How Not to Be Anxious

I’m a firm believer that the Bible doesn’t offer us a lot of formulas. For example, as the creator of Million Praying Moms, I talk a lot about being a praying mom and often share the story of how God used motherhood to kick my feet out from under me in all the best ways. I’m a very goal-oriented person, and until I became a mom, I had always been able to work hard enough to get the results I wanted. I naively thought the same would be true of parenting: hard work in, good kids out.

If you’re a mom, you’re laughing with me because you know this isn’t necessarily true. If the Bible gave us a formula for raising good, godly kids, we’d all be doing it, and there would be fewer kids leaving the church when they turn eighteen. No, I learned the hard way that there’s so much more to parenting than A + B = C.

But sometimes, the Bible does make us a promise.

I’ve experienced all kinds of different anxieties in my life. I’m sure you have too. If we could sit down together, we could probably make a list of all the different things there are to feel anxious about in the world…but the only thing we’d accomplish at the end is feeling more anxious.

Anxiety is generally defined as the absence of peace, and I’m will­ing to bet most Christians feel more anxious than peaceful. This is sad because, as we just discussed, Jesus died to give us peace—not the world’s peace, but peace with Him, the kind of peace that transcends all others. So what can a Christian do when anxiety trumps peace? I believe there’s a promise for us in Philippians 4:6–7 that will work every time, if we’ll use it.

Go ahead and read this passage now and then ask yourself, “What if we actually lived like Philippians 4:6–7?”

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Read the passage carefully. Do you see them? In these verses, God gives us a step-by-step guide for peace in any circumstance—an active, living, life-altering, perspective-changing peace. Just follow along in this order:

• When you feel anxious, catch yourself. You can even say, “Stop!” out loud as a message to yourself to interrupt your thought process and turn it in a new direction. Whatever you do, as soon as you recognize anxiety, stop it. Consider this the fulfillment of 2 Corinthians 10:4–5, which says, “The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
• Go to God in prayer. Right away. Right now. Wherever you are. Need to go in the bathroom and hide? Do it. Need to pull over to the side of the road and bow your head? Do it. Need to get on your knees or maybe even on your face before God in the bedroom where no one else can see? Get down. Don’t let another moment pass without taking your anxieties and cares to God. Tell Him about them and ask Him to carry them for you.
• Ask for peace. I promise, when you go through this pro­cess, you’ll feel a sense of peace, sometimes right away. If you don’t feel it right away, be like Jacob in Genesis 32:24–32 and wrestle with God in prayer until He blesses you with peace. Refuse to move from your prayer spot until He gives you peace and the ability to trust Him for the next step. And don’t be afraid to do it again. The enemy wants you to be filled with anxiety because he knows it keeps you from functioning in the power of God. If you feel the anx­iety creeping back in, go back to your prayer closet. Pull back over. Get back down on your knees. Keep taking it to God, and the victory will be yours. Your knees might hurt for a bit, but it’ll be worth it.

Bonus step? Follow Philippians 4:8–9 and choose to focus your mind on whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. When you’re filling your mind up with these things, there’s not much room left for anxiety.

I leave you with this prayer: Father, thank You for making a way, in all things, for us to live victoriously and peacefully in a world that lacks peace. In Jesus’s name, amen.

Educator and Million Praying Moms’ founder/leader Brooke McGlothlin is the author of several books, including her latest, Everyday Prayers for Peace: A 30-Day Devotional & Reflective Journal for Women. She’s a wife and mom to two teenage boys who make their home in the mountains of Appalachia, calling southwestern Virginia home. Brooke loves IG best, so come hang out with her and share daily life by following her at @millionprayingmoms.

Photograph © Jessica Delp, used with permission