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“Anxiety has a way of blinding us to God’s blessings, but thanksgiving opens our eyes.”

A thought by Kyle Idleman from his book, Don't Give Up (p. 101). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Wow, that’s a good thing to think about, isn’t it?

Kyle says, “Have you ever tried to pray about your anxiety, then, a few minutes in, you feel the anxiety increase? You think to yourself, This isn’t working.

“That’s because in our prayers we often tell God about our anxieties but never get around to telling our anxieties about God. When our prayers are filled with thanksgiving, we are telling our anxieties what we have to be thankful for. Anxiety has a way of blinding us to God’s blessings, but thanksgiving opens our eyes. It’s a proactive way of attacking anxieties.

“When our prayers are filled with supplication, meaning that we make our requests known to God, we are telling our anxieties that God is on our side and can carry the weight.”

Kyle goes on, “David models this for us in his psalms. If you read through that book, you’ll notice how there is often a shift in his prayers. He might begin by talking about the reasons he has to be anxious: his enemies are chasing him. His life is in danger. The guilt of his sin is too heavy.

“But then there’s a shift. It happens in virtually every psalm. David stops telling God about his anxieties and starts telling his anxieties about God: God can defeat my enemies. God can rescue me from danger. God can take away the guilt of my sin. So many psalms begin in doldrums and end in worship.”

Also Kyle shares, “If the load you are carrying has become too heavy if the anxieties of this life have weighed you down, if you’re tired and ready to give up—God sees the load you carry and the weight you’re under, and he asks, ‘Why don’t you let me carry that for you?’”

And he will if you humble yourself and give that burden to Him.  You see, He cares about you and me.  So, do you now see that you are not alone, and that is something to really be thankful about?

Yes, yes!
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