Anxiety and Fear

Are you plagued by anxiety and fear?

To calm my spirit and quench my fears I often adapt these eight points extracted from CDs by Steve Leavitt and Hope for Life Ministry. I believe when you apply these truths in your situation you will find the peace and power you need to move forward with your life.

1. Identify the thought: fear of____­­­­­____ (name your fear- insecurity, rejection, etc.) or I am obsessing about __________ (name your obsession-going broke, pleasing people, etc.) But that is not who I am. I am a beloved child of God.

2. I am not alone; I am not crazy; I am not going crazy.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline. II Timothy 1:7 NLT

3. If my thoughts run away from me, I run to a safe place before my feelings lead me astray. I seek biblically based counsel from my husband or one of my godly prayer partners. (Unsafe places include: the dark recesses of your mind or an emotionally based or legalistic church. Find a church which teaches grace and forgiveness.)

 In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is for me so I will have no fear…Psalm 118:5-6

4. Controlling everything in my life is an impossible task. God will give me what I am able to handle. If life seems like more than I can manage, then I am attempting to take the responsibility away from God instead of trusting Him.

 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God…Give all your worries and cares to God for he cares about you. I Peter 5:6-7

5. Nothing will ever separate me from God. I bask in the confidence of God’s love of me.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Romans 8:38

6. I attempt to differentiate between self condemnation and conviction. (Self condemnation is usually nonspecific with no specific guidance to correct the situation or I am not forgiving myself for something God has already forgiven.)

 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7

7. I give my fears and sin to God, the only One who can take them away. I confess them and accept God’s gift of grace. My sins are forgiven-it’s done.  

 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us of all our sins I John 1:9.

8. I praise God in the midst of my fears. I accept where I am and trust God to carry me through.

I prayed to the Lord, and He answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4

Bible verses are from the New Living Translation. The CD’s series is “Biblical Solutions to Anxiety, Depression, Stress & Fear.” hopeforlifeministry.com