Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series on anxiety. Each of our experiences with anxiety is very different based upon who we are as a person and the circumstances that we find ourselves in. We are writing about the experience of anxiety from many different angles so you may not find every article as helpful to you as another one that better describes your experience. The good news is that the Bible isn’t a one-size-fits-all guide to life, but be confident that the answers found in the Bible can help you. God does understand what you are going through, and He will guide you.
In this article, BCC counselor MicKenzie Crowley helps us consider the promises of God and how they can be an integral part in helping us combat the feelings of anxiety.
To the one struggling with anxiety: your experience of chaos, confusion, and all-consuming thoughts will not be the end of you.
Anxiety can feel completely consuming, to the point that our ability to thrive and to function confidently and efficiently becomes elusive. We’re barely maintaining and we lose confidence in our God. His promises seem to feel broken and almost taunting. The reality is that in our anxiety, we have tried to rely on God’s promises and we seem to feel as fear-filled as ever.
What promises of God matter in the middle of this kind of anxiety?
The promise to be with us
In the middle of exhausting anxiety, God Himself shapes our anxious thinking. He is the opposite of our anxious thinking. Opposite of the chaos, exhaustion, and fogginess that we experience with anxiety, God is a God of order (Gen. 1:1-31), strength, (Psalm 28:7) and light (Psalm 27:1). In the same way that being around a calming, steady person decreases our anxiety and affects how we think, being in the presence of a powerful God who loves us, decreases our anxiety and shapes our hearts. Being in God’s presence changes us and changes our experience (Ex. 34).
The promise to help shape our mind
God is not the kind of God to tell us that it’s possible to renew our minds and then not follow through. Twisted truths and half-hearted hope is Satan’s game, not our God’s. In Ephesians 4, it is made clear that our mind can be renewed.
When we consistently respond to anxiety in the same way, our minds, feelings, and actions begin to connect [1]. Thoughts and responses that we consistently practice become reinforced together. [2]. God gives us the power and ability to not give in to the temptation of fear, but rather to think and do something different, even physically renewing our body’s anxious response (1 Cor. 10:13, Eph. 4:22-23). Reach out for help from a biblical counselor who can help you to understand and change the anxious patterns your mind, body, and actions have gotten stuck in; you don’t have to do it alone.
The promise to act on our behalf
In our anxiety, sometimes we feel so exhausted and unsure if the changes we try actually matter. One of the most frustrating experiences of anxiety is trying really hard and not seeing change. God is working in us and for us even when we don’t see the changes (Phil. 1:9, Is. 64:4). We can trust that as we put effort toward change, God will faithfully work. Believing in that hope, even when we don’t feel it, helps us to decrease our experience of anxiety (Matt. 6).
What can you do now?
Stay present and remember His promises.
Reminding yourself of God’s promises, try something new this week. When you are anxious, slow down your heart and mind. Invite God into your anxious experiences by reflecting on His character: remembering that He is the God of order, strength, and light. Notice your breathing while you focus on releasing the tension you feel to God and staying present where you are. As you focus on being present and believing God’s promises, you will be better able to think more clearly and be shaped by God’s presence.
[1] Concept supported by Lucy Moll’s blog post “Overcoming a Phobia” https://biblicalcounselingcenter.org/overcoming-phobia/ [2] Supported by the concept from Deepak Chopra’s “Infinite Potential” podcast interview “You Are Not Your Brain” https://www.choprafoundation.org/people/infinite-potential-you-are-not-your-brain-rebecca-gladding-md/.
One Comment on “Chaotic Anxiety and God’s Promises”
God bless for this this article. I give God thanks for saving me and I can call on him for strength to to keep me from fear and anxiety, i can keep my focus and trust him to protect me during this pandemic corona virus at this time.