One Quick Way to Fight Fear

I’ve struggled with anxiety all my life. It’s better now that I have developed a relationship with God, but sometimes it still rears it’s ugly head and threatens to cripple me.

This summer we had two big back-to-back trips planned with extended family. The first was with my husband’s family, and it involved travel outside the country.

I’d done a fairly good job of praying through the anxiety in the weeks leading up to the trip. However, the day before we were set to leave, our youngest son became sick.

As we coordinated with doctors and tried to figure out if it was safe to take him out of the country, scenario after scary scenario ran through my head.

What if he suddenly got worse while we were gone? What if the language barrier was a problem, and we couldn’t communicate well enough to get him good care? What if they didn’t have the medicine he needed?

I didn’t stop there. My fear took over, and soon I was imagining devastating car accidents and hospital stays in a foreign country. One catastrophe after another played out in my imagination.

Lying in bed that night, I got a text from my Mom asking how things were going. I told her how worried I was, and she texted back, “Proverbs 3:5.”

Intrigued, I looked up the verse, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;”

It was comforting, and so I kept reading. I read all the way down to Proverbs 3:25, “Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,”

I stopped. Wasn’t that exactly what I was fearing? Sudden disaster. This was my verse. I repeated it over and over to myself as I fell asleep that night.

The next morning, our son felt better, and we were able to take our trip.

I held onto this Bible verse the whole time we were at the airport. Through takeoff and landing. Through the wild ride to our hotel and the ups and downs of our trip.

When fear threatened to creep in, I would whisper “Have no fear of sudden disaster.” It calmed my soul and reminded me that we are all in God’s hands.

In the end, I enjoyed the trip more than I ever could have imagined. There were hiccups along the way, as there always seems to be with travel, but my verse – whispered over and over in my mind – kept me from being overcome with fear.

Once again, I was amazed at God’s power to comfort our souls through Scripture. If you’d like to learn more about praying Scripture, CLICK HERE and start praying God’s promises today!

Jenni DeWitt is a fun-loving contemplative who is discovering the value of rest and silent prayer in the midst of this rushed society. She is the author of two books — Forty Days and Why Won’t God Talk to Me? Surprising Ways He Already Is. Jenni lives in Nebraska with her husband and two young sons. She loves to help people in their daily prayer time at Genuflected.com.