may be facing, I am able to experience the peace that only comes from Him.

If you are interested in studying more about the topic of anxiety, our Women's Summer Study kicks off on June 1st and will be exploring the topic "What do we do with our worries?". It will meet every Wednesday in June with an in-person morning option and an evening Zoom option. To learn more and to register, visit brookhills.org/summerstudy.

Hi, my name is Katie Green and I am 33 years old. I grew up here in the Birmingham area, and have been a member at Brook Hills since 2015. I work as a Child Life Specialist at Children’s of Alabama, and I serve on the Hospitality Team at Brook Hills as a greeter.