How to deal with anxiety as a Christian

You know, as I type this, there is a lot of chaos going on in the world.

But before I encourage you, allow me to make you chuckle.  Most of my family knows I have become addicted to a super cool television show called “The Blacklist.”   Have you ever heard of it?  It’s actually not on the air any longer, and after a terrible ending to the awesome series – it is over. 🙂 Side note: Don’t you hate it when a series has a magnificent run only to end in a stupid, unsatisfying way? Anyway, I’m still talking about how to deal with anxiety as a Christian; hang in there with me.

The Blacklist was an incredibly well-thought-out spy drama focusing on the antics of a lovable nut case and the hypocrisy and conspiracies of the government.

It portrays secret world leaders creating farces and facades and passing them off as “uncontrolled” world tragedies, acts of God, and impromptu happenings. They hide stuff (like bio-terrorism), create stuff, and cover up stuff. Wild.

But, it’s OK, because a secret government task force and notorious nutcase criminal (with a big heart), Ray Reddington always get to the bottom of it all and inside of 60 minutes too!

Best show ever!

Movies are fiction…I think…

Anyhoo, as a sane person these days, I have worked very hard to manage my own mental health and not allow myself to think there is a conspiracy going on to the left and to the right of me.

The way I see it, if there is a conspiracy or none, I know who I am in the safe hands of Jesus Christ and that He will always take care of me.

Pray with me!

@godsygirl Fear is such a thief. Pray this prayer for fear and anxiety with me. Because of fear you might be afraid to try new things. I know I have. #praywithme🙏🙏 ♬ original sound – Godsygirl Godsy

My first tip on how to deal with anxiety as a Christian:
Stop over-analyzing this thing, OK?

It does you no good to over-analyze anything in this life.

I actually think the enemy uses our propensity to overanalyze. Overthinking can cause you to move too fast, move too slow, or not move at all. It can cause you to do illogical things like buying too much toilet paper or just worrying when you should be enjoying your day.

Do you know what I think the seed of stress is? It’s worrying. From worry, you advance to stress. From stress – you can fall into depression and even develop health problems, some say.

Imagine this: What if Biblical heroes did some overthinking?

Sometimes, I like to imagine what it would have looked like had Biblical heroes acted the way we often do. For instance, what if David had over-analyzed the fight with Goliath?

What if he had asked himself, “Can I do this?” or “Will God come through for me? Or even, what if he had acted like our teens and not obeyed his dad? We would have never had the story of a boy trusting God and defeating a giant.

I’m so glad David didn’t. 

If he had thought too much, I think we would have had a completely different outcome than the victorious one we now have in scripture.

What he wrote in Psalm 56:3 is why the story ended the way it ended – with Goliath falling flat on his patootie. Here is what he wrote:

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”

There is a “how to deal with anxiety as a Christian” scripture right there!!!

Q. When you are afraid, what do you do?

A. You trust in the Lord.

Excessive thinking totally messes with your faith.

Over-thinking things is  the kryptonite of faith, in my humble opinion 

Why?  It’s because when we overthink things, we are more prone to lean into our own understanding, which is limited, flawed, and rooted in a faulty premise.

As I mentioned, the reason the shelves were bare at the beginning of the pandemic was that people were overthinking things in a state of panic.

Christians shouldn’t panic that way– even though we are tempted to do so.

What if Moses had panicked instead of putting the Blood of the Lamb over the door? Read: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+12&version=NIV

Panic is the complete opposite of what God is telling us to do now during this health scare.

How to deal with anxiety as a Christian: You do not panic.

Again, that is why I think we didn’t have toilet paper back in the day

Since I continue to mention it, “What in the world did toilet paper have to do with this thing?”

I did not get it.

Speaking for myself, I can think of many things I would hoard in a time of scarcity, but toilet paper isn’t one of them.  Again, speaking for myself, most of the things I think to buy in masses are crunchy things or stuff covered in chocolate. Gotta have my Doritos and Snicker bars! Hence the reason I’m on a new weight loss plan. 🙂

I’m being silly, but my whole point is:

– We can’t over-assess this situation, especially when we are not qualified to do so

– We can’t assume things about this illness and borrow trouble from tomorrow

– We can’t be losing our faith in a time when people will conclude we’re no different from them anyway. Outsiders are watching you and if you seem just as powerless and hopeless as they do, you won’t win them!

Calm down.

Try not to borrow trouble from tomorrow. I mean that we should wait and see what will happen. So often things work themselves out. When you feel the anxiety, just slow down and wait to see what happens. Trust God to give you just what you need when you need it. 

I will not minimize the anxiety people feel.

We are seeing the devastation and pain going on now. I’m not negating the life-destroying things happening all over the world.

