Branch On The Vine

By: Alli Matthews

Fear is something that everyone has experienced at some point in their lives. I think it is important to recognize that fear is a natural reaction that helps us stay alive. It prevents us from petting grizzly bears, cuddling with rhinos, and doing other dangerous, life-threatening things. 

Some people have more fears than others. People deal with fears in different ways. Sometimes we strive to overcome them and other times we let them simmer. 

Fear becomes a problem when we let it control our lives. 

When we let our fear sit on the throne of our lives, it likes to take over more and more until it can completely control us. It likes to tell us that, “being afraid is just who we are.” “We’re just worriers.” “We’re just anxious people.” “That’s how we’ve always been and always will be.” 

Then fear starts to strangle us. Not enough to kill us initially. Just enough to make it so the lack of oxygen and difficulty breathing wears on our souls and minds and produces a deep exhaustion. 

If this sounds like your experience, then you may struggle with anxiety. You don’t need a formal diagnosis to deal with anxiety. It is a common human experience, but there are certain types of mental illness that cause people to have more anxiety than others. However, you can allow fear to control your life without a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder. 

Whether you have a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder or not, there are things you can do to fight against fear ruling in your heart and mind. 

I’m not a mental health expert, but I have experienced these three practical and Biblical tools helping me overcome my anxiety. These practices can help you cope with anxiety in the moment. They can help you take control back from fear by giving it to God. I have learned these tools from podcasts, therapists, and people in my life. I’m not promising that doing these things will heal you from anxiety. Next week, we will talk about healing from mental illness, and, spoiler alert, we’re going to talk about how God is the one who heals us. 

But I challenge you to try using these tools and see how God may work through them to bring His peace to your heart and mind. Okay, let’s dive in:

1. Scripture

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Hebrews 4:12

There is power in the word of God. He has given us the Bible to help us know Him. Meditating and memorizing Scripture is one way to fight anxiety. 

Hebrews 4:12 talks about the word of God divides the soul and spirit. What does that mean? 

I’m going to try to make this simple. God created us in His image. Therefore, He created us to be triune in nature which Paul the Apostle refers to in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 when he says, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Just like God is three in one as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are also three in one as soul, body, and spirit. Body refers to your physical body. Soul refers to your mind, thoughts, and emotions. Spirit refers to what makes you alive. 

Dan Stone and David Gregory give a better analogy than I could think of in their book, The Rest of the Gospel: When the Partial Gospel Has Worn You Out. They describe the soul and spirit as a hurricane. The soul is the part of the storm that changes with wind and rain and thunder. The spirit is the unchanging and quiet eye of the storm. 

I know that’s a big, complicated concept, but stick with me. 

If you know Jesus as Lord and Savior, then your spirit is one with His. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, “But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.” Nothing can change that. No matter what you think or feel or fear, nothing can change the fact that your spirit is one with God’s. 

So, when Hebrews 4:12 talks about God’s word dividing soul and spirit, it means that Scripture defines what is true about us, no matter what our soul is thinking or feeling. It grounds us. It brings us back to reality. 

Hebrews 4:12 also says the word of God judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. This echoes its ability to divide the soul and spirit. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart to help us see when our thoughts and attitudes do not align with God’s truth. 

So, what does God say about anxiety? What is His response to our fear? 

Isaiah 41:10 says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” 

The more that we meditate and memorize Scripture, the better we will understand that God is with us and for us. We will start to believe that we truly do not have to be afraid of whatever we face because the God of peace is with us. 

I encourage you to choose one verse from this blog post to memorize. Just one. Write it down, and put it in a place where you will see it often. Each time you see the verse, read it out loud. Before you know it, you will have God’s word written on your heart so that you can pull it out of your mind in your battles against anxiety. 

2. Cast all your anxiety on God

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

1 Peter 5:7

This is a tool that has helped me immensely when dealing with acute anxiety. Someone from one of the podcasts I listen to described this practice in combination with deep breathing. Taking slow, deep breaths helps calm our nervous system, (activating the parasympathetic nervous system which allows us to rest and digest). 

This is what I do when I notice my mind start to spiral with worry: 

• I first exhale slowly and say to God, “I cast all of my anxieties on You.”
• I then inhale deeply and say to God, “…because You care for me.”
• As I do this, I picture myself giving my worries to God. Sometimes I even pretend to physically pull them out of my brain and drop them into the hands of Jesus.
• Then, I repeat this until my anxiety has lessened. 

Casting your anxieties on God involves giving them to Him. Jesus instructs us to give our burdens to Him in exchange for His yoke and His burdens. 

Matthews 11:28-20 says, “‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’” 

For those who are not farmers, a yoke is a wooden bar that sits on the shoulders of oxen to allow them to pull a plow. 

When we come to Jesus and receive His easy yoke, we can be freed from the burden of anxiety. 

3. Prayer

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 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 4:4-7

Paul is encouraging us here to rejoice in the Lord. He is calling us to present our requests to God in every situation instead of spiraling and over-thinking about it. 

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: When we thank God for who he is, what he has done, and all that he gives us, he softens our hearts and increases our joy.

He also decreases our anxiety. Focusing on what we’re thankful for instead of what we are worried about will help us cope with our anxiety. Not only that, but the Lord promises that His peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. We might not be able to understand how or why sometimes, but God offers us His peace in every situation.

I’ll include a link to my blog post about gratitude if you would like some extra guidance in thanking God when you struggle with anxiety. In that short post, there is a Gratitude worksheet that I made. The first half guides you through defining what you’re worrying about and how to thank God for what He has already given you when you’re worried. I actually did the worksheet myself and found it to be super helpful. 

Here is the link: Growing In Gratitude: A Journaling Reflection Made For You – Branch On The Vine

I want to end with an example of how Jesus dealt with fear. It was the night before His crucifixion, and He was so afraid that He was sweating blood. 

However, His response to fear was not to let it control Him. He did not let fear rule over Him and decide what He would do. His response was to talk with His Father. His response was to go into a garden with His disciples and pray:

“‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground,” (Luke 22:42-44). 

It amazes me how afraid Jesus was and how helpful it was for Him to pray. Because He prayed, an angel came and gave Him strength. Because He prayed, He was able to align His heart with God’s will even in the midst of anxiety. 

Prayer helps us to know God, align our hearts with His will, and experience His presence and peace. 

Don’t underestimate the power of talking with your Heavenly Father. He is listening. He is quick to give you strength, wisdom, and peace when you ask Him. 

To conclude, three practical and Biblical ways to fight anxiety are meditating on Scripture, casting all your anxieties on God, and prayer. God has used these tools to guard my heart and mind with His peace, and He can do the same for you. 

Leave a comment if any of these tools are effective for you! Next week we will discuss other things God has given us to help us heal from mental illness. I pray this Mental Health Series is a blessing to you and your faith journey!

References

Stone, Dan and Gregory, David. The Rest of the Gospel: When the Partial Gospel Has Worn You Out. Authentic Media Limited, 2012.