Do you ever wake up feeling empty? Like there’s this void in your soul? Your life is full. You’re blessed, yet still constantly trying to get that feeling–that gnawing ache to disappear?
I took a survey of my email subscribers and almost every survey listed anxiety as one of their top three struggles.
Friends, you are not alone! I read your struggles and my heart aches with you to find relief from the anxiety that I know all too well.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon was the wisest and richest King in Israel’s history. He looked at life “under the sun” and found that all worldly pursuits of power, popularity, prestige, and pleasure cannot fill the emptiness we feel inside.
All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.1:8
But once Solomon looked at life from God’s perspective, he learned the deepest satisfaction we can get under the sun is in pursuit of the one who gives our life meaning.
Friends, I’m not sure if our satisfaction can be fully known here on earth until we meet the one who created us. Perhaps the fullness of that satisfaction is felt when we meet our Savior in Heaven where sin and evil are not present.
But I do know that the deepest sense of peace and satisfaction I’ve ever known has been found in pursuing a deeper relationship with Jesus.
We were saved by hope. Hope is the expectation of things not seen. And we hope for Heaven when the author of our salvation brings his children to glory.
And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Romans 8:23-25
My 13-year-old daughter told me she feels stressed and anxious and doesn’t even know why. It’s not her homework (she’s still in school), not her friends…but MAYBE it’s the news, she said.
“Mom, I’m afraid that someone will shoot us. How do I know that won’t happen to me?”
I wish I could promise her that she will never get hurt in this world. But instead, I try and point her in the direction of the one who can give her peace.
I try and give her hope that although we don’t know how the chapters will be written in our life, we do know how the story ends.
And God’s story ends with justice. With peace. With eternal life for those who believe in Him.
And so we live. We continue. We carry on. We fight to hang onto the hope of eternal life. The hope of heaven where there is no more evil. No more pain. No more loss. No more aching sense of emptiness.
Paul said it best while he was in prison chains in Philippians 1:21
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
So we live for Christ. We live to share the message of hope that evil will not win in the end. Deception won’t win. Truth will win. The truth will set us free!
And so I hug my daughter. I try to ease her fears. I tell her that God loves her and doesn’t want her to be afraid.
And even if our worst fear comes true and we die, we win because we get to be with Jesus in heaven. Because for us, to die is gain.
And to live is Christ!
That means that in Christ we can live a satisfied, meaningful life. An abundant life. Not an empty, afraid and worried life. But a victorious life.
Jesus said in John 10:10 “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Living in fear is not living the abundant life. I’ve lived far too much of my life in fear.
Our hope comes from the Lord!
“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” Psalm 39:7
We can wake up in the morning with a sense of purpose and hope. We take that empty feeling and we fill it up as much as we can with the steadfast love of our Savior!
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all of our days. Psalm 90:14
God's love for us is steadfast. It never changes. Share on X
His love fills us up. It’s our living water that quenches our thirst and gives us the ability to rejoice and be glad all of our days!
If you would like to know Jesus as your personal Savior all you have to do is tell Him and open the door of your heart.
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Revelation 3:20
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9
*Please seek the help of a doctor if you feel that your anxiety is not typical or is significantly impacting your quality of life
How has anxiety affected your life? What can you do to fill your soul with the satisfaction found in Christ?
Whatever you are facing today, I pray that God’s Word would fill your cup and give you peace.
Valerie,
This post was so filled with hope! It touched my heart so deeply. I kept whispering, “Amen” over and over again as I read each word. Love this and love you!
Hugs,
Lori
The first thought that came to mind as I read your post is “Burden Bearer” – this occurs to those of us who are extra spiritually sensitive – so, I do believe the news DID affect your daughter, maybe not because of the fear that something bad will happen to her, but the overwhelming sadness of what has been happening – maybe she is feeling it deeply within her spirit. I know that when I wake up feeling ’empty’, it is because I am bearing a burden from someone else. I wrote a post about it: https://aimeeimbeau.com/2016/03/14/6-critical-tips-for-healthy-burden-bearing/ I am also reading a book about spiritual sensitivity…I’ll have to find the title for you if you are interested – can’t find it right now (GRR!!). But I think burden bearing will make a lot of sense to you.