Anxiety is a real thing, yet not a reigning thing. You can feel anxiety, but you don’t have to act on it or let it take over your life. That’s all I’m saying about how to deal with anxiety as a Christian. You don’t allow it to rule you.

Now, I’m not talking about the clinical anxiety a lot of people experience. No, I’m talking about regular angst that happens when things are unpredictable or when things change suddenly. That’s the kind of anxiety I’m talking about, and that’s 100% normal and incredibly common.

This blog post is called How to deal with anxiety as a Christian because I know people are going to search for comfort from the Bible in times like these.  I want to be one of the sources of that comfort.

If you’re one of those people feeling anxiety as a Christian, it’s okay. 

It’s all going to be okay. 

Being concerned or scared is NOT a sin. Being prepared is not a sin; the sin comes when we relinquish our faith in God and “camp out “in fear-land.

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7

Remind yourself…

“God’s got me and is not going to leave me alone in this.”

Fear and panic put you right into the net – or trap – of the enemy. 

He uses those stress responses to torment your mind, disturb your sleep, or even have you buy up all the toilet paper so no one else can get any like back in the day. I’m sorry, I’m stuck on the whole toilet paper.

Anyway…..

A hard time is an indication of your faith walk and can trigger you to be better!

Did you know life’s trials and tragedies are terrific barometers to see where we are spiritually? 

Working in the church isn’t the best barometer – even though you should help out in church. 

Tithing isn’t the best barometer either – even though you should give God your percentage.

These things are “good” things to do, but they do not measure maturity.

Honey, it’s so easy to praise and worship God when things are fantastic and are going well!  It’s easy to think of ourselves as spiritual “giants” during those times, right? 

No, the actual test of your faith and spiritual acumen is during times like this- when you don’t know what’s out in the atmosphere or what’s going to happen. How do you handle that?

Oh yeah, scary and trying times are the real measure of who you are and what you truly believe.

If you’re finding that your faith is weaker than you thought, that’s okay, too.

Calm down and re-calibrate a bit. It really is okay… It’s not a big deal

Build your spiritual muscles in Bible anxiety and fear times.

Think about this: when you go to the gym and realize you’re not as strong as you thought you were, that is when you begin “working that area” to build strength.

The same goes when you start getting a little soft in the mid-section. You start doing crunches and core building. I don’t, but I’m sure fit people do. Ha!

One more example! When you find (you’re like me) and can’t last five seconds on the treadmill, you may start walking consistently on it to build a little endurance. 

I gave all those examples because I want you to understand that physically, we have indicators to let us know about weaknesses. 

If you’re freaking out in this season of your life, it’s likely an indicator you have some spiritual “areas” to “work,”…like your faith. You have spiritual crunches and spiritual cardio to do.

Great news!  It’s not as hard to
build those “faith” muscles.

How to deal with anxiety as a Christian means all you have to do is gird up the loins of your mind – or take control of your mind and your heart. 

Stop what you’re doing and re-direct. 

Here are a few practical steps to help you get back on track spiritually:

How to deal with anxiety as a Christian #1: Focus on what God says not on what you see.

If fear comes to you, cancel it out with a scripture!   If you don’t have a good handle on the Word of God or committed the Word to memory, you may hang some Bible anxiety and fear scriptures somewhere around your house so you can see them or print them and keep them in your purse or handbag.

Sure, it’s good to stay informed, but too much news/media can work against your faith and alter your mood.  Trust me, this situation may change, but you can’t do much about it now.  Unless you work in the Pentagon, you don’t need to monitor it that closely.

How to deal with anxiety as a Christian #2: Monitor and limit how much you’re watching those updates.

If you want to minimize your anxiety and fear, you will have to limit those outside influences causing stress and anxiety.

Just yesterday, I had to come to this very realization.  I listen to too much news. I listen too much to Google reviews. I list too much to other people.

This is one reason I got off Facebook. Too many voices and not all of them were building my faith.

Who knows who that is?
Who is the still small voice?
If you know type it in the comments below!

Anyhoo, that’s exactly what I had to do because the enemy was using ordinary, normal everyday updates to stress me out to make me a little paranoid.

At the end of the day, it’s essential for us ALL to know God has a plan for our lives, and no enemy in hell can take it from us.

God is the Creator of all things, including your body. He can make sure the medicines prescribed work. He can make sure our bodies do what it was designed to do. No germ has anything on Him! Why despair knowing the God that created every single part of your anatomy is taking care of you?

Don’t cast away your confidence
in the Lord over a few press outlets!

How sad it is that we, as Bible-believing Christians,  hand over that plan to the enemy with our fear, anxiety, and mistrust of our Savior?

How?

When we hand over our comfort, our peace, and our confidence – that’s how we surrender our purpose and our life to the enemy.

