What is the Name of Your Ship?
The name of my ship is Anxiety. I had to sink that ship 40 years ago when I had panic attacks. Anxiety is running rampant these days – like a ship out of control. Almost 20% of all adults experience an anxiety disorder in any given year. Approximately 32% of adolescents and 11% of children ages 3-17 are in treatment for anxiety.
If you have been at Eagles Way any length of time, you have heard, “Change your thinking, change your life”. In therapy, this is the foundation for all treatments. CBT, an evidence-based intervention, helps people replace negative thoughts with healthier alternatives. Psychological research validates its effectiveness. But it takes a lot of hard, consistent work until new pathways to the brain are established. I discovered a much easier, quicker way to transform my thoughts. Even though I sank that ship called Anxiety a long time ago, fragments tend to rise from the depth of the ocean to the surface.
Even those fragments have names:
Doubt – Will God really do this?
Not His Will – Maybe it is not in His will to do this.
Fatigue – I am too tired to keep praying and fighting. Whatever happens, happens.
God’s Word says the opposite.
“Whatever you ask in prayer, believe you will receive it, and it will be granted unto you” (Mark 11:14). That is what He says about doubt.
“I will restore you to health, and heal you wounds” (Jeremiah 30:17) and “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). That is what He says about His Will.
“The Holy Spirit helps us when we are weak and do not know how to pray” (Romans 8:26). That is what He says about fatigue.
So, when the fragments of my ship resurface, what do I do with them? I could try to sink them again. I could try to tear them up or try to ignore them.
But instead, I replace them with a simple statement:
God is a good God who wants only good for me. I choose to believe this instead of believing what the enemy tries to make me believe. Period.
As I give praise and gratitude for this Truth, the Holy Spirit reminds me of the perfect scripture for that situation. Then God sinks the fragments of that ship, and replaces them with joyfulness and peace.
What is the name of your ship? I encourage you to sink it for good. And when the fragments try to resurface, remind yourself that He desires good for you. Then call forth His Word, the sword of the Spirit, to complete the battle between good and evil.
Blessings,
Lynn Langston