Thanks for linking up with Grace and Truth. I appreciate you!
Aimee, Thank you for sharing your post! The book sounds great too. I would love to know the title of that book too. I appreciate you taking the time to comment. It’s so sad all of the horrific things we hear about it the news. I look forward to reading your post!
Anxiety and stress is the topic of my blog this week too. Seems it’s always a temptation to worry about something. But I think it is really an expression of a lack of faith. ie… we don’t trust what God said when He promised to care for us, so we have to worry and stress to try to make things work out the way we want. Of course, that’s a fantasy, but we still do it all the time and think it’s perfectly fine. I have been learning that it’s actually the opposite of a life of faith. thanks for adding to that understanding.
Hi Karen, Yes! It’s so true that worry and stress are the opposite of a life of faith. Worrying shows that we aren’t trusting in God’s love and care for us. I’m glad you are writing about anxiety and stress to. I think it’s an issue that so many people struggle with.
Love your post pictures and your message! Thanks for sharing! It is such a scary uncertain world we live in and if people don’t have God or hope for eternal life it must be even more scary! Praying for all those who do not know God’s love today.
I can relate to this post more than you know. Yesterday I had an anxious day that turned into an anxious night. Sometimes it is just life. When I finally called/cried out to the Lord, did my anxious thoughts start to subside. But, it takes every bit of energy to do so. Why I wait so long to do that, who knows. I’ll be sharing this post.
Thank you for sharing, Michelle. Anxiety can take over and bring us down. It’s a struggle. I’m so glad you brought your thoughts to the Lord and that your anxiety decreased. I’m so sorry that you probably didn’t get any sleep as well. I pray that you have a restful sleep tonight filled with God’s peace!
As a mother, I’m constantly anxious about the future. What’s going to happen? Will I be able to bring up well-behaved kids? You know all the works. But, lately, the Lord has been dealing with me. I always seem to want to be in control. The Lord has told me to surrender to His control. When I do that, I find peace. Peace that passeth all understanding. Thanks for pointing people to the real source of hope. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without Him.
Thank you so much for your wise words, Jane! I’ve found that control is also the issue behind a lot of my fears. I’ve been learning that releasing control in these areas is also bringing me peace. I pray that we can all surrender control and find peace in trusting Jesus. God bless you!
stress, anxiety and worry the three things that make life so hard and bring our health down as well. If we trusted, prayed and held out faith these would not be so powerful in our world. Thanks for sharing a post and truths that we should pay attention to
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Thank you for visiting Angie! I’m looking forward to checking out your blog!
Thank you so much Valerie! I am thrilled you’re studying with our community. It means a lot reading this article. I pinned it up. Would share on Facebook as soon as I get the chance.
Hugs and plenty blessings to you
Thank you so much Ifeoma! I’m so glad to be in your group too!
Thank you for sharing the good news and pointing people to Jesus today, Valerie!
We do live in a CRAZY day! I can’t imagine what it would be like to live without the hope and the peace that Jesus gives.
Your words comfort me and will comfort many others!
I can’t imagine living without the hope of the Lord either Melanie! I hope this post brings many people comfort!
I spent too many years with anxiety as my middle name. You’ve written beautiful truth here, Valerie! Pursuing a deeper relationship with Jesus changed everything for me. I’d always had faith in Him, but I’d never really surrendered my days. I am so thankful for His patient love that drew me close and calmed my fears. Thank you so much for faithfully pointing us to Jesus. Blessings!
You are an inspiration to me, Deb Wolf! I think surrender is key. Living in fear sometimes can result in a lack of trust without us even realizing it. But surrendering our worry and sense of control frees us to experience true freedom!
Valerie, I loved this, especially the line that says, “although we don’t know how the chapters will be written in our life, we do know how the story ends”. We have such hope in Christ, yet we get tossed about by the world. If we stay in the Word, we will remember this truth you just shared with us. With him, there is peace. Thankfully!
Thank you Marva! I’m so glad we can find peace in Jesus!