To The Woman With Anxiety

To The Woman With Anxiety,

You are not alone, I know anxiety well. Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. Anxiety is an unwelcome friend that keeps me up in the middle night and gives me trouble going to sleep. A lot of us know anxiety well. The past year and a half, I have experienced the most anxiety I have ever had surrounding pregnancy, death and disease. All of these are “large” events, but between theses large events, I have struggled with an anxious feeling for no reason at all in the middle of the night.

When anxiety aries in my soul, I repeat these verses I memorized in my junior year of college.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7

But, is it really possible to not be anxious? I would like to think so, but after fully reading Philippians, I believe that Paul meant the statement about anxiety to be more about your state of life, not one particular moment. I believe he wrote it to show us exactly how to handle anxiety when it comes. He wanted us to handle it with prayer, petition and thanksgiving.

I have put this into practice in my own life and it has made 100% difference. Whenever anxiety aries, I softly whisper this verse out loud (I firmly believe that speaking the living Word of God has immense power in our lives). I then pray and ask God to remove my anxiety and help give me wisdom about the area of life in which my anxiety exists. After this, I think on things I have to be thankful for, a lot of times I even use the ABC method.

This summer at church, Max has been preaching on Anxiousness. A few weekends ago, he gave an analogy I wanted to share with you because it had such an impact on me.

There are three people in a row on an airplane that is about to take off and they all have a conversation about the pilot. The person in seat A believes that there is no pilot and that the plane is just a drone piloted by a computer. The person in seat B believes that there is a pilot, but that he is asleep or reading a book while the plane is just on autopilot. But, the person in Seat C knows the pilot well, she had breakfast with him. He is her husband. She knows he cares for the people on the plane and that he has experience.

The airplane takes off and they immediately experience heavy turbulence. The people in seat A and B immediately experience heavy anxiety. However, the person in seat C doesn’t enjoy the turbulence, but she is peaceful. Why? Because she has a relationship with the pilot and she trusts him.

So, who flies your plane?

When it comes down to it, there are three views of God. There is no God. There is a God who started everything and backed away. And then there is a God who cares, who is in control, who knows His passengers and who is determined to get them home safe. The bible doesn’t promise a lack of turbulence, just the opposite. But the bible also promises the constant presence of a loving God who desires to bring you home safely.

The cure for anxiety begins with your understanding of who God is. The more you understand the sovereignty of God, the less anxious you will become.  My prayer is that you would learn more about the loving God of the bible who desires to bring you home safely and fight your anxiety with prayer, petition and thanksgiving.

In His Love,

A Girl Who Struggles With Anxiety