He doesn’t even have to take it… we just give it to him by watching too much television and putting too much faith in human beings –  whether it’s your president or whether it’s your doctor.

Get yourself together!

Girl, you’ve got to keep your faith in Jesus Christ, or else you’re going to have anxiety.

He loves you and is going to keep you on this earth as long as you’re supposed to be here. Nothing can change that!

All right,  with that,  let’s hear a few Bible anxiety and fear scriptures that might give you some encouragement as you go through this crazy season (or any crazy season of life). These scriptures are good to hang somewhere!

Here’s my first one…it is Psalm 34:4

“I sought the Lord and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears”

How perfect is this scripture for what we are all going through?  Notice, what’s the first thing he did in this Bible anxiety and fear scripture?

He sought the Lord

He did not seek CNN.

He did not seek MSNBC or Fox News.

This wise cat sought the Lord and the Lord did what?

He delivered him from all his fears.

You seek the Lord and allow Him to deliver you by controlling your atmosphere and thinking on things that are:

“whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”   Philippians 4:8 

I also like the way the Message translation states it:

“ Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise,” Philippians 4:8-9 The Message (MSG)

Think about that. Take a deep breath and read it again.

If you journal, this would be a good one to translate into your own life right now.

If you have time, journal this scripture for about five minutes. Write what this scripture means to you in this current season.

Here is another Bible anxiety and fear scripture:

The second scripture that I think will help us all is:

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

 So, here’s the thing: He’s going to keep your heart and your mind BUT you’ve got to seek Him (see above), you’ve got to let His voice be the premier voice in your head. 

The third Bible anxiety and fear scripture is from Psalm 73:26:

“My mind and my body may grow weak,
    but God is my strength;
    he is all I ever need.”

Consequently, even if your body is weak or your mind is weak, your strength is from God.  He will give strength to weak bodies, and He will strengthen you.

He is all you will ever need.  Stop hoarding toilet paper.

He’s going to provide all your needs as He always has. So, leave some toilet paper for the rest of us!

The verse John 16:33 also tells us what’s up in his world and what to do! Check it out:

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus said in the world we shall have tribulation but be of good cheer. He overcame the world! If I believe the Bible, I don’t need to lose my marbles! I’m a Bible-believing, God-fearing woman, and I know in Whom I believe! How about you? If you’ve been dealing with anxiety over this mass illness, say (out loud):

“I will not fear for I know Jesus overcame everything in this world long before I was born. I’m an overcomer in Jesus name!”

He’s overcome all sickness. How, you may ask?

When He died on the cross, He nailed it to the cross along with any other sickness you could encounter! It’s under the Blood of Jesus. 

He is still your Guard and your Healer.  Don’t act stupidly chaotic with the rest of the world.  You’ll likely undo your testimony with each faith-less action.

You thought I was out of scriptures, didn’t ya?  Get outta here!

“For I am the Lord your God
    who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
    I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13

Psalms is where it’s at, Girl!!!!

I’ve got another Bible anxiety and fear Psalm for you and it’s perfect for this time.

“But I trust in you, LORD; I say, “You are my God.”  Psalm 31:14

During all these “Special Reports” interrupting good television shows, look to heaven and say “I trust in you, Lord.” Amen?

Again, He is going to take care of you, so please don’t be anxious.  Don’t be nervous, you’re going to be okay.

I’m going to say that over and over because I want it to stick in your mind! Hey, repetition works for the marketing people, so I’m going to use it on you. 🙂

Seriously, I want you to know you’re fine and will remain fine as you trust in Jesus.

God is not up in heaven
panicking say “Oh NO! BIG BAD ILLNESS!!!!”

Sis, the same God that delivered you from all those troubles in your past, all the struggles that were sure would take you out, He’s is the same God that’s on the throne right now and He’s not having an anxiety attack.

I know I keep saying it, but you have to hear things over and over before it clicks: He’s got you.

He’s got me and we’re going to be okay.

Now, here’s another scripture I think it’s so simple but perfect:

“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;”  Psalm 46:10

Quit running around like a chicken with her head cut off! 

Still yourself, put on praise music, and allow the peace of the Holy Spirit to dominate your atmosphere.

 Are you convinced? I hope so.
Refer to this post often.

Read it in little pieces until these scriptures are second-nature to you (if they already are not).

Faithless people are saying things are out of control and the world is ending!

Be prayerful and keep your Bible handy so you can stay in a mode of faith and not fear. You’re different from them. You have something they do not have – the Holy Spirit.

Even if they are right about the end of the world for them, it’s not the same for you. You have a promise:

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.”  Isaiah 54:10

 Either you believe the words of the Lord or you don’t.  Simple as that and again, times like these will test whether you do or don’t.

