Calm Anxiety With God’s Presence

When an anxious heart rises within you, I want you to know that God isn’t disappointed in your lack of peace or inability to calm your soul. 

Calm Anxiety

Scripture is timeless and can speak to your situation. Even in Jesus’ day, the early Christians needed the same encouragement to keep their eyes upon Him.

I’ve spoken to dozens … yes, dozens of people who are struggling with anxiety, worry, anxiousness, and uncertainty. I don’t ever remember a time when so many people were struggling. In fact, anxiety seems to have increased, and there is an additional pressure to “fix it” or slap a label on it as a “lack of trust in God.” (I bet that makes you feel better, right?)

I don’t like platitudes because there are nuances to why we struggle with those things. The Bible is true and our guide for walking closely with God. At the same time, faith is an intangible and imperfect journey.

Earlier this year, I felt unimaginable ongoing pressure from various areas. Instead of things resolving, more unwanted surprises were heaped on me. They were things I couldn’t control or fix. People were not keeping their word, not doing what I had paid them to do, or lying. I had to bear the consequences, which strained our finances and ministry operations.

The compiling of stressors didn’t keep me from trusting God or having faith in Him. However, it all became too much, and I wasn’t physically okay. My friend recently pointed out that I was probably beyond anxiety and in full-out burnout.

I had to stop. I cut everything out of my schedule that wasn’t necessary and rested. I slept a lot. I read. I prayed. But I still felt this dread and fear 24/7. The smallest stressor triggered my body’s fight/flight response.

What came out of my mouth the most was, “Thank you, Jesus.” Second to that was, “I think I broke my nervous system; please heal me.”

One night at 3 am, I woke up in a cold sweat. My arms were numb, and my heart was racing. It was like an attack of fear without the thoughts or a situation to fuel it. The Holy Spirit led me to get my Bible.

I read the words of Phil 4:4-9 out loud and focused on what I needed to do to enter the peace and presence of God. He was my only hope and salvation. (Highlights and bold is my emphasis.)

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.And the God of peace will be with you.

I meditated on what I needed to do (highlights) and thanked God for the promise of peace that would come (in bold). When I got to the part that says, “…think upon such things,” I made a list in my journal and started identifying them. For instance, what is pure? Babies!!

I use this tool with my clients and encourage them to find the answers to these questions. When you look up on your social media the things that are true, noble, right, pure, etc., the algorithm will give you more of what you are looking for, which seems like a life lesson: We will always see more of what we believe in.

Philippians 4 Activation:

• What is true?
• What is noble?
• What is right?
• What is pure?
• What is lovely?
• What is admirable?
• What is excellent or praiseworthy?

God’s Word is supernatural. My nervous system aligned with God, and I could fall back asleep.

I wish I could say that was the moment I was healed. But it wasn’t. It was a process over the next couple of weeks, with continued perseverance and prayer. But eventually, I got to the other side.

I’m not one to blame spiritual warfare for everything that goes wrong in my life. In fact, I think God had been previously trying to tell me to slow down, and I didn’t do it. So, the enemy found an open door and took advantage of it. I had to repent of becoming my own idol, thinking I could do it all. I had to find the pace of rest and work again.

I praise God for delivering me.

Maybe anxiety isn’t your struggle, but something else is … depression, hopelessness, loneliness, or anger. I hope the Philippians 4 Activation helps you encounter God’s presence and find healing from those things, too.

Prayer

Father God, I come to You today asking for help.

Your word says I should enter Your gates with thanksgiving and praise. In my weakness, I come to You. I thank you for Your goodness and grace. I thank You for Your love and comfort. I give you praise for all You do and who You are. I am so blessed to be Your child. I worship You and praise You!

I ask that you heal my body and my nervous system. Balance my hormones and bring my body, soul, and spirit back into alignment with You. Please bring me _______ (fill in with what you need).

Help me to see my circumstances like You, Lord. Give me a new perspective to see what You see. Let Your truth go down to the cellular level of my being and into my subconscious mind so I can walk firmly rooted in faith despite what I see around me.

I come out of agreement with and renounce the enemy’s plans and lies over my life. Please forgive me for knowingly or unknowingly partnering with him. I ask that you set me free from _______ (fill in what you are struggling with) and send it far from me, never to return.

I ask that You, Holy Spirit, bring me the peace of God in abundant measure. Transform me into someone who walks in the anointing of peace. May I, in turn, be able to create an atmosphere of peace around me so others may encounter You, too.

I celebrate Your promise that I will receive a supernatural peace that goes beyond all understanding. And that peace will continue to guard my mind and heart so they are focused on You and Your love for me. In Your presence, there is joy forevermore! I receive all You have for me and look forward to all You will do in my life.

In Jesus’ name, amen!

P.S. I know people struggle with anxiety, and some of you are on medication. I am not advising anyone to just do this activation and go off meds or not seek medical attention. If you are on meds, there is no shame in needing that help.