Have you ever tried talking yourself out of worry? I have. I end up in this guilt-induced, frustrated, comatose—but even more overwhelmed—state from being anxious, and then get hard on myself about it. But that’s not what the Lord has for us in our anxiety. He is a good Father; he comes near and is tender with us. He does not shame us. He is gentle and loving, and close.
Philippians 4:6-7 is really well-known:
“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.”
Philippians 4:6-7
While it’s such a popular passage on its own, this God-breathed Scripture is really anchored by what comes before and after it:
“The Lord is at hand; 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. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Philippians 4:5b-9
I’m a high school English teacher, and I love to nerd out about grammar. Some translations have chosen to use a semicolon at the end of verse 5, which is really notable. You can only combine two sentences with a semicolon when they are so tightly linked that they could actually be one. God does not tell us to buck up and stop being anxious. He tenderly gives us his presence. We can choose peace over anxiety when we lean into his presence. It may not be easy or automatic, but there are some strategies we can try that are based in this Scripture. While I’m going to share some things that have helped me, my hope is that you find some strategies that are a good fit for you and your life. And, above all, if you’re considering counseling or medication, talk with a doctor or therapist to see if these options could be right for you. A trained therapist could help you recognize triggers for you, work through them, and personalize your strategies to live the healthy, vibrant life that God has given you.
Regulate and Remind Yourself the Lord is at Hand
When anxiety bubbles up, it can be hard to breathe, think, or move. There are lots of ways you can try to regulate yourself. You might try rooting yourself with sensory guides. For example: take a moment to identify five things you see, four things you hear, three things you smell, two things you feel, and one thing you taste. Or identifying five green objects around the room. You might try slowing your breathing by counting or closing your eyes while you breathe. You might take a drink of water, go for a walk, or my 6-year-old daughter’s favorite—hop like a bunny. Nothing is too silly or simple to help you regulate, but in that moment, tell yourself that “the Lord is at hand” (Philippians 4:5b), that he is close to you. I remind myself that the best place I can be is near God, even if my circumstances aren’t ideal because he is loving and powerful. If he’s a good Father (and he is!) then being near him can soothe the soul, even if it doesn’t fix what I’m worried about. For example, I often experience health anxiety, especially for my kids, so if one of them spikes a fever, I take deep breaths and remind myself that God is here with us at this very moment. It gives me more peace even as I still keep a close eye on them.
Let Your Requests Be Made Known to God
We can present our requests to God in many ways. We can pray aloud or in writing. Breath prayers—breathing in one prayer phrase and out another—can ground us and make prayer simple when we don’t know exactly what to say. We can ask others to pray for us. We can pick a worship song rooted in Scripture or one that mirrors the cry of our hearts.
When my brain is feeling especially spinny and overwhelmed, I make a list of the “plates” I feel like I’m spinning, everything that’s currently worrying me, and everything that feels unknown and uncertain to me. I have to actually write this list. I’ve learned that my brain isn’t trustworthy to just think through the list. What almost always happens is that the list is much shorter than I expected. Sometimes it still feels big and scary, but naming something takes away some of its power. And when we can count them, even big, scary things become smaller.
For me, the root of so much of my anxiety is my own lack of control. I can almost always boil it down to this, but when I hand it over to God, I am physically reminding myself that I never actually controlled it and it’s better that way. God has always been the one to hold it, and he is stronger than I will ever be. If I believe he loves me and he works all things together for good,1 then I have to believe that it’s better for him to hold all these things that are too heavy for me anyway. This may take a long time, but I come back to this over and over to believe it even more deeply.
I once read that when you have a worry, it can help to picture it locked away, held by something stronger than you. Because God is near, we can believe he is with us and can hold all our fears for us, so we don’t have to carry them anymore. I have a concrete bowl in the shape of open hands currently filled with a small dried bouquet. But underneath are little slips of paper where I write my worries and quietly hand them over to God, asking him to handle them, as he does. Even if it seems a bit cheesy, this symbolic reminder of what God actually does has changed me and how I feel as I hand him my worries and requests. In a small but practical way, placing those slips of paper into a symbol of God’s hands has led me to more peace in his presence.
Dwell on These Things
Then we’re charged to think about these true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, moral, praiseworthy things and that “the God of peace will be with [us]” (Philippians 4:9). While we can’t control much, we can redirect our minds with God’s help. We can decide what we will fixate on. And when we decide to pay attention to good things, guess what we notice? The good things.
Maybe this is easy for some people, but it really isn’t for me. You can’t always change what you see, but you can change the attention that you give to it. And you can change what you look for. Maybe you’re like me and you tend to notice more of what’s wrong in the world. I have to push myself to notice beautiful things, the times when God shows up, and God’s creation for what it is. But when we push ourselves to notice these things, we can tip the scales for ourselves toward gratefulness and, ultimately, peace.
You may not need formal ways of doing this, but I sure do. Ten years ago when I got married, my friend Jess gifted me a jar of rocks—like Samuel used to remind us that “Till now the Lord has helped us” (1 Samuel 7:12). When we make it through something or we notice something good, we write it on a rock. Every so often we go back through those stones to be reminded of all that God has brought us through, which gives me hope that he will continue to show up. I’ve done the same thing with my little prayer slips inside my concrete hands and with a five-year journal. Some people keep a gratitude list or ask themselves at night one good thing or one way they saw God show up that day. Find something that helps you remember how God has shown up for you. God promises that his presence and his peace will be with us.
Practice These Things
Choose a few ways to practice leaning into God’s presence through this Scripture. Maybe you decide to memorize these verses, work through some of the practices, or read a Gospel (I love starting with John) to get to know more of what God is like through Jesus, “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), to trust him as the one strong enough to hold it all. Whether Jesus is calming a storm,2 healing the sick,3 or saving a wedding reception,4 I pray that we would remember how he displays his power through these everyday anxieties people bring to his presence.
Footnotes
1 Romans 8:28.
2 Luke 8:23-27.
3 Luke 9:18-26.
4 John 2.
Photo credit: Emilee Carpenter
Stephanie loves being outside in the sunshine, baking, and reading for fun. She teaches English at Edgewood High School and lives in Southwest Ohio with her husband, Eli, and their three wild, joyful children.
