We get anxious about a lot of things. Life gives plenty of reasons to get nervous. When we’re not anxious there are the things, we want in life. Many of us go to great lengths to get what we want, only to discover that wasn’t our, ‘it’. Just look at the long list of famous, wealthy, gurus, and expert people who committed suicide the last ten years alone. Don’t get me wrong, it is always a good thing to have a purpose and goals. But as the aches and pains of life get in our way we tend to flail and fall.
For many of us, looking back is a painful reminder of traumas, bad decisions, and mistakes that have shaped how we behave and react to circumstances that dance in and out of our lives. While we can pinpoint what caused traumas, we may not be so keen on figuring out what to do with what we find. Some of those turn out to be in our faces night and day.
The good news is, we don’t have to be trapped by our past or present. We can change the way we think and how we behave. We can even change the things we like to do and the things that attract us. Humanity is a wonderful creation that makes choices in everything we do and even how we feel. That includes how we allow our past and our circumstances to shape our decisions.
Some of the greatest words I’ve heard and had the opportunity to test are the words, “come to me all who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest”. These words are attributed to Jesus Christ and are true. I’ve written articles on Spiritseid about my struggles. I’ve shared what life is like when we believe in Jesus and will continue to do that.
But now let me detail a little about the new mind that can develop in you if you believe.
The transformed, empowered mind
When we believe God, we do go through some noticeable changes in our behavior. It show in how we manage the troubles we face. Changes come from studying the Holy Scriptures and learning how to apply what we learn to our living. While I wish we changed overnight, everything takes time, and our effort (choices). God created the world and everyone in it. I have learned that God takes pleasure in healing broken people like me.
Several years ago, I was an artist, writer, poet dealing with a lot of anxiety. These days I am a man looking to the word and precepts of God, and appreciating my struggles as they shape my character in Christ.
You don’t have to do amazing feats to believe God. Just believe and call on Him. If I can be honest, I didn’t know to do that when the Lord called me. I was living life and looking to get famous, writing books and doing artsy stuff. The God I now know didn’t call me to be perfect. He only led me to believe in Him. The changes took place while I studied and enjoyed His company.
It is not an easy life because I still struggle like everybody else. Now though, I know that God’s word will always produce its intended results; my confidence in Jesus Christ, the word of God has led to empowerment and strength through the Spirit of God. This has made me bold in how I live my life because a lot of my fears have turned to reasons to act.
We are told not to conform to the pattern of behaviors of the people who do not believe in God (the world). But that is what I used to do. I didn’t party, I was a loner; but I struggled with lust, alcohol because of low self-esteem, social anxiety, anxiety, and a whole lot of other things.
But the greatest thing that has happened is how my mind changed. In Christ I don’t shut down and I don’t quit. I also have help when I’m struggling because the Lord will come alongside and teach me how to deal with life. It is an interesting thing when we can behold, is the best word, the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives.
Our Behavioral Changes
Jesus says, he chooses us and appoints us to bear fruit. That fruit is inside our hearts. If we believe in the Lord He begins to work inside our hearts to transform us from the inside out. In believing God we enlist a formidable ally for all the things that ail us. What we believe shows up in our choices and our actions, as much as in our thoughts.
Many of the reasons I had anxiety have been washed clean out of my heart. I have thoughts that attempt to cause me anxiety, but I now realize God said I’m righteous, and He made me holy so worrying is no longer a part of who I am. God has even turned some of the things that once made me anxious into reasons to be bold.
The best part of all this is that I only notice changes in my behaviors, reactions, and choices as I am living my life. The Bible tells us that God is the one who works inside us to instill his will. That fruit shows up when we’re tense or in situations that would drag us down in the past. On days when it’s not so great, well, I’ve learned to endure; and then there are the days the wind closes his ears because he can’t believe what’s coming out of my mouth.
No, I’m not perfect. I’m a work in progress who can tell you with certainty that the life a man who believes in God lives, is not easy. But being able to trust in God has been worth every problem and circumstance I’ve lived through the last 5 years. When Jesus says that He came so we could have abundant life, He meant every word.
But people transform and don’t believe every day
That is the truth. God made us a people He intended to rule the world. The purpose of salvation is to prepare those who believe to be part of His kingdom. Though that kingdom is not physically visible now, we believe that God is remaking the earth and those who truly believe to be like the days before sin entered the world.
As such, people change every day. Experts, counselors, psychiatrists and medications help people to live. So why believe God? We do not struggle alone. We believe God and receive some help when we call on Jesus. I have had countless days when I just didn’t want to cope with life in these 5 years. But the Lord brought me through each day and showed me that I can live. Even now, He has empowered me to continue to share the message of salvation and the coming kingdom of God.
So, we can live our lives knowing that we’re going to die. But those who believe in God live with the thought of God’s promise of an earth without the corruption we live in now, no death, no crime, no wickedness. And our hearts can be remade in His image day by day, choice by choice until the day of Jesus Christ’s return to this earth.
Those who live without God face everything on their own. I remember those days. I can tell you confidently that if you put your heart into seeking God He will reveal Himself to you. But you must believe that He will answer. As much as I hope you look to God, not everyone will do that. If you have any questions I wouldn’t turn you away because God didn’t turn me away and I couldn’t deserve to be telling you these things. But here I am because of the Lord anyway.
