Seeking God with anxiety?

[shygirl14]

I struggle with the fact that my anxiety keeps me from alot of the things I know I should be doing in deepening my faith. Like attending services every week. This has been a battle and a struggle for some time. Not the fact that I don't want to go, it's the constant battle and worrying with being around people (alot of people).

How does one seek God and at the same time try to fight to be normal?



Shy

[caflme]

Pray - it sounds to hard - but even if you don't believe you pray for Faith, and then you pray for patience, and then you keep praying every chance you get and let The Holy Spirit come into your life. It sounds hard but all praying is in reality is talking to God, telling him you want him in your life, telling him that you need him in your life and that you are open to His Will for you and that you will trust him and accept whatever he sends you. Read about Jesus Christ and how he lived, suffered and died for all of us.

Someone once told me that they don't believe in God, I told them it doesn't even matter - He believes in you.

He is the ultimate giver of unconditional love... he never ever leaves, and he never lets us down if we are truly trying to understand him.

caflme

These are my feelings about it and my beliefs but they have worked for me... I only put them here because you asked. I mean no offense to anyone else's faith. So sad that we have to put disclaimers on stuff like that these days.

[shygirl14]

I agree with you that prayer is great and it helps. I talk to God all the time. I went for a walk today and I talked to God about my anxiety and everything else. It's the church part that is my struggle and is effecting me in my journey. I do agree with you and thank you for sharing this with me.

I don't mean to offend anyone on here, I apologize if I have.

Shy

[Sunshine009]

I have the same problem and I am working on it myself.

but maybe you could go with someone every week. Then you will be more relaxed.

[power2theweak]

Originally Posted by shygirl14

I struggle with the fact that my anxiety keeps me from alot of the things I know I should be doing in deepening my faith. Like attending services every week. This has been a battle and a struggle for some time. Not the fact that I don't want to go, it's the constant battle and worrying with being around people (alot of people).

How does one seek God and at the same time try to fight to be normal?

Shy

This is a constant struggle for me, too...knowing what I need to do but letting anxiety keep me from it. I really liked Caflme's answer. Prayer is important. I also try to take time each day to focus on God's wonderful promises to me. As our faith and trust in God grows, we are able to step outside our comfort zones more and more, knowing that He will give us what we need.

[power2theweak]

Originally Posted by caflme

These are my feelings about it and my beliefs but they have worked for me... I only put them here because you asked. I mean no offense to anyone else's faith. So sad that we have to put disclaimers on stuff like that these days.

I don't mean to offend anyone on here, I apologize if I have.

No worries. That is what this section is for.

[screwjack]

Jesus hung around with ex prostitutes, murderers and adulterers I doubt a little thing like anxiety is going to bug him.

[Zimm]

Originally Posted by screwjack

Jesus hung around with ex prostitutes, murderers and adulterers I doubt a little thing like anxiety is going to bug him.

Jesus is dead. You will need some magical powers to get a reaction from him at all.

Try and rely on yourself, kiddo You will gain much more of it than a fantasy.

[screwjack]

Originally Posted by Zimm

Jesus is dead. You will need some magical powers to get a reaction from him at all.

Try and rely on yourself, kiddo You will gain much more of it than a fantasy.

Whether it is a fantasy is irrelevant. This person is seeking spiritual help. When in rome do as the romans do, etc.

[millenniumman75]

Originally Posted by screwjack

Jesus hung around with ex prostitutes, murderers and adulterers I doubt a little thing like anxiety is going to bug him.

- that's right.
We are supposed to cast our cares on Him. If He can take on our crap, I doubt he'd have anxiety on his end.

[millenniumman75]

Originally Posted by Zimm

Jesus is dead. You will need some magical powers to get a reaction from him at all.

Try and rely on yourself, kiddo You will gain much more of it than a fantasy.

As a human, yes, but He's still around. You're looking too hard.

[Zimm]

Originally Posted by millenniumman75

As a human, yes, but He's still around. You're looking too hard.

Or not looking at all I think you become more strong as a person having to believe in yourself instead of a mere spook. Oh well, logic...

[Anxiety75]

There are some good scriptures in the Bible that cover anxiety. I love the fact that this is addressed in the Bible. That's where I find comfort. I cannot tell you how much those scriptures help me. If you want to know the scriptures about anxiety I can post them. If you have read them then try to find comfort in that in dealing with anxiety.

