The Antidote for Anxiety and Depression: Trust in Abba Father’s Care – Pt 16
God is Your Everlasting Strength and Helper!
My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
– Psalm 73:26
As an adolescent I became anorexic and bulimic which continued into my adulthood. Anorexia Nervosa and bulimia nervosa are eating disorders. Eating disorders are characterized by a persistent disturbance of eating or eating-related behaviour that results in the altered consumption or absorption of food and that significantly impairs physical health or psychosocial functioning. According to National Institute of Mental Health, “The eating disorders anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder, and their variants, all feature serious disturbances in eating behaviour and weight regulation. They are associated with a wide range of adverse physical, psychological, and social consequences”.
As a result of being anorexic and bulimic my flesh (physical body) and my heart (soul-emotional or mental or psychological functioning) failed as I experienced many adverse physical, psychological, and social consequences.
Physically, I was malnourished and skinny – very skinny. I was also ill a lot – I had developed problems with my stomach, had frequent migraine headaches, had dental issues, had problems with my menstruation, and the list goes on. Therefore, I frequented the doctors and emergency rooms for treatment that included having IV fluids to sustain me.
Psychologically, I was obsessed with wanting to lose weight because I was so afraid of gaining weight. I literally thought I was fat and every time I looked in a mirror I saw fat everywhere on my body. Hence, I was also obsessed with exercising, purging, and starving myself from food. These maladaptive behaviours contributed to my suffering with anxiety disorder and major depression, in which I also experienced insomnia. The pressure to want to keep slim and not gain weight was so real and overwhelming that at times when I felt I was failing in accomplishing my goal to remain slim, I habitually resorted to hurting myself so I attempted suicide various times. Due to the severity of illnesses that I experienced, I often feared that something more serious or terminal was wrong with me. The fear that I would get cancer in my stomach tormented me day and night.
Socially, I isolated myself because I was too afraid of being in public or around people. I didn’t want people to see how “fat” I was (so I thought) even when my weight was much less that what it needed to have been for my body mass index (BMI).
However, even though anxiety, depression and eating disorders have caused my flesh and my heart to fail, I have come to know God as my strength and my helper.
Have you ever been in a situation in which fear or anxiety caused your flesh and your heart to fail?
Asaph, a Temple musician, wrote Psalm 73 and in verse 26 he stated that, “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever”.
In the first part of Psalm 73:26, Asaph mentioned first that his flesh failed, then his heart failed. However, in the second part of Psalm 73:26, he said first that God is the strength of his heart, then God is his portion or helper (for his flesh) for ever.
Asaph identified the prescription for his failing heart as God being his strength, and the prescription for his failing flesh as God being his portion.
Friends God is the strength of your heart and your portion for ever as well. In the past few devotions emphases has been placed on God as your strength and your help in times of fear, anxiety and depression.
God is the strength of your heart, and your portion for ever. The Hebrew rendition of it is, “but God is the rock of my heart”, that is, a sure, strong, and immovable foundation to build upon. God is not only the “strength” of your hearts but the “rock” of your strength.
God is the strength of your natural and spiritual life in three respects:
Firstly, He is the author and giver of all strength. Psalms 18:32 says, “It is God that girdeth me with strength.” He will give strength to his people according to Psalms 29:11, “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. Furthermore, “Psalms 138:3 says, “In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul”.
Secondly. God is the increaser and perfecter of your strength. For you to do all that God requires of you and suffer, to bear and forbear, to believe and to hope to the end, it can only take God’s making you strong and mighty. Hebrews 11:34 expressed that “out of weakness you were made strong;” John recognised the young men who are strong, in whom abide the word of God, and who have overcome the wicked one (1 John 2:14). Hence Peter’s prayer in 1 Peter 5:10 that says, “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you”.
Thirdly, God is the preserver of your strength because your life is laid up in God. Colossians 3:3 expresses this truth, it says, “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God”. Also, God’s strength keeps your strength. Moreover, God outshines your strength so that there is no fissure in it. This is the essence of Psalms 91:1 that says, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty”. Therefore, like the psalmist in Psalms 63:1 you can declare boldly that, “In the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.”
I admonish you today friends, if you are in a situation in which fear or anxiety is causing your flesh and your heart to fail, remember that God is your everlasting strength and helper. He is your Rock. It does not matter how horrible your situation is, once your heart is strengthen by God, then your flesh comes in alignment. Simply put, when your heart, mind and emotions are fixed on God, they are strengthen, as a result, every malady in your flesh vanishes. Look to Him today for your portion and be at peace.
Shalom!
MY PRAYER FOR TODAY
Heavenly Father I worship You as my Rock. Oh how comforting it is to know that You are the strength of my heart and my helper forever. Thank You for strengthening my heart and helping me in times when my flesh and my heart failed. I declare today that my mind and emotions are fixed on God and strong. Therefore, my flesh prospers. I pray this by faith in Jesus’ name with thanksgiving. Amen!
