From Anxiety to Delight
“If I say, “My foot slips,” Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up. In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.” (Psalm 94:18-19 NKJV)
Among dog intellectuals, miniature schnauzers rank relatively high, capable of learning lots of verbal commands and tricks. We once had a schnauzer named Tracy who, highly motivated by treats, learned how to say, “I love you.” That dog had Mensa brains.
But…not so much with our current Heidi. She has never learned to walk calmly on a leash, she goes crazy around other dogs, and she thinks she’s entitled to “people food” from our table. Obviously, Heidi’s very spoiled. But she makes up for her mental shortcomings just by being cute.
Recently, we’ve noticed her anxiety level has been on the rise. She likes to watch television, but she gets upset when people start fighting on the screen. When fireworks, thunder, and lightning arrive, she heads under our bed with her tail tucked down.
Now, it’s travel anxiety. Heidi normally adores riding in the car but has developed a fear of riding long distances. A 30-minute ride, even to familiar places, sends her into a panting panic attack with howling. Maybe she finally figured out that we’re driving at 70 miles an hour…and she’s not in control!
When we faced our first long drive with her over the weekend, our veterinarian prescribed a mild tranquilizer, not something she usually needs. But it worked. She stayed awake, looked out the window, and sat calmly in her car seat without the terror-stricken look on her face. Whew.
The medication did what was impossible for us—to calm Heidi’s fretfulness. We’ve tried to convince her we’ll take care of her, that she’s safe in our arms. But once her panic sets in, she’s inconsolable.
I’ve decided we act much the same say in handling our own anxieties.
How many times do we go before God with our nerves shredded, shoulders shuddering, overwhelmed by our problems? Do we really pray with trust that God will care for us?
My biggest fears emerge when my focus is on my problems, not on God…when my stress is on my contributions to the solutions, not on His power. By the time I get around to praying about issues, my emotions have already worked me into a frenzy of despair.
Yet when I look back over my life and career, I see constant reminders of God’s calm presence. I launched so many workdays wondering how I’d manage my workload and problems—seeing no way out of my quandaries. God stepped in, in His timing, to redeem my situation and provide solutions. By the end of the day, I wondered why I worried in the first place, why I didn’t start the day in His peace.
God is persistent, my friend. You and I can trust in His faithfulness. In Psalm 94 above, verse 18 assures us of His faithful mercy. Verse 19, though, takes us a step further—where He comforts the “multitude” of anxieties within us with His “delights.”
Think about it. If we really crave His peace, we will be much more motivated to seek His face and counsel from the get-go. We’ll chase that reward early on by trusting in His goodness, knowing that where we find His peace we also find His delights.
This week, start your mornings from a different direction. Begin with prayer based on God’s assurance of His holiness, power, and love. Sit at His feet, focus on His goodness, and ask Him to move you forward where you need to go…all while you pursue the delights of His presence and grace. See if your week will end less anxiety-stricken than when you started.
I can tell you this—if you’re on track with His will, there is joy unspeakable waiting for you, far more than you could ask or imagine. And there is no room left for anxiety when you follow where He leads.
Holy Spirit, pour down Your wisdom upon me this week. Let me seek your counsel, wisdom, and peace before I begin this week. Show me what I need to do, where I need to go, and whom I need to help. Let Your presence and constant peace go before me. Teach me to follow Your leadership and pursue Your pathways. Help me to trust in Your power to carry me through, to find Your delights. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Nancy C. Williams is a Christian wife/mom with a writing career spanning more than 40 years in business and journalism. Williams is the author of the novel To Love a Falcon and the devotional book A Crocus in the Desert: Devotions, Stories, and Prayers for Women Experiencing Infertility. Her blogs are featured on Crossmap.com and AriseDaily. To follow Nancy’s posts and news, go to her home page at NancyCWilliams.com and subscribe at the bottom.
© Copyright 2025 Nancy C. Williams (text and photography). Unless otherwise noted, Scripture verses are taken from the New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. #trust #leadership #anxiety #calm #reassurance #delights #thunder #fireworksanddogs #schnauzer
