Finding God in Our Anxiety
June 21, 2021 • by Hope Blanton and Christine Gordon
It had been a week, and I was still in bed. I (Hope) was unable to work, drive, or even leave the house. Anxiety had showed up again and knocked me down, leaving me barely functioning. I still had a husband who was writing a dissertation and teaching undergraduate students, three children needing help with all the things, and a job at my church shepherding the women God had brought to us. But as I woke from another night of restless sleep to more intrusive thoughts, movement back to a normal life seemed a distant hope. I felt like I was lost inside my own mind.
It’s estimated that 40 million Americans struggle with anxiety every year. It can manifest in lots of ways, from a mild distraction to total debilitation. It can come in many forms and for many reasons. Sometimes it shows up as chronic panic attacks or other times as a restless unsettledness, but regardless it leaves the sufferer filled with fear and a despair that things might never change.
Look to the Lord Your Helper
The Psalms spend much of their verses in this exact place—fear and anxiety. Psalm 20 is one of many Psalms that can offer balm to the anxious soul, reminding us that God is present and able to help even when fear seems to have swallowed us whole.
Psalm 20 is a royal Psalm which foreshadows the coming Messiah as the only true king. For the Israelites this Psalm may have served as a battle cry when they sent their king ahead into war. These people would have known that the king’s outcome would be their outcome as well. His success would translate into life, land, and success for them. His failure would be devastating for their families and might lead to captivity, the loss of loved ones, or the loss of life itself. You can picture them, terrified and full of adrenaline, singing over the army and the king as they marched out of the city:
“May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
May he send you help from the sanctuary
and give you support from Zion!
May he remember all your offerings
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah
May he grant you your heart’s desire
and fulfill all your plans!
May we shout for joy over your salvation,
and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!” (Ps. 20:1-5)
We may not be marching out to war or sending the ones we love into the fight, but as we battle our own very real anxieties, we look for the words to articulate our own desperate need for God’s help. As we walk out our callings, marriages, parenting challenges, and real and imaginary fears, we need these words in Psalm 20.
We face days of stress and troubles that demand help that can only be found outside of ourselves; help that is found in the sanctuary, offered by the one true God. We long for our plans for good to be fulfilled and to be able to celebrate his help and deliverance. And so we give back to God these words he has given to us, asking for his help.
“As we battle our own very real anxieties, we look for the words to articulate our own desperate need for God’s help.”
Hope In God
But what about other things in the middle of these bouts of anxiety? Isn’t there a real chemical component to anxiety? Can’t we also make use of common grace helps like medication, mindfulness, and breathing exercises? Yes—we can and we should. These helps have been given to us by the one who made and understands our physiology, neurons, and biology. But they are not the core or root of our help. David explains the solid ground on which he stands in the midst of his fear in verses 6-8:
“Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with the saving might of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.” (Ps. 20:6-8)
David’s ultimate hope is not in his ability or his circumstances, but in his God. There is a shift in tone here as if the battle is over and has already been won. But this is still pre-battle. David is looking back on his history, remembering stories of how God has delivered him. Israel was not allowed to have chariots or horses like other nations. They couldn’t trust in their tools or weaponry. And yet God had saved them over and over. David had learned to trust God as he watched him rescue him and his men over the years. David had a track record with the Lord, and it was a good one.
“David’s ultimate hope is not in his ability or his circumstances, but in his God.”
Recall God’s Faithfulness
Look back at your own history with God. Recount the places and situations he has pulled you through or out of, places he has shown up when you were in distress. Where did he surprise you? How did he calm you?
David reminds himself of what he knows to be true about his God. He always shows up. He always answers. He can always be trusted. God is not a liar.
Ultimately, God has answered us in our day of trouble by sending Jesus to win the battle against sin and death that we cannot. Because of his work, we are free to enter that holy sanctuary and ask God for help at any moment. Prayer and worship are the main pathways out of anxiety. And we keep praying because the day of trouble is not the final day.
Over the last 20 years I have had 4 major, debilitating bouts of anxiety, not to mention the low grade presence of it daily. But when I look back on these moments what I remember is Jesus’s nearness and his care for me when I called out to him in desperation. Even in my moments of anxiety now, nothing quiets me like reflecting on his rescue and his presence with me. Now instead of running on the hamster wheel of fear and ruminating on my circumstances, I hand my thoughts to God, over and over, until he quiets me.
Hope Blanton, LCSW, is wife to Ray and mother of three. She earned her master’s in clinical social work at Temple University. Currently she writes for At His Feet Studies and works as a counselor in San Antonio. She loves good food, making people laugh, and being outside.
Christine Gordon, MATS, is wife to Michael and mother of three. She earned her Master of Arts in Theological Studies at Covenant Seminary. She lives in St. Louis, where she writes for At His Feet Studies and works as the intake coordinator for a counseling practice. She loves to walk, make music with other people, and share bad puns with her family.
Please find Hope and Christine at their website and follow them on Instagram.
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