PRAISE YOU IN THIS STORM

Oh my...where to start?

So those anxiety attacks that wrack my body and mind at 6:00pm each night.  I am not afraid of them.  I am choosing freedom.  I may not be able to control my mind in an attack...but I can chose joy over sadness in the between times.  I praise God for all the wonderful people in my life who have lead me back to Him.  And I am learning so much right now.  My new motto in life, "Growing is never comfortable."
Psalm 118
 ¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
      His faithful love endures forever.
 ² Let all Israel repeat:
      “His faithful love endures forever.”
 ³ Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat:
      “His faithful love endures forever.”
 ⁴ Let all who fear the LORD repeat:
      “His faithful love endures forever.”
 ⁵ In my distress I prayed to the LORD,
      and the LORD answered me and set me free.
 ⁶ The LORD is for me, so I will have no fear.
      What can mere people do to me?
 ⁷ Yes, the LORD is for me; he will help me.
      I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
 ⁸ It is better to take refuge in the LORD
      than to trust in people.
 ⁹ It is better to take refuge in the LORD
      than to trust in princes.

FIRST of all!  We need to give thanks to the Lord for He is good.  This is telling me that God is always good even when I don't feel His goodness.  But I still need to praise Him in this storm.  SECOND.  Verse 6 says that God is FOR me.  GOD IS FOR ME!  He is on my side!  Not a hair falls from my head without God knowing it and allowing it.  He knows my struggle and is on my side.  I need to trust that He knows what He is doing.  It says in Lamentations 3 that He does not enjoy our sorrow.  He hurts when we hurt.  And I need to know that my best interests are at the top of His mind.  And He loves and looks out for me so much.  THIRD.  I know that "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in People."  The first thing I do when an attack hits it call on friends to help me.  WHAT AM I DOING!?!?!  I need to call on the LORD first and foremost!

Oh I am learning so much.

 Philippians 4:6-9
 ⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
 ⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. ⁹ Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

And most recently...this one will give you goosebumps.  My friend back home is suffering also from attacks...of a different kind...but still just as painful.  And we prayed for each other this morning.  And shared verses of encouragement.  Then as we were saying goodbye she stumbled across this: 1 Peter 5:8-11

⁸ Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters^[a] all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.
 ¹⁰ In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. ¹¹ All power to him forever! Amen.

Enough Said....AMEN!