The Cure For Anxiety

“Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.” -Proverbs 12:25

My natural tendency is to think of this verse in a selfish way. “When I’M worried, my heart feels heavy. When anxiety attacks ME, I feel so beaten down. I pray for someone to give ME a kind word to cheer ME up.”

This may be true in your life, however, I think we may need a perspective shift in the way we read this proverb. For me, this verse becomes much more powerful when it is about how we treat other people. 

What do we do when we’re feeling anxious? We vent. We throw all of our issues onto someone else and say, great, now you can carry the emotions, even though the responsibility is still mine. The truth is, our anxiety weighs down not only our hearts, but the hearts of those around us. When we are the negative person in our family or friend group, people don’t want us around, because if we’re down, we are determined to bring everybody down with us.

Instead of selfishly focussing on our own anxiety, why not instead use our words to lift others up? In doing so, not only do we fill others with kindness and joy, but we also do a great deal in defeating our own worry. After all, perfect love casts out fear. Maybe the solution to your anxiety isn’t venting to others, but loving on them.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I thank you for your example of love. I pray that today I would focus on the opportunity to lift others up with my words instead of dragging them down with me. And I pray that as I seek to encourage others, that your love flowing from me would cast out all worry.