When Anxiety Spirals

written by Mrs. Mariah Bender 

Does it ever seem like anxiety hits you the hardest when you are trying to sleep? For me it seems like it starts with one concern about the future, then another fear, then another, and it keeps going until my mind is racing terrified about all these things that I have no control over. Most of them are not rational thoughts, but it begins to feel like I am spiraling into a tornado of fear and anxiety. 

I don’t know if those moments are anxiety attacks, but I think we all have them at some point. It causes me not to want to get outside of my bubble, to stay safe and stay close to everyone I love and know. That’s exactly where the devil wants me to hide. He is very happy when we are too scared to go out and do God’s work. In those spirals it is nearly impossible to stop the bad thoughts from coming and to logically think. I have found that the only way to ground myself from spiraling is to have one promise to cling on. Here are a few I have been using. 

 

Sometimes I put too much pressure on myself to control what happens. That if I miss what God told me everything will go wrong. During these times I've held onto Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart: And lean not unto thine own understanding.I am trusting in God. It is ME that is doing the trusting. I think sometimes I get it backwards.  God does not expect me to “read between the lines”. God is straight forward. He doesn’t give me a coded message and if I get it wrong everything is going to flop. If I need to know something, if my heart is clear and ready to hear it, He is going to tell me. I don’t need to worry that I am missing “a sign”. 

Another promise I hold onto is,  2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. God does not give fear. He gives concern and hesitation, but if it terrifies me then the thoughts are not from God. Like the verse said God gives us as a spirit of a sound mind. So if it's not from God, then I don’t need to act upon it. It is just the devil scaring me away from something that might be good. 

“For I know the plans I have for you” declares the LORD, “Plans to Prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This verse is often used out of context. It does not mean that we are promised a lot of money and honor. That is man’s definition of prosper. It is a promise that there is a plan for us that is going to grow God’s kingdom if we follow it. I rest in the fact that there is a plan. It is not the chaos that is happening in my head. God has organized it out for me and I can be at peace knowing I am following the steps He gave me so far. 

Whether you use these promises or find your own. I suggest having one memorized that you can ground yourself in during a spiral. It can be hard to try to make sense of a passage you read in the moment because it adds to all the chaos already happening. Find your promise and trust that God has your best interest.