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Here are 5 practices to help overcome fear and anxiety.  Does 2020 have you unsure of the future and feeling blue?  Is your heart burdened and heavy?  You are not alone, my friend.  The whole world is a valley of anxiety right now.

There is not one person on earth untouched by fear and insecurity.  We see even those with wealth, power, education, and prestige being brought low by a microscopic virus, politics, and divisions.

But God…

 

He never leaves us.  God gives us promises to cling to and tools to use in times just like this.

God is the answer to all of our problems.  This is not a novel virus to Him and the cultural divisions are not new to Him.  Pick up the Old Testament and read about the Jewish people.  Coronavirus is a piece of cake compared to all they went through.

King Solomon said it best.  In Ecclesiastes, Solomon wrote, “history repeats itself and there is nothing new under the sun”.

None of this surprises God.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 New Living Translation

⁹ History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.

The other day, a dear friend sent me a video of a coping tool a young child used when having blood drawn.  To overcome his fear, he repeated…

“My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do.

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do!”

We can learn much from the wisdom and the faith of that little boy.

That’s the childlike faith God wants from us.  He wants us to trust Him like a little child leaning on his father; to lay our fears and worries at His feet and trust Him.  God is still Sovereign.  He is the only One who can save us.  He is still in control.

Prayer should be our first line of defense, not the last.

Fear and anxiety is understandable in this year of COVID, riots, and deception.  The world has lost its ever-lovin’ mind lately.  The news and social media perpetuate fear and it is dividing America.  We have to look to God to find peace.

Nevertheless, as much as we know we know we SHOULD pray, prayer becomes hard when our mind spins out of control with worry.  Here are a few tips I use to focus my heart, quiet my soul, and draw nearer to God.  I hope they help.

5 practices to help overcome fear and anxiety:

1. Calm your heart and mind and breathe.

Go into a quiet place, alone, without distractions (Matt. 6:31).  When I am the most anxious, I need complete quiet.  Because this world is full of constant distractions, I created a prayer room for my time with God.

However, not everyone has that luxury.  Try to find a quiet place without TV or electronics.  If that isn’t possible, go for a walk alone with God.

If you can’t find the words to pray right away, close your eyes, take a few deep cleansing breaths until you are able to center yourself and focus on God.

Then repeat several times to yourself, “I am loved”, because you are (Eph. 1:4).  It sounds simple but it helps to bring your thoughts captive and prepare your heart to spend time with God.

One of my most popular posts is about Psalm 46:10 called, “3 Meaning of Be Still”.  You can read it here:

 

2. Create a “worry list”.

It is a good practice to journal prayers for others and any concerns you may have.  I call that my worry list.  It helps to get all of the garbage out and prepare for worship.  After spending time praising God and praying through my worries, I open my Bible and sometimes a devotional.  After reading the devotion, I look up each scripture reference in my Bible.

Writing each scripture and prayer in my journal and any other scripture that God may illuminate, allows me to remember what He may say and how He answers my prayer.  Also, writing scripture in a different color from my “worry list” clearly shows what He said to me compared to what I said to Him.

God will illuminate scripture He wants us to hear.  The words will seem to jump off of the page.  Write them down!  You may not understand why at that time but later He may repeat it to you and it will become clear.  I have found God repeats something He wants me to hear.  It could be through my pastor, another Christian, or various other circumstances.

3. Open your Bible and pray His words back to Him.

Praying God’s word back to Him is one practical way to use scripture to overcome fear.  Find verses with His promises for protection, grace, mercy, or healing, and claim them as your own.  The book of Psalms is a great place to start.  It is in the very center of your Bible.

I love Psalm 91.  The whole chapter of Psalm 91 is full of promises.  The Bible is a letter straight from God’s lips to you.  He wants to comfort you and give you peace.  Here is just a snippet of that psalm as an example.

There are 2 ways to pray scripture back to God.

A.  One way is to put your name into the verse in place of the word, you.  I placed a blank to add your name into the verse below.

Psalm 91:9-11 NLT

⁹ If _____ makes the Lord his/her refuge,
if _____ would make the Most High his/her shelter,
¹⁰ no evil will conquer ______;
no plague will come near ______’s home.
¹¹ For the Lord will order his angels
to protect _____ wherever he/she goes.

See how that works?

B.  Or another method is to pray His words as a prayer back to Him.  For instance with Psalm 91:9-10:

Lord, You promised if I make you my refuge and my shelter that no evil will conquer me and no plague will come near my home.  I claim that promise now Lord.  You are my refuge and my shelter.  I know you are faithful and will protect my family and me.

4. Don’t let anyone steal your joy.

Any time you take a step of faith to draw near to God, He will draw near to you (James 4:8).  The enemy of your soul will hate that.  Be aware of the attacks of the enemy and any distraction he may throw in front of you.  Bring every thought captive (2 Cor. 10:5) and remember who and whose you are in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1).

I wrote another post called, “Can Joy Be a Weapon” if you would like to read more about joy.

God loves it when He knows His children are yearning to know Him.  He will bless you for the effort.  Claim God’s promises to you.  Pray them with power.  You are God’s Chosen, His Beloved (Ephesians 1:4).  You are LOVED!

5. Repeat daily.

Pray continually.  Don’t give up.  Make prayer a priority not an after thought.  You have power and a relationship with God unlike anyone else.  This battle with fear and anxiety will only be won through prayer.

Now is the time for all of God’s people to get serious.  Make the time.  It is the MOST important thing you will ever do.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 New International Version

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

There you have 5 practices to help overcome fear and anxiety.

1.  Calm your heart and mind and breathe, 2.  create and pray through a worry list, 3.  place your name into God’s promises and claim them as your own, 4.  don’t let anyone steal your joy, and 5.  then repeat daily.

God didn’t give us a spirit of fear or anxiety.  That fear and anxiety is straight from the enemy to try to cripple you.  Don’t let that happen.

2 Timothy 1:7 New Living Translation

⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Your God is so big, so strong and so mighty.  There’s nothing your God cannot do!

Make these 5 practices your “new normal” and everything else will work itself out.

Let me know how you are doing.  I really do care and love getting your emails and comments.  They are precious gifts to me.

Thank you to my friends from all over the world who have reached out to me.  What a blessing your words and prayer requests are.  I pray over and cherish every one of them.

I love you,

P.S.  We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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