God's timing is so good! Since joining THRIVE, it has been clear that God has been working in Addy's life. I will let her tell you in her own words what God has been up to, but the timing of God gently pushing and providing the courage to get up in front of her peers to share her testimony is so encouraging. At the same time THRIVE was starting a series on anxiety and depression, God moved in Addys heart to share her own story of how God has worked in and through anxiety in her own life. Here are her words she shared at THRIVE.
Anxiety and depression has always had an impact on me. I always let it control everything I do. It got in the way of my relationships. My school. It got in the way of me living life. I never thought that I would be able to control my anxiety. Many of you have probably seen me up here singing with the worship team, but a lot of you probably don’t know how it happened. I let my anxiety control me to the point that I couldn’t listen to live music. The drums would trigger my anxiety. I love live music and worshiping but my anxiety took that away. Until one day, I prayed, and I gave my anxiety to God. I let God take control of my life. But friends, hear this: I wasn’t instantly freed from my anxiety. I still have anxiety. But it’s not controlling me. It took a while for me to notice a change. But God never promised a quick fix. He promised healing. Long-term healing. It’s going to take awhile; it’s going to hurt, but it’s going to last a long time.
In July I decided to read through the Psalms. I didn’t know at the time why I chose the Psalms but I think I do now. On Wednesday December 2nd, I woke up and was super tired. On Wednesdays I go to a school thing and I’m always tired afterwards. So I decided not to read my Bible that day. But when I got in the car to go home, I felt like I needed to read my Bible. What’s cool is that the night before at Thrive, Stephanie (Senior Girls Leader) spoke about not ignoring the feeling that tells you to read your Bible. So I did. And before I even read my Bible I write down my prayers. Normally my prayers are like half a page but this time it was a page and a half. At the end of my prayer, I wrote something that I never really say or think about. I wrote, “You are so good.” So I turn to Psalm 13 in my Bible and most of the time only a couple verses stick out, but that day the whole chapter stood out to me. I wanted to read this chapter.
“O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!” Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall. But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me.”
Psalms 13:1-6 NLT
This Psalm just reminded me that God is so good and we should praise Him. Even when life is hard, God is good. Time and time again, the Psalms have reminded me that God is good and his healing is long-term. I’m going to sing a song I wrote based on Psalm 13. I hope this will be a reminder that God is good. If you don’t believe God is good; that’s ok. For a long time I didn’t believe God was good. But I want you to know one thing: God is patient. He will wait for however long it takes for you to give up your life, your control, your anxiety. God will be there, saying “Welcome home my son.” “Welcome home my daughter."
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