“The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” — Philippians 4:5b–6

How did I get to the age of forty without ever flying on a plane? Part of the reason is that I didn’t have many opportunities to fly. Another part is that I avoided it like the plague. How am I supposed to get on a plane tomorrow when I’ve got decades of fears and wild catastrophes mapped out in my mind? How am I supposed to overcome anxiety to do what I know I need to do?

The Face of Anxiety

I’m an anxiety sufferer. I’ve been in the trenches battling it for as long as I can remember. I know all the symptoms of excess adrenaline: trouble sleeping, pinhole throat, jittery legs, heat flushes, upset stomach, heartburn, difficulty swallowing, difficulty breathing, chest pains, derealization (feeling detached from your body), light-headedness, an unexplainable sense of dread, hyperventilation. Not such a fun list. But I’ve learned that all of these bodily symptoms stem from increased adrenaline production by my adrenal glands. That doesn’t make any of the symptoms pleasant, but it does remind me of a few things that I have to carry with me. 

Anxiety and Your Body

First, God designed my body. The way it responds to perceived threats (even when those threats are not real) is purposeful and intentional. I think of my anxiety as a superpower. It gives me the ability to focus and engage on a whole new level, but sometimes I get a little too much of the “superpower juice” than I know what to do with. That’s when I panic. For people who battle anxiety, we know this happens regularly. We believe that, at any given moment, something is horribly wrong with us. But it’s a great comfort to say, “God, this is how you’ve made my body. It’s working too well right now. But I know that things are not going horribly wrong, despite my strong feelings to the contrary. They’re working too well. And you can help me with that by giving me patience. Please, would you give me patience?”

The Lord Is Near

Second, many of us are familiar with Matthew 6:25–34 and Philippians 4:5–7. But we misread them constantly. We draw out commands that might emerge from the mouth of a frustrated parent: “Stop feeling anxious! Just stop it!” We do this because we ignore the context of the passages. Let me focus on what immediately precedes Philippians 4:6. It’s a simple reminder: “The Lord is at hand.” Other translations say, “The Lord is near.” What a miraculous truth to carry around with you! No matter what you’re going through, no matter what messes with your nerves or pushes you toward panic, the Lord is near. He knows you and loves you. Because of him, you will be safe and sound. That is why we are then told, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” The Lord is near. Ask Him for what you need. Ask Him knowing that He loves you more deeply than any earthly parent ever could. 

The Threat of Newness

Third, much of our anxiety stems from what we don’t know or haven’t experienced. We thrive on sameness. We crave stability. But sameness and stability are cages if growth is absent. And growth comes through newness, through meeting experiences and situations that we’re “convinced” would overrun us. We face things we would never have chosen for ourselves, and then we change and grow as we stare at God, the Great Gardener. What’s He doing? He prunes those He pursues. He cuts off the hollow limbs of self-sufficiency. That means your discomfort, your suffering, your anxiety, is part of your good story of redemption. You have no experiences in isolation. There are no mere “incidents” in your life. Everything is a chapter. Everything is a paragraph. Everything is prose or poetry written by the Wordsmith who sees and knows you. And He is the best storyteller. Let Him tell it. Even when it’s terrifying, let Him tell it.

He Always Shows Up (He Never Left)

I’m getting on a plane tomorrow. And God is going to show up big time. He always does. I struggle with faithfulness, but He doesn’t. I hate pruning, but He’s perfect at it. Will I have symptoms of anxiety when I drive to the airport, when I go through security, when I board the plane, when it takes off? You bet. That’s part of how my body responds to newness. I don’t think that will be surprising. What will be surprising, even though it shouldn’t be, is that God is going to be present and will work in all the ways I know He does. I’m just good at forgetting and asking God not to make me uncomfortable. 

If you’re battling anxiety right now, remember that God is the One who made your body to respond in the ways it does. It may not be comfortable, but that’s because it’s working too well. More important than your bodily symptoms is the truth that the Lord is near. He is closer than you can sense. He is beautifully, incomparably close to you at this very moment. And He is getting your soul ready for a change that you will celebrate one day. It just takes time for us to realize that. It takes time for plants to grow.

Author Bio:

Pierce Taylor Hibbs is Senior Writer and Communication Specialist at Westminster Theological Seminary. He is the author of more than twenty books, including Struck Down but Not Destroyed, The Book of Giving, and One with God. He and his wife, Christina, live in Pennsylvania with their three kids, Isaac, Nora, and Heidi. Learn more about his work at piercetaylorhibbs.com.

Additional Resources for Anxiety:

It Is Well | Anxiety Bible Study		Peace Under Pressure		Meditations for Anxiety		Scripture for Anxiety Journal
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