FEAR. UNCERTAINTY. ANXIETY.

Ashley Rae

Mar 18, 20204 min read

These are words that we are too familiar with especially in most recent days. Right now as you are reading this our world is going through a pandemic and to be honest I am not too sure of the last time people in their early adult years has seen something this crazy…at least I know I have not lived through something like this yet. Everywhere you look stores are running out of produce, cleaning supplies and don’t even get me started on the limited supply of toilet paper! Schools, places of work, restaurants, churches and most of all public areas are closed. It seems everywhere you look it seems as though people are allowing the constant updates to bombard their everyday lives. As a college student in the middle of the spring semester I have experienced these three words of FEAR, UNCERTAINTY, and ANXIETY in a way I never thought I would experience. My full-time student status has now changed to a full-time online student and to be quite honest with you I am worried as much of my fellow college student readers are. My future projects for the semester have now been cancelled along with the remainder of on campus activities. This is definitely something that not any of us college students planned for our spring semester. With that being said I want to attempt and bring some light to you during this time of UNCERTAINTY.

FEAR this is something that we are getting to know all too well right now. We may FEAR that we will not excel in our academic career, or FEAR that we may not be able to have enough income to stay afloat, or even FEAR that we will not have enough food to feed our families. But you must remember that FEAR has no place when it comes to the reign of Jesus. The NIV version of Isiah 41:10 speaks truth and states “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous hand.” So, we must remember that this pandemic is no match for Jesus nor is it a surprise to Him. We must take heart in knowing that God is, was, and will ALWAYS remain in control. Don’t allow the outside influences of the current circumstance overpower the truth and diminish the sovereignty of how great our God really is.

UNCERTAINTY is also a term that we are constantly being bombarded with daily. We may be UNCERTAIN that we will be able to get through this chaos, we may be UNCERTAIN we will make it with no income to the next month or two, or we may be UNCERTAIN that God is really in control during this time. In Philippians 4:6-7 it has a beautiful reminder of what we should be doing right now. It states “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace, of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” We can not forget that yes while times are UNCERTAIN right now, but God IS in control and always was. Instead of focusing on the things right now that are UNCERTAIN, we should give thanks for what we do have. For instance, this has brought us a rare time to value family time that we may have been putting on the back burner. We should be thankful for the greatness and mercy of God during this time and be longing for the time where we can fellowship with one another again and worship along side one another again.

ANXIETY can be the gateway to us losing sight that Jesus is holding all of this in his hands. It allows us to doubt His control and His ultimate plan. In Proverbs 12:25 it states, “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.” During this time where ANXIETY is ramped, and it is very easy to let it overpower our lives when we observe the chaos occurring around us. Instead of allowing this anxiety to weigh our souls down we should take this down time to dive deep into the word and allow it to give our soul peace. By diving into the word more than we do the media during this time we will experience an overwhelming peace that others will recognize and crave.

I genuinely hope that this post was able to project some light and encouragement into your life during this time where it seems to get overshadowed by current updates and chaos. Don’t lose hope during this time and most importantly don’t forget WHERE your hope comes from during these next few weeks when it seems to be diminished.

Much Love,

Ash

P.S… Here are a few songs that have been a few of my favorites lately that remind me of who Jesus is and bring me encouragement. I hope you’ll take a listen and gain some

encouragement as well!