Anxiety. It’s a word used quite often in our society. And I did not have an honest understanding of the word- or the emotion itself- until God gave me a child who struggles with mild anxiety. What is most astounding is that this particular child, at a very sensitive and hormonal age, is completely unaware that she is anxious when any given situation or circumstance that would cause her to fret arises.

For the most part, I am sure that many who suffer with anxious thoughts and feelings haven’t any idea how to identify them for what they are. North American statistics estimate that nearly 3% of Canadians and 18% of Americans struggle with anxiety disorders of varying degrees. In the US alone, one-third of the country’s total mental health bill every year goes towards treating these disorders. These are individuals of society that have reached out for help with some being treated for the disorder when it has reached the point of affecting their quality of life.

And anxiety disorders are considered to develop from a complex set factors including genetics, brain chemistry, personality, and life events. So it was of little surprise to the Lord, when I prayed over my eldest child before bed, that I asked Him to release her from the negative thoughts that were plaguing her soul. I prayed that she would stand firm in knowing that she is a child of God and the negative things she was feeling about herself were untrue. And I prayed for a peaceful slumber over her exhausted little body.

There is nothing that is a surprise to God. He is well aware that the world we live in is becoming more and more broken each and every day. He is well aware that there is an enemy who desires to take us down and beat us up emotionally. And He is well aware that our mind is the battlefield. So, it should also be of little surprise that He spoke so clearly of that which plagues us by speaking in the simplest of terms, and in a most direct manner. In a world that seems to be anxious about everything, He tells us to be anxious about nothing.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

And He has given us many helpful and useful resources to fight the battle over our minds. We know He has gifted medical doctors and counsellors with great knowledge, wisdom, and insight into helping us win the war. But the greatest of all weapons is clear, printed in dark black ink upon the silky onion-skinned page of our sword.

Prayer. The starting point in every battle is prayer.

For all that makes us anxious, all that causes us to feel out of control, all that frustrates, needles, and spins truth into lies, it is no match for the One who created the human soul. And it’s not a one-and-done kind of deal here. We are instructed to pray and petition: to continuously take that which stirs our insides into a knotted mess before God so that He may give us the peace that surpasses understanding. Meaning, we will not understand it nor be able to figure it out. The peace comes when we pray for is a guard for our hearts and minds so that the anxieties of which we face will not be able to control us. The more we pray, the deeper our peace and stronger our defences in winning the war.

Father, may your peace fill me so I may let go of all that stirs trouble in my soul. When I fight for control, I know that I am allowing the anxieties of the world control me. But in you I have freedom. In you I have this peace. And in you I don’t have to understand but trust that you do. In Jesus name, amen.