How to Find Peace in the Midst of Anxiety
By Traci Shnider
I jolt awake covered in a cold sweat and gasping for air. Squinting tightly I make out the time— it’s 3 AM. Heart racing, I contemplate whether or not to call my parent’s home six hours away. All I can do is breathe deep and plead with God because I cannot unsee this horrible nightmare of my dad lying in a coffin. At 7 AM, I make the call finding all is well and life feels good again.
This was the first of many night terrors to come. Terrors I didn’t speak to anyone about except my husband. I got good, I mean really good, at faking it on the outside. I’d flash my smile and laugh at all the right times throughout my day, yet lived crushed on the inside.
Here I was, trying to live for Jesus, yet all it took was one small trigger, and the hordes of hell would unleash a ruthless, spine-crawling anxiousness over me.
Questions plague my mind. God, why me? I don’t want to live like this. How did I get here?
Sometimes we circle the rim of a pit for a long time before we fall in. See, worrying has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. And I’ve allowed it to rank high in my defining personality traits. As if being a worrier deserves to run parallel with traits like... loving, kind, humorous, etc. Except it doesn’t.
So for years, without even realizing it, I gave Satan the green light to hitch onto my worries and tow me straight to a pit of fierce anxiety. And my biggest worry was an intense fear of the death of a loved one.
But the irony of living with a fear of death is it brings a certain death to your own life. I was physically existing but my life was a far cry from living.
I didn’t want to leave my house. My skin crawled every time the phone rang. I couldn’t sleep, but I struggled to get out of bed. I forced myself to take a trip to the beach with my husband, but my anxiety robbed our vacation. My life was miserable.
And even though most people had no idea of my battle, I’d hear criticism and shaming when mental health came up. Because shallow, pharisaical Christians don’t believe mental health issues exist within their own set of rules and regulations of religion. But mental health doesn’t pass us over just because we believe in Jesus.
Maybe you’ve been shamed with remarks like:
Where’s your faith?
Real Christians don’t need medicine or counseling.
If you were closer to Jesus, you’d know He is enough!
And you want to know what? Jesus IS enough, but we must understand what enough is. Enough is ALL that He created.
Jesus created intelligent people who developed life-changing mental health medicines.
He created people who followed His call to become godly doctors, counselors, and therapists.
He designed people with the gift to stand by on suicide hotlines, desperately trying to reverse the decision of the unthinkable.
And He created encouragers who know what you’re feeling this very moment and can offer hope for tomorrow.
Jesus was enough for me. Even though I didn’t understand what was happening, He did. He met me in the pit, extending His hand to pull me out and back up on the road again.
He’s shown me that we have nothing to be ashamed of. Anxiety is not a sin; it’s a very real emotion. An emotion that doesn’t have the authority to rule our life.
He’s instructed me to shut down the lies and myths of others and brought me to a wonderful medicine I took for years.
It’s okay to seek a doctor.
It’s okay to talk to a therapist or counselor.
It’s okay to start that prescription.
It’s okay to call a hotline and seek help right now.
Friend, you’re not weak or less of a Christian when seeking these kinds of care.
And even though Jesus healed me from two full years of fierce anxiety, it still lurks beneath my surface. And it may do the same for you too. But I want to share how Jesus has taught me to find HIS inner peace when the enemy hoists it up from my core.
In 1 Peter 5:7 (ESV), Peter gives us a call to action when anxiousness arises…”casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you."
The Greek word for casting means throwing or hurling. So God is asking us to hurl our anxieties onto Him. Why? Because He cares for us, and we aren’t meant to carry the burden alone.
So how do you do this?
Close your eyes and visualize gathering all of your worries and anxieties and tightly wrapping them into a ball. Now, picture yourself hurling the ball toward the cross.
And with your eyes still closed, picture the face of Jesus and keep these words, "Do not worry, do not fear" on constant repeat until you feel His inner peace wash over you.
Friend, anxiety doesn’t have to define you. There’s peace and freedom available in the daily battle. I pray you seek out the care you need with no shame attached, hurl your cares upon Him, and let Him fight for you. And then you too will see… Jesus is enough.
Meet the Author
Traci Shnider is a passionate writer and encourager of all things Jesus. Having been a Christian since her teens, it wasn’t until later in life that she cultivated the deep, intimate relationship with Jesus He longs for us to have. And that’s why Traci’s heart is to encourage others to root, grow, and bloom in Him. She and her husband, son, and quirky little terrier reside on the beautiful North Carolina coast. In her free time, you’ll catch her writing at the beach, taking walks, cooking and baking, playing games, volunteering at church, and spending time with family, friends, and of course, Jesus. You can find more of Traci’s writing on her blog website, on Facebook, and on Instagram.
