The counselor looked me right in the eye, pointed at me and said, “You are a Ferrari!”
He definitely had my attention, but I was curious what he meant.
“You are this incredibly, efficient machine, built for speed and performance.” I started to smile. Then he really got my attention.
“But, you’re malfunctioning. Someone has put bad gasoline into you, and you are sputtering along. You can’t operate at the full capacity that you were designed to operate.”
Something rang true in his words. I knew that the anxiety, fear and panic were not supposed to be part of my life. I was wired for joy and peace. I was created for so much more, things like “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self control” (Galatians 5:22, 23).
He went on to explain that God’s desire is for us to live an abundant life (John 10:10), and to live that life dependent upon him (John 15:5), not upon ourselves. If we’re not living the way God created us to live, then we will malfunction and experience things like anxiety, fear, insecurity, frustration, anger—those things that we know aren’t right within us.
God loves us so much that he wired us to malfunction—not to just cause us pain or misery, but to help us get back on track to the abundant life he created us for. If my incredibly fast and efficient Ferrari is sputtering along at 10 miles per hour, then I’m going to work hard to find out what’s wrong. I’ll take it to a specialist who can find the cause of the problem and fix it. In the same way, if you’re experiencing fear, anxiety, or panic attacks, ask God to be your Specialist. He sent his Holy Spirit to counsel you and to guide you into all truth.
“When the Father sends the Counselor as my representative—and by the Counselor I mean the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told you. I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:26, 27).
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you if there are any lies at work in your life. Lies are always “bad gasoline”. Believing lies are the key reason why we malfunction and start experiencing things like anxiety, panic and fear. When we believe a lie about ourselves or about God, our mind and body respond to the lie as if it were true. When we think a lie is true, it sets in motion a series of painful, emotional experiences. We start to malfunction.
We must recognize the lies and start taking steps to tear them down. We must replace those lies with God’s truth. When we do that, we shall know the truth and the truth will set us free (John 8:32).
Prayer: Father, I know that you’ve created me for so much more. I am a Ferrari, but something is malfunctioning in me. Help me tear down those lies that are keeping me from living the abundant life. Help me to know the truth.
