Calm My Anxious Heart

Thoughts. They are vital, friend. They are incredibly powerful and what we allow into our minds has the possibility to effect every part of our lives.

I want to share a little story with you. I’ve flown many times in my life. I’ve flown to the other side of the world and back. I’ve never really been bothered by it, except for the occasional (more intense) turbulence. In fact, I used to really enjoy it. But last Thanksgiving was a different story. My husband and I flew home to spend the holidays with our families. The flight there was fine and we had a great week. However, the flight back was a completely different story. While we were home, I kept seeing a story on the news of a plane that had crashed, and this specific story terrified me. It terrified me so much, that I began to dwell on it. I kept thinking of the situation and the people on the plane. And before I knew it, I was completely terrified to fly back to Arizona. I knew I would have my husband by my side, so I did manage to make it onto the plane. But it was the absolute worst flight of my life and that’s saying a lot, because it was a very smooth 2 hour ride. My husband prayed with me, I prayed quietly, and I quoted some Scripture to help with my anxious thoughts and worries. But the damage had already been done. I had allowed my negative thoughts, the what-ifs, and the worries to creep in so much that it literally paralyzed me.

So why do I share this personal story with you? Because through this, the Lord taught me 2 things and I think they are very important.

1. What we allow into our thoughts, what we choose to dwell on, and more importantly, what we allow to stay there, will effect us.

It sounds simple, and maybe it’s something you have heard many times before. I know I had. But the more I dwelt on the negative, the more anxious I was. No wonder the Bible says, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians‬ ‭4:8‬

Scripture actually tells us what to think on! How many times when we are anxious or worried are we focused on the above list? Chances are not often.

2. When we dwell on Jesus & His Word, anxiety and fear don’t have room to stay in our hearts and minds.

The more I walk with Jesus, the more I am in His Word and learning from it, the less my anxious thoughts have control. I’ve learned (and I don’t do this every time, it’s a process, y’all!) to immediately fight my anxious thoughts and fears by quoting Scripture. Sometimes, I even do it out loud! If a fear creeps into my mind about something, I immediately try and quote a verse on fear. I say a prayer and hand it over to the Lord and instead of dwelling on that fear, I dwell on the promise in Scripture about fear. And it changes everything. Jesus changes everything.

He really does bring peace. He really can calm our anxious thoughts. He doesn’t want us to live in fear. And He gives us exactly what we need to say no to anxiety & fear, and to live in victory. As a Christian, the Holy Spirit lives within us to guide and comfort. But if we are feeding the anxious thoughts and neglecting our time with Him, then what has more control over us in that moment? The anxious thoughts.

I made sure to fly again, as I didn’t want fear to cripple me and keep me from that. And since then, I’ve even flown to London & Paris and did just fine!

On my first flight alone after that rough one, I listened to a podcast recommended to me by a friend and the topic was fear and anxiety! This quote was powerful for me so I wanted to share it with you. “When your fear comes face to face with Jesus, fear cowards back!”

Anxiety & fear CAN NOT dwell in a heart fixed on Jesus. Stay close to Him. Stay in His Word. He will definitely keep your mind at peace and He will calm your anxious heart.

💗💗💗

PS: I’ve created a list of verses on fear & anxiety that always help me. If interested, click here!