[rhanch]

I have no trouble going and sitting through a church service. It's the socializing afterwards that becomes excruciating. I used to prefer a very large church where it was easy to be anonymous. But then, what's the point of going at all? I think that in some churches it can be very difficult to socialize when everyone is pretending to be more perfect then they are. It can make you feel all the more defective by comparison. I've found the most spiritual gatherings are places like 12 step groups where the masks come off and you can see that other people are really as broken as you are. I don't think it's a matter of fighting to be normal. It's about realizing that we all have certain strengths and weaknesses and just because ours may seem more pronounced to us doesn't mean that other people don't have their own problems - though they may be very good at hiding them at church.

[Anxiety75]

Originally Posted by millenniumman75

As a human, yes, but He's still around. You're looking too hard.

Yup!

He's alive forever in the Kingdom.

'Consequently he is able to save completely those who are approaching God through him, because he is always alive to plead for them.' Hebrews 7:25

[jane]

You could always tell your priest/pastor/whoever is in charge about your anxiety. I did, and the following Sunday, at the pulpit he asked the congregation to be inclusive and make everyone feel welcome.
Since then, I've tried to talk to people who sit alone or are very quiet. I learned that lots of people feel like they don't fit in, and even met one girl who has social anxiety (every so often she goes to the restroom to calm down).
Serving others is a good way to forget your own anxieties, so you could volunteer to hand out programs or something, or sit near a harassed parent and entertain their kids, or talk to an old person (most of them are lonely and love to talk).

[millenniumman75]

I told my elders - a requirement for membership. The pastor was like "well, we don't know what goes on 'up here', but you are welcome here."

- actually, it was kind of like "preventative action" so they wouldn't think I was a freak. They would be like "oh, that's John - nice guy, a little anxious, but he's cool". .

Seriously, it has never come up - my pastor makes sure to say hello tome, which is awesome . I think I picked the right church.

[radames]

Originally Posted by rhanch

I have no trouble going and sitting through a church service. It's the socializing afterwards that becomes excruciating. I used to prefer a very large church where it was easy to be anonymous. But then, what's the point of going at all? I think that in some churches it can be very difficult to socialize when everyone is pretending to be more perfect then they are. It can make you feel all the more defective by comparison. I've found the most spiritual gatherings are places like 12 step groups where the masks come off and you can see that other people are really as broken as you are. I don't think it's a matter of fighting to be normal. It's about realizing that we all have certain strengths and weaknesses and just because ours may seem more pronounced to us doesn't mean that other people don't have their own problems - though they may be very good at hiding them at church.

I like this post. Most believers are so caught up in trying to look good in front of everyone else that they deny that they could have weaknesses and faults. Paul even talks about glorying in his weaknesses so that the power of God could be even more evident in him; found in 2 Corinthians 12:9. So, if we are a drunk, sexually immoral, liar, stealer, and such, we glory in these things but retain full hope and trust in God. We don't WANT to do these things but, so that we don't get prideful by NOT currently doing these things, we mention all of the times that we have sinned so that people will purposefully look at us in a negative manner and God's grace and power will rest upon us because we suffer from their judgment as Christ suffered. "He must increase and I must decrease;" John 3:30. Living "perfectly" is not the way someone decreases.

I would say that the most important spiritual times I have had were in college where a lot of other college students were so aware of their faults and weaknesses that they shared them and were truly repentant and vulnerable to their fellow believers and students. The emotional freedom we felt after that was so awesome and we really could worship with all of our hearts. I don't know, maybe as adults something drastic changes so that we have to fake it in order to feel accepted. We no longer become vulnerable nor show brokenness.

[John31613]

Originally Posted by shygirl14

I struggle with the fact that my anxiety keeps me from alot of the things I know I should be doing in deepening my faith. Like attending services every week. This has been a battle and a struggle for some time. Not the fact that I don't want to go, it's the constant battle and worrying with being around people (alot of people).

How does one seek God and at the same time try to fight to be normal?



Shy

God isn't in a church, nor will you find god reading the book, god is trully in your heart, and the most surest way to reach god is to climb the ladder of chakras, that starts from the feet like an upside down tree and climbs through the 7? major energy centres of the body to the top of the head called the 'God' Head or crown chakra, i dont think there is any other way to reach god, not that i know of for sure. finding god in the church is an illusion, the church is only a stepping stone and the church is the people, not the preist and neither the book/the walls. Those are only stepping stones.

[shygirl14]

Originally Posted by John31613

God isn't in a church, nor will you find god reading the book, god is trully in your heart, and the most surest way to reach god is to climb the ladder of chakras, that starts from the feet like an upside down tree and climbs through the 7? major energy centres of the body to the top of the head called the 'God' Head or crown chakra, i dont think there is any other way to reach god, not that i know of for sure. finding god in the church is an illusion, the church is only a stepping stone and the church is the people, not the preist and neither the book/the walls. Those are only stepping stones.

what is this??