Anxiety can be a whole-body sensation or a vague sense of emotional instability. Do you sometimes or all the time struggle with anxious feelings? You are not alone. Sometimes, inadequacy or powerlessness are close companions. Condemnation chimes in, and before long, other feelings like defeat and loneliness drag you down. Followers of Jesus are not immune to intense human struggles.

Years ago, I decided to recover from anxiety. If you struggle, I hope my journey gives you hope.

To begin, one truth to remember that I didn’t until well into my recovery is that Christians have an enemy with a mission to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10a). Much of the battle comes in the forms of half truths, out right deception, and a constant barrage of arrows to get you to doubt God’s goodness and kindness toward you. Thankfully, as John 10:10b states, our Lord has another plan that includes a life of purpose directly related to the advancement of His Kingdom.

To live in that truth, you must cooperate with God’s plan, knowing the result is in God’s care. But if you don’t have a personal relationship with God through Jesus, you do not have the power or spiritual tenacity for the journey! If that is you, I want you to click here:https://valerierumfelt.com/2022/12/09/412 to learn about God’s love for you. Then you will have His power in your recovery and sense His love throughout the journey!

The Path To Recovery

When experiencing anxiety, it is easy to lose your perspective. Faith seems impossible. Trusting God, insurmountable. The temptation to focus on the anxiety is natural. And that focus is all wrong. Your default response only stirs up more anxiety. As tempting as it is, you must ask God to give you another plan beyond the default. That is a prayer He will answer!

So, what is the way out of your default response? I understood that I would need to make intentional choices to involve God in my struggle. There was no other way to break the misery of anxiety. I had to find life in His Word and discipline my mind to focus on Him.

What did that look like? I intentionally chose activities or practices that lifted my spirit and honored God. Your feelings will follow your actions, and your actions tell your brain what to do. God’s Spirit gave me new ideas that engaged my mind to focus on Him. The result was supernatural.

Any mundane activity generally allows your mind to relax and wander. That’s a good thing, usually. But with pervasive anxiety, the mundane is an invitation to self-absorbed thoughts. For example, before I decided to tackle my anxiety, when I cooked, my relaxed mind would default to thoughts that caused anxiety. But with my new, intentional choices, I chose Christian programming or music while cooking, giving my mind a healthy focus, yet still relaxed.

At first, my process was all about removing the unpleasant feelings. But soon, surprise and joy showed up, not emotions associated with an anxiety mindset. My trust in God was more than ever. I sensed His love. Believing God and His Word was faith-building. Because I had experienced anxiety for so long, I didn’t know if all the practices were going to work. But He knew the path out of my angst and that trusting Him was the key that unlocked the door from the doom.

Address What is Bothering You

I’m no counselor, but sometimes we have anxiety because of unresolved issues. If you have the power to fix those, do. We are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139), not made to carry unnecessary burdens and live as if nothing is wrong. Even as you read this, you may know precisely why you live with anxiety.

There are many verses in God’s word about anxiety. God knew we would experience it. Although it is not pleasant, if you hold on, you can find some ways to encourage and counsel yourself, which prove successful.

Anxiety can be useful to you addressing your issues, so in that way, it is a good blinking light.

My healing journey left behind what I call a toolbox of activities. That was one of the rewards of my suffering. The tools. They were activities that involved scripture and prayer. Plus a new appreciation for God’s gifts in my life and for using them. I learned new activities that cause my mind to shift off the angst. Watching a wholesome movie, doing a craft, singing, or using all I had for His glory all had significant and encouraging impact.

You can proactively conquer anxiety. It does not have to be something you dread anymore. You can look it in the eye. Gain freedom, new purpose, and watch your faith soar. The days of worrying if you are going to have anxiety are over—your perspective of life changes for His glory and honor.

8 Ideas That Helped Me:

• Look at the root cause – I prayed for God to give me the faith to trust Him. Since that, and the belief that He is good were not strong theological values, I had to change that. Every baby step I took, He met me and gave me more grace to keep on my journey.
• Overload on scripture! Have you ever written a whole book of the Bible? It is fun to have a scripture project! My blog will help get you started. Click here: https://valerierumfelt.com/2019/09/29/scripture-writing-now/
• Sing hymns – Most modern worship music is fine, but the different lyrics in each verse of a hymn cause your mind to collect every word, and fill your mind with theological truth!
• Make truth cards – Ephesians chapters 1 &2 has loads of truth. Going through this research process will take time and occupy your mind with truth. Seeing the truths in your handwriting is impactful. It’s you telling your mind, “believe this”. Plus, you will end up with a resource you can take with you anywhere and read through anytime. To learn more about Truth Cards, click here: https://valerierumfelt.com/2024/06/17/project-transformation/
• Work on scripture memory – You really don’t have to memorize it perfectly. David tells us in Psalm 119:11 to hide the Word in our heart. I believe there are several ways to do that. So many Christians are turned off by perfect recitation.
• Do simple brain exercises – Try word search puzzles, crosswords, or write a real letter to someone are ideas engage mind. Or, look around the room and count objects, or think about what you want for dinner. These might sound silly, but when you’re intentional the mind will think about those things instead of what brings the anxiety. It works!
• Get involved in your church – You have a gift that is useful there. Looking forward to using it is good for your mind. We were not meant to live life in isolation. Serving the church is good mental health.
• Go to a Christian counselor – This is helpful if you don’t understand your anxiety.

”For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.“
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Intentionality and diligence are friends as you learn to trust Jesus with your mind. Let go of the control. Let God’s Spirit have control. It feels risky, but it is a risk with rewards!

If you let it, scripture and focus on Christ bring healing. My personal belief is that God honored my obedience to His plan. And He delivered far more to me than I ever hoped. Every action produced a harvest; I have many tools that give peace if needed.

I pray you can find hope for your anxiety.

©Valerie Rumfelt