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According to a 2018 study, anxiety affects over 18% of the population. Many of us have bouts with anxiety, and almost every one of us knows someone who regularly struggles in this area. While I understand that some situations call for a professional’s help, and I don’t claim to have the magic solution to solve the world’s problems in this area, I hope to have something to contribute.
Thankfully, the Bible acknowledges anxiety as a common affliction even in the ancient world. Some of the heroes of the Bible struggled with anxious thoughts. What we are facing is nothing new, but it appears to be much more prevalent. So, is there hope for us? Can we live at a different level? How can we deal with such a formidable monster that turns so many strong believers into helpless victims?
Initial Thoughts
First, I would suggest that for some of us, anxiety begins with confusion or perhaps even surprise. This is often because we have a template laid out for our lives, and life has a way of shattering the template. When that happens, we are caught off guard, like a sports team that has a great game plan, but gets thrown off balance by their opponents, so they never implement their plan. Similarly, our enemy uses the element of shock to throw us off balance. Once the initial shock subsides, it often gives way to anxiety. The what-has-happened turns into what-ifs, and the what-ifs begin to multiply.
Others of us honestly can’t pinpoint the reason for our bouts with anxiety. It just happens. And before we know it, it starts to overpower us. The most hideous trap is to get all worked up because we’re worrying. “Look at me,” we think, “I’m worrying!” There is nothing worse than worrying about our worrying. But if we can catch the cycle early enough, we can short-circuit it in the most unlikely of ways: by giving ourselves permission to be confused, or even worried. The psalmist admits confusion many times, and he never browbeats himself for being there. Taking these steps can help to break this cycle before it completely dominates us.
However, for some of us, the cycle is more advanced. It is too late to keep the monster from the door. He is already in the house, doing as he pleases. So what then? For those of us who are at that point, there is still room for optimism. It is for these people that I offer the following four strategies:
When It Won’t Go Away
Strategy #1: Pray
First, the Bible gives us some really great advice: Turn your thoughts into prayers. If you read Philippians 4:6–7, you’ll notice that Paul commands believers to not worry, but instead to pray. It’s a variation on “When-life-give-you-lemons-make-lemondade.” We transform our anxious thoughts into prayers. But we must be careful that we don’t see prayer as a means of therapy. We are not offering our prayers simply for therapeutic reasons; we are praying them because we believe that God hears us and answers us. The more we look to God, the less our attention focuses on what had made us anxious in the first place, and we begin to notice that our mind doesn’t have enough room for both faith and anxiety, so we pray until faith crowds out anxiety.
Strategy #2: Channel Your Thoughts
Second, staying with the same passage, in Philippians 4:8, Paul gives us another command. In this verse, he tells us where we must focus our thoughts: on whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, and on wherever we find excellence and anything worthy of praise. I can promise you that the thoughts that are making you anxious are not the types of things Paul is commanding us to think about. It is important that we not misunderstand what Paul is urging us to do. He is not telling us to stop thinking about these anxious thoughts. He is not scolding us for doing the wrong thing. He is telling us that the way to wrestle with the monster is to ignore him. Paul is telling us to divert our attention, to turn away from our anxious thoughts because we are shifting our focus. If we will place our focus where he is telling us to place it, the monster will go into a corner somewhere and sulk because we aren’t giving him attention anymore.
Strategy #3: Rehearse God’s Goodness
Third, I want to hand you a strategy that applies to a specific time, a time when we are the most vulnerable—nighttime. Anxieties thrive at night. Even if the monster sulks all day long for lack of attention, he will try to stage a comeback at night and rob us of the gift of rest. It is at night that our what-ifs multiply and try to wreak havoc with our imagination. But the psalmist was wise to this ploy. He says in Psalm 94:19, “When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.” So, before you go to bed, make a list of several reminders that God has given you of His love and care. All of us have anxious thoughts at times, but thankfully, all of us have consolations. Even in the worst of circumstances, God sprinkles our lives with small tokens of His love. Rehearse them before you turn in for the night. Then, when the monster pays you a visit at night, in the twilight of your half-awakened sleep, determine to shift your attention to God’s consolations. Rehearse them over and over. As you allow them to occupy your attention, you will again send the foul critter back to the corner, even at night.
Strategy #4: Reach Out
Having said all of this, I have one more piece of advice: Reach out. Humble yourself and reach out to your friends and loved ones and ask them to pray for you as you push back against our sworn enemy. You are going to need their support. Another way you can reach out is to make new friends. Go to places you haven’t been before. Join organizations that strike your interest and get to know people there. As hard as this may be, push forward, knowing that anxiety and loneliness often track together. Many times, only a handful of new friends—or even one good friend—will prove to be a tremendous help in combatting the enemy’s designs to pull you down.
A Word from a Friend
Years ago, when I told a friend of mine about how my anxious thoughts were morphing into something I couldn’t manage, he said, “You’re a believer. You don’t have to take that.” I’ve never forgotten those words. If you’ve been living below your privilege, realize that you don’t have to be another trophy on the wall of our mortal enemy. You don’t have to be another stat. Stop letting it happen. God has given us strategies and commands in His Word to help us. You don’t have to take that.
Finally, a Song
Sometimes a song can say more than an article. For those who need a touch like that, give this a listen:
Someone you know needs to be encouraged. Pass it on!