Why are we Overcome By Anxiety, and is it a Sin?

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

Isaiah 26:3-4

LEARN

The bible commands us to not be anxious about anything, so why do so many people seem overcome by their anxiety? I do believe some people are predisposed to anxiety (like myself), just as some alcoholics have stronger tendencies for addictive behaviors. However, I reached a point in my adult life where I became so used to being anxious I started to believe anxiety wasn’t something to overcome, but something to accept and learn to live with. What I didn’t understand was that having an inclination towards some behavior and acknowledging a weakness was different than being defined by that weakness - and that’s what I did. In any given day I could count at least a dozen times where I would have anxiety about something. For me, it was easier to give into the pull of anxiety then go to war against it. I began to let my anxiety define me, because I accepted it as just a part of who I was. It wasn’t until I read an article from Timothy Keller talking about going to war with our anxiety that I realized my anxiety was controlling me. I looked at my anxiety as a state of being, not a fallen state that God had the power to overcome. Once I started looking at my anxiety as something to overcome, I saw that I wasn’t just an anxious person, I was a person deliberately not trusting Christ.

In our society I see this happening a lot; instead of people being overcome by their struggle with their anxiety, they choose to accept their struggle and define themselves by it. It is a false empowerment. Being an empowered anxious person is a lie, just as being an empowered transgendered person is. We are both trapped in an identity that is not just unhealthy, but is causing us harm. This empowerment is just a facade from owning the fact that we have let “it” overcome us, whatever the “it” is in our lives that we don’t feel like we can control. We do this because we want to feel that we still have power, and so we end up telling people they need to not only accept us as we are but also accept themselves because it makes us feel more normal. It is nice for an alcoholic to have a drinking buddy that accepts his harmful behavior, just like it is nice to accept other anxious people's behavior because we relate to it.

The definition of anxiety is- a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. Each time I was anxious I was choosing to be defined by uncertainty and worry. The bible makes it clear there are no uncertain outcomes in our lives that God doesn’t have control over. Our life circumstances might be uncertain from our perspective, but our ultimate security in being with God now and for eternity is always secure from God's perspective. We do not need to base our ultimate security off our temporary situation, because it is fleeting. All we need to do is persevere and trust.  

The God of the bible wants us to be defined by Him, and to be overcomers through Him. God has the ability to overcome my anxiety, even if in this lifetime my anxiety still persists. When I accepted myself as an anxious person, I allowed it to rule me, but friends, we don't have to be ruled by anyone other than our good God. Anxiety has already been overcome through Christ so we can have hope in this promise. We may still struggle with anxiety but we should be intentionally combating our anxiety, not giving into it. We are called to go to war with our fears through Christ, and to go to war with the things we let ourselves be ruled by that are absent of God. We are kept in perfect peace, forever, when our mind is stayed on Christ. Let us not lose sight of true empowerment through the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds. When we do this we get to focus less on our fears about the world and more on fearing the Lord, the one who is “trustworthy in all He promises and faithful in all He does” (psalm 145:13).  

KNOW

What would it take for you to have a mind that continually trusts in the Lord?

What things are you allowing yourself to be defined by apart from Christ?

DO

The picture below is something I made a few months ago to help me go to battle with my unbelief. Feel free to print it out and post it somewhere that you will see each day. (I have mine on the inside of my vanity and look at it when I brush my teeth).

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What Can We do About our Self-Image?

Philippians 3:8-9

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.

    My self-image has always been tricky to understand, but easy to disregard in terms of confronting my sin because of how drastically my own views of myself can shift. Through the years I have found myself sitting on one of those see-saws, alone, running back and forth trying to find balance and obviously failing because see-saws were never made to function with just one person on them. On one end I struggle with being insecure and on the other end I struggle with idolizing myself. This sin in regards to self-image hits to the root of my issues with anxiety as well. I can spend time getting ready, thinking how marvelous I look one morning, and in the same hour have overwhelming insecurities about myself once I step outside and see other women out there who beat me in that department by way of my own standards. I allow my competitive heart to get the best of me and in those moments I either feel defeated or begin to make it my mission to figure out how to win.

    My vanity over the years has led me to obsessively workout, go on severely unhealthy calorie restrictive diets, shop too much, and probably look at myself way to much in the mirror to try and reach some form of success by way of my appearance. Most importantly though, my vanity has caused me to overly fixate on myself instead of God. The easy solution seems to be to stop thinking about myself and not care so much. However, when I go along with that thought process, I then pretend to not care and decide to eat what I want and exercise when I feel like it. What ends up happening though is that when I begin to see changes in my appearance I then run to the other side of the see-saw and fall into the self-depreciating talk of being ugly, fat, etc. Even in my insecurities I begin to also obsess over myself and fixate my thoughts on things other than God. Either way I end up putting too much attention on myself and far to little attention on God.

     It’s not just appearance that I struggle with in regards to self-image. I can pretty much pick out any area of my life and share my unhealthy relationship with where I seek my worth. I do this because I desire man’s approval, I desire my own perfection, and I desire what the world deems to be success. More often than not it is in these things that I define my self-image because my sin is a constant battle, and one I need to continually be aware of and confess. I fall short daily when I place my self-worth in things apart from God’s view of me as his image bearer. I do this because I crave the desires of my flesh. I even know the truths of what God’s word says about my worth being in Him and I choose to disobey because I am a sinner, in need of God’s grace. The most frustrating part is that there is not a list of things I can do in order to figure out how to master placing all my worth in Christ. I would rather continue trying to figure it out on my own than admit I need someone to sit on the other side of the see-saw for it to work. Looking in, it seems so simple, but my pride gets in the way and I often don’t want to confess the stupidity in what I have been trying to achieve on my own.