Nevertheless, if you find you’ve got weak faith, you know what to do. Return to your Bible, keep your atmosphere praise-worthy and limit the junk you watch on television.

Check out this list of scriptures about what the Bible says about anxiety and fear!

Finally, here is Step 3 for Christians dealing with the mass hysteria:

Guard your ear-gate.  It’s an entry into your spirit.  If the stressful, negativity enters, you’ll feel anxiety.

Fear is not a sin. The sin is allowing it to PARALYZE you. Read Psalm 56:3 " what time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." Click To Tweet

Do you know I have people in my life who I’m purposely not talking to right now during this high, tension, high energy time?

I know they don’t have the faith to say things that will build my faith. Nor do they have an ear to hear anything but doom and gloom.  I don’t have time for that right now.

Likewise, be careful who you allow to talk to you during this time.  You, too, may have to avoid some folks for a bit or take them in very small doses. 

If you can’t limit your interaction with the negativity, then you make sure YOU own the conversation, Girl.

With every negative statement they make say:

“Yeah.  Let’s pray about that now”

When they say something else crazy, say:

“Yes, let’s pray about that too!”

You can also keep conversations (about that topic) so limited they can’t break your faith with their foolishness.

Break is the wrong word, some people can “bruise” your faith.  They shouldn’t be able to break it, I don’t think.  What do you think? Tell me below!

Also, negative people usually hate praying, so they’ll stop.

I have one last scripture for you! 

God doesn’t want you anxious about the world right now.

He wants you to be a light and a source of encouragement for someone else.

You know this is a great opportunity for us to show what the peace of God looks like in action, right?

Folks are afraid and you have something so precious to share if you will. 

Don’t “null and void” the Gospel with your own fear.

It’s fine to say you’re concerned too, but don’t put a period on that.  Put a comma on that statement and go on to say something like “but God loves you and is going to take care of you if you accept Him and trust Him. That will lead you to ask “are you a Christian?”

One of the stupidest things you can do is say something arrogant like “I’m trusting God and I’m going to be alright.” That is so selfish. It’s almost separating you from the person talking to you.

It’s one of those spiritual platitudes that makes people think you’ve got something better and exclusive – without offering a way to get it. Read that sentence again.

In my opinion, it’s purely selfish. Find a way to express you’re human – just like them. You just have a Source that’s going to make everything work out and they can have it too!

It’s acceptable to say :

“It’s scary right now, I agree!  I’m battling fear too, but I know God is real and is going to take care of you and me. He always cares for His own. Are you a Christian?”

Finally…. (for real…finally)

Be strong, my sister, don’t allow anything to bother you, hinder you or make you nervous, in Jesus name.

You are going to be victorious at the end of this and it won’t be because of a president or a government agency. It will be because the Lord of Hosts! Jesus is His name.

Be careful what you perpetrate on Facebook because everything you share could be something that discourages someone else or even hinders their faith. Love you and I’ll see you on the other side of all this!

I love you! Praise God now, in faith, for a speedy solution to this time.

If you are not a Christian, you need to be and you can be! Click here! Stop playing around. The last thing you want is when you see the Lord for Him to say “You’ve had so many opportunities to accept me.”

This is my all-time favorite song to ward off fear and anxiety. It’s from Alvin Slaughter and it’s called “He’s all I need.” This song was the first I played in the scariest moments of my life. Check it out:

Another favorite fear song: It’s by Francesca Battistelli and it blesses me every time I hear it!

Do you have a confidence song? Post it in the comments below! I’d love to check it out!

Lyrics to Alvin’ Slaughter’s “He’s all I need.” My first stop when I need Bible anxiety and fear spiritual comfotb.

He’s all I need
He’s all I need
Jesus is all I need
He satisfies
My needs supply
Jesus is all I need

Jesus is everything I need
Jesus, Jesus
Jesus is life and breath to me
Jesus my Lord
His name is Jesus my Lord

He’s all I need
He’s all I need

Lyrics to “The Breakup Song” – Sure cure for anxiety and fear!

The Breakup Song

Sick and tired of being sick and tired
Had as much of you as I can take
I’m so done, so over being afraid

I’ve gone through the motions
I’ve been back and forth
I know that you’re thinking you’ve heard this before
I don’t know how to say it
So I’m just gonna say it, yeah

Fear, you don’t own me
There ain’t no room in this story
And I ain’t got time for you
Telling me what I’m not
Like you know me well guess what?
I know who I am
I know I’m strong
And I am free
Got my own identity
So fear, you will never be welcome here
Take a minute, let it settle in
You probably never saw it coming
Something’s gotta give so I give up you, oh
There’s no room for you here
Yeah, I’ve had enough
The “No Vacancy” sign on my heart is lit up
In case you didn’t hear it
Here it is again, …

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