Easing Your Anxiety
Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (RSV)
Recently I read an insightful comment on the difference between fear and anxiety. “Fear is the emotional response to what threatens me while anxiety is rooted in imagination.”
In other words, fear is a reaction to “what is” while anxiety is a reaction to “what could be.”
Fear is the emotional response to what threatens me while anxiety is rooted in imagination. Fear is a reaction to “what is” while anxiety is a reaction to “what could be.”
What’s striking is that the Bible tells us to “fear not” 365 times, it only tells us to have no anxiety once. Yet I have come to see that more times than not it’s anxiety that creates sleepless nights a lot more often than fear.
Anxiety feeds on “what-ifs” and “worst-case scenarios.” While always a threat, in these challenging times anxiety is having a hay day.
What if the coronavirus mutates and the vaccines don’t work?
What if the economy tanks and I lose my job?
What if my retirement investments are eaten up by a bear market?
What if…what if…what if?
Anxiety can quickly and easily take you down, down, down. It’s emotional quicksand that can prove to be quite deadly.
What then can you do when anxious thoughts arise? Let me offer you some suggestions.
1. Calm your body.
Anxiety is more than an emotional state. It shows up in our bodies as well. It gets our nervous system revved up. Our heart beats fast. Our shoulders get tense. All this causes our relational circuits to shut down, making it hard to hear from God…or anyone else.
So, when such occasions occur, take a deep breath, let it out slowly, and say, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You, O Lord” (Ps. 56:3). Do it again. Deep breath…exhale…say the verse. Relax your muscles from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. Feel the tension release.
2. Take the thought captive.
Having calmed our bodies, we are able to think more clearly. So, when the anxious thought arises, lasso it. “Hold on. I’m not going to give in to this perceived threat and panic.”
When that anxious thought arises, lasso it. “Hold on. I’m not going to give in to this.”
Allowing that imagined scenario free rein in your thinking provides anxiety a foothold. Scripture tells us that we have to ability to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:5)
3. Identify the issue.
Generalities are not permitted. None of this: “I’m worried.” Get specific: Lord, I’m worried about the layoffs at work. Now, that’s better. But even more detailed: I’m worried that I will lose my job. Will I be able to find more work? Will we have to move?
Specificity right-sizes the issue. As such it can help disarm anxiety.
4. Take a reality check.
Is this a legitimate concern or is this a vague, ill-defined, rumor-fed possibility? “They say that the pandemic can’t be stopped!” Who are “they” and how do you know “they” are they right?
5. Put the issue into perspective.
Ask yourself, “Can God handle this? Is this within His skill set? Has this taken the Lord by surprise?” These seem to be such crazy questions, yet by asking them, it can provide valuable perspective.
When feeling anxious, ask yourself this: “Can God handle this? Is this within His skill set? Has this taken the Lord by surprise?"
The prophet Isaiah offered wise counsel to the anxious people who lived in his day. “He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord!” (Isaiah 26:3 TLB).
6. With thanksgiving, make your requests to God.
It’s important to see how Paul precedes intercession with gratitude. This is a key part of overcoming anxiety. In starting with gratitude, where we recall what God has done for us in the past and how He has proven Himself faithful time and again, we open up our relational circuits and remember our identity as a child of God.
Then we can clearly articulate what the issue is and ask God to intervene, confident that He is ready, willing, and able to respond.
7. Drink in God’s peace.
The key here is that this peace comes as a result of an action. When we petition God – go to Him with our requests, worries, cares, and concerns – we get a bonus gift. Not only does He hear us, but He offers us peace in knowing we’ve dealt with the problem correctly by giving it over to the only One who can do anything about it.
When we go to God with our worries, cares, and concerns, we get a bonus gift. Not only does He hear us, but He offers us peace.
And we can then leave it at His feet, not having to continue to shoulder it alone. In the words of Peter, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (I Peter 5:7).
To be sure, we live in anxious times. But we don’t have to become anxious people. Let me encourage you to engage in these practices. And see if you have far fewer sleepless nights.
We live in anxious times. But we don’t have to become anxious people.
PRAYER
Lord, You know how all too easily I give in awfulizing various situations and allow my imagination to run wild with “what if.” Help me to remember that You provide a ready remedy for anxiety. And since I’m told in Scripture that you neither slumber nor sleep, I will lay down confident that You are wide awake.
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