By Kristin Abrahams
Philippians 4:6
“The Lord is Near! Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation with prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Do not be anxious about anything? Tell your requests to God with thanksgiving? The Lord is near? Peace that surpasses ALL understanding? In the height of my anxiety, these words felt hollow and fruitless. I once told a dear friend, “I understand the ANXIETY that surpasses all understanding….surpassing peace is harder to feel or even understand.” My anxiety used to be crippling- panic attacks, sleepless nights, a mind run amuck with worse case scenarios of harm or danger to my family and children. Anxiety was an ugly three headed monster that I could not escape from. No matter how I tried to fight it off, it would wash over me and leave me powerless in its wake. My anxiety hasn’t completely gone away. In fact, with all of our current uncertainty due to Coronavirus, it has reared its ugly head a few times. However, what was once a terrifying monster that controlled my thoughts and emotions is now more of a distraction- an annoying gnat.
With Covid-19, economic uncertainty, fearfulness over our family and friends contracting this virus, anxiety has once again resurfaced for many of my friends, my clients and family. People are Facebooking for helpful tips and tricks to reclaim sleep. What are we all asking for? A PEACE That SURPASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING…. How can we respond to our feelings of anxiety and walk confidently aligned with this verse seared in our minds and hearts?
Over several years of trying to get a grip on this, I begged God to help me understand why I struggled so heavily with this… Over time, God has revealed some helpful responses to me:
TRUST THAT ANXIETY IS NOT YOUR ENEMY: We live in a world that runs from pain. But like any good doctor will tell you, pain is trying to communicate to you that something in your body is broken or sick. Anxiety is similar, it is trying to communicate something powerful to you about you, your family, or this world. It becomes the ugly three headed monster when we try to silence its call. What we resist will persist…… Instead of resisting your anxiety, what would it look like to walk alongside it and listen to what it has to say. Like anyone trying to get a word in edgewise- they only get louder when it feels it is being silenced… anxiety does the same- when you listen to it, its impact softens.
ABIDE IN GOD’S WORD: I go back to Paul’s letter to the Philippians about the peace that surpasses all understanding (while suffering with great physical pain), about giving thanks (while he was in prison), about Christ guarding his heart and mind (as he was isolated and alone)… Paul abided daily with the Lord.
The Lively Blog of Thoughts 