      When I am honest with God and myself I know that God doesn’t desire for me to work on mastering a perfect lifestyle by way of my own ability, God’s truth guides me by ultimately revealing to me that he will rescue me from myself, even as I strive and fail. It is through my failed attempts that I can count everything as a loss for the sake of knowing Christ because without Christ I am nothing, and through Christ I am redeemed and given a worth far greater than anything I could strive for on my own.

When we can humbly allow God to rescue us from the trap of vanity, insecurity, and idolatry we will begin to see how to rightfully order our focus on him in all areas of our lives.

….Instead of seeking to gain the approval of man we can rest in God’s love for us (Ephesians 2:4-7)

….Instead of striving for a perfect body we can use our bodies to Glorify God (1 Corinthians 6:20)

….Instead of competing for our own glory we can fight to win souls for Christ (Matthew 28:19-20)

….Instead of focusing on our self-image we can focus more on learning about God (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

….What more can you add to this list??? ______________________________
 

How do I Discipline my Mind?

On Fridays I am usually in a better mindset to think positively about the day ahead, but most days my mind struggles. I bombard myself with my inner thoughts that are misleading, sinful, negative, and unhelpful. 

Why am I such a failure? I wish I was more like __________. Why isn't God coming through for me on this one? I want people to agree with me because i'm right, so why argue against me? I am so hurt and angry right now so I should tear my spouse down because it is HIS fault I am feeling this way. 

When we listen to ourselves more than talk to ourselves our mind will always deceive us. We must guard our thoughts and put in truths from the bible instead of truths we conjure up.

So, how can we practically do this?

1. Study the word and grow in the understanding of God's truth so you can combat the lies. 
2. Surround yourself with people who will speak honestly with you and point you closer to Christ.
3. Be a part of a church community. 
4. Practice mindfulness in times when your mind is running on you. Pause. Be present, and stop those negative thoughts and pray against them.  
5. Get out and exercise if you are able to. Walk, run, swim, bike, you get the idea :)  
6. Listen to and watch things that will build you up, not tear you down. 
7. Add your helpful strategies to the list! The more the merrier!
8. Press on, and repeat. This is a daily battle and it will not be fixed after completing this list. Be prepared to do this over and over again! 
 

What is Anxiety Like?

Did you have an imaginary friend growing up? I don't specifically remember having one, but I do remember Anxiety being with me since I was little.

My friend Anxiety was one of those friends that was ok in small doses but extremely frustrating if you hung out with him too much. Anxiety liked accompanying me on any days that involved something new, unfamiliar, or uncomfortable, like a first day of school or going to the dentist. Anxiety especially liked to be with me when I would have to give a speech in a class, or be in any setting with new people. As with any imaginary friend that kids have, everyone said I would grow out of having Anxiety show up, but that never happened. Anxiety followed me through high school, college and even to this day anxiety likes to be by my side for life's most stressful moments. Anxiety even makes some random appearances on days that are not frequent visitation times, like a normal day at work or while I am out with friends. Now that I am older I have tried more and more to hide my imaginary friend because an imaginary friend is ok if you are 5 but is embarrassing when you are 29. As much as I tried to hide Anxiety, he was a devoted friend who didn't back down from a fight. The more I would fight with Anxiety to go away, the more Anxiety got frustrated and it just made things worse. Many times I felt like I was the only one who had ever known Anxiety, but apparently Anxiety is quite the social butterfly. 

If you have dealt with Anxiety in any way, shape or form I am sure you can relate to my story. The greek word for anxiety is translated as “to go to pieces.” Fitting, considering when Anxiety presents himself I feel like I’m easily shattered into tiny glass pieces that don’t know how to go back together. Many times I wish I could be more like plexiglass; Strong, pliable, and when broken it at least breaks in large chunks instead of being shattered, leaving a jagged mess behind for others to clean up. However, Anxiety has shown me that allowing others to see my struggle and help pick up the pieces is not weakness but strength. Instead of ignoring Anxiety, I now listen to him and what he is trying to say. I have learned that instead of working so hard at getting rid of Anxiety, I should be adapting to how Anxiety affects me and learn better strategies for dealing with him. As I have become more aware of my triggers I am better able to manage Anxiety before it is too late and I become a shattered mess. There are layers to Anxiety and when I begin to see Anxiety popping up more and more I now use different coping strategies to try and keep Anxiety at a manageable level. I have come to realize that Anxiety might be a lifelong friend for me, but we have been working on setting better boundaries with each other when it comes to our friendship. 

Here are some holistic strategies I use for dealing with Anxiety: 

Mental/Emotional
-Play my guitar and sing
-Take a bath with candles, epsom salt and calming music
-Talk openly about my anxiety with my husband or friends
-Practice mindfulness exercises
-Work on being present in my thoughts instead of catastrophic thinking/ruminating

Physical
-Go for a walk with a friend or by myself
-Avoid sugar and caffeine
-Go to Pilates
-Surf
-Eat well balanced meals
-Bring snacks with me to avoid getting hangry and more irritable

Spiritual
-Pray
-Journal
-Read my bible/do a devo. 
-Talk to a mentor
-Listen to worship music

Aaaaaaand last but not least here are my top 3 favorite homeopathic remedies
for days when I need some extra help......  

Hyland's Nerve Tonic Stress Relief Tablets, Natural Relief of Stress, 500 Count

Traditional Medicinals Organic Nighty Night Valerian Tea, 16 Tea Bags

Yogi Kava Stress Relief Tea Bags, 16 Bags - 2 Pack

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