Combating Fear and Anxiety Biblically

Fear.  Anxiety.  Worry.  Every woman who is breathing has felt these emotions at least one time or another in her lifetime.

I can remember the day I gave birth to my first born son.  I had a plan.  I had expectations.  And I assumed the birthing process would go without a hitch.  Of course in my ignorance I was totally wrong.

After nine months of doctor’s appts., prenatal vitamins, ultrasounds and taking care of myself, the verdict by the doctor was that me and baby were healthy, and therefore, everything should turn out fine.

But that wasn’t the case.

Even though my water broke and I chose a natural birth with no meds to slow down the birthing process, that boy of mine just didn’t want to come out of my womb!  So the doctor resorted to a vacuum extraction to get him out.

After the pushing and the extraction, still no baby.  Again, we did the same process only to receive the same results.  At the third attempt of the extraction, the doctor said, “If this doesn’t work, we’ll have to do an emergency c-section.”

Well, the third time was a charm, and out came my boy…..

He was perfect, aside from his severely bruised and coned-shaped head caused by the extraction.  Yet, my baby wouldn’t latch on to nurse- not the first time, the second time, or the third time…

The nurse scolded me for this.  Really?  Me?

As each new nurse showed up in my hospital room I was asked the same question over and over again, “How much drugs did you take during your delivery?”

My response was always the same, “Um, none.  I gave birth to him naturally.”

One nurse said, “He’s acting like a drug baby.”

“He’s a droopy baby”, the other one said.

And then I’d hear, “Your baby will have jaundice because you’re not nursing him.”  

“Um, the baby won’t nurse.  What do you expect me to do?”  (Yes, I was totally annoyed and frustrated by this mean, rude nurse.  I wanted to slap punch her.  And, yes, I did report her poor bedside manner to management.)

And that’s when it happened…

The Lactation nurse showed up on the scene and said,  “You have a head trauma baby.”

I don’t know about you but those weren’t words I ever wanted to hear about my baby.

I was in shock and on the verge of tears with the news.

Fear immediately filled my mind.  I became anxious and I worried about what was going to happen to my son.

Truthfully, this situation wasn’t the last time I’ve dealt with fear and anxiety.

These two debilitating and emotional villains have showed up in my life more than once!

Like the time I found myself trying to control all aspects of my life when we were losing our home.  In my mind, I felt if I could control my situation then it meant that my life would be less painful.  Well, that was just plain dumb reasoning and it didn’t work either.  My controlling nature just made me more miserable along with everybody else around me.  Therefore, I decided to scratch that method of coping with my fears and concerns.

Then there was the moment I realized I was coping with my anxiety when I found myself hiding in my pantry closet while inhaling copious amounts of dark chocolate.  Whoa!  My sweet tooth hadn’t reared it’s ugly head nor was it that time of the month either, so why on earth was I stuffing my face with chocolate?  It was emotional eating at it’s finest!  It was in that moment that God revealed to me that I was turning to food to ease my fears rather than turning to Him.

And then there was the time when I felt like I couldn’t breathe because I was consumed with fear and anxious thoughts.  My Lord gently spoke to me saying, “Daughter, these thoughts are not God-honoring.  Fear is not from me, but from the Enemy.  You know that.  Will you trust me?”

I’m so thankful the Lord revealed to me what was taking place within my heart.

My controlling ways and my emotional eating did nothing to help me in my situations.

These methods did not draw me closer to the Lord.

They didn’t strengthen my faith.

And they certainly didn’t solve my problems.  If anything, these methods of coping would have added more problems to my life.  Like strained relationships and poor health.

Here are some ways we typically handle our fears….

We lean on our own understanding.

But according to God’s Word, we shouldn’t.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.  Prov. 3:5,6

We become anxious.

But according to God’s Word, we shouldn’t be.

Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus.  Phil. 4:6,7

We allow our negative emotions to reign in our hearts and we dismiss what the Bible has to say.

Again, according to God’s Word, we shouldn’t.  We’re to take every thought captive and not rely on our heart because it’s easily deceived.

“But be careful. Don’t let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the LORD and serve and worship other gods.  Deut. 11:16  (It can be easy for us to worship the god of fear and anxiety!)

“Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”  2 Cor. 10:5

Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago? You are my witnesses—is there any other God? No! There is no other Rock—not one!”  Isaiah 44:8

Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.  Prov. 30:5

Just like a sunflower that follows the sun, we need to follow the Son so we can have a vibrant, peace-filled life in order to thrive in spite of our circumstances!

In this post, I’ve just scratched the surface with a few Bible verses to help you renew your mind in Christ Jesus.

Since fears and anxieties are common emotions we women deal with, I’ve created a pdf. of 24 Scriptures you can print out to help you combat your fears and anxieties biblically.  My encouragement to you is to go through the list and pick out a few verses that you can memorize.

You can find my list of Scriptures here:  Combating Fear and Anxiety Biblically.

Live a poured out life for Christ,

Jolene