Combating Anxiety With God's WordChikamu

My hand gripped the phone harder as I stood in my kitchen, neglecting the food that was sizzling on the stove for a moment. Anxiety and worry had been my dinner for the past few days, and unfortunately, they were not meals that I could just skip. With a trembling voice, I spoke to my dear friend about a sensitive and gut-turning topic that filled my thoughts consistently for weeks–was I truly at peace with God? The assurance of my salvation was obviously misplaced, weighing on displaced feelings and misplaced trust. When his turn to impart his two-cents into the conversation came, his words of consolation hit my heart and still echo there to this day: “Emerald…there is no more wrath left for you.”

Sisters, do you believe this? Perhaps you struggle with the fear that your right-standing with God is a frail and weak position that ebbs and flows with the shifting sands of emotions. Do not be like the reed that is tossed to and fro in the wind. The cup of wrath that you and I so justly deserve has been passed to our Savior (Isaiah 51:22). He did not leave any residue for you or me to take a sip. He bore it all. Every single sin you have committed and will commit was laid on the shoulders of Christ at Calvary. We must remember the assurance of our salvation is not in the strength or size of our faith but the Object of it (Hebrews 6:19, Matthew 17:20).  

Jesus became the Object of wrath so that you may become an object of mercy and affection. Tell me–does that sound like someone God is partial towards? No. You are loved and secured to the glory of God our Father, Christ our King, and the Spirit our Comfort. My friend’s sweet words brought me great comfort that day, but a greater comfort can be found in the precious words of our beloved Christ Himself.

“…It is finished” (John 19:30).