The Monster Under Your Bed: How to Deal with Anxiety

Forget what your parents told you when you were six. There is a monster under your bed. His name is anxiety. We all experience it at some time in our life. Nervousness. Apprehension. Hesitation. Whatever you call it, it is dangerous. Anxiety can eat at your soul and destroy your confidence, motivation, and sanity. We don’t choose to be anxious. It’s a natural part of our human being. However, we choose to keep anxiety under our bed. Let me explain. Here’s an example:

This morning, I woke up, and I actually felt disappointed that I was back at school. Normally, I am excited, but today, I wanted to be home, in my room, with my family and my dog, and the free food. Home is my comfort zone.  My university forced me out of that. (I don’t appreciate it) I don’t want to be back at school because I’m anxious about the coming semester. I have a heavy course load.

I know anxiety is a sin. I’m angry at myself for being anxious. I’m a second semester junior. I’ve done this before. I can do it again.

After praying to God for peace of mind, I turned to my First 5, a phone app by Proverbs 31 Ministries that features daily devotionals. Today’s discussed doubt using the story of Moses at the burning bush. In Exodus 4:10, Moses doubts his capabilities to fulfill God’s command to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. He says,

“O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”“

Moses felt insecure about his voice and did not believe it was useful to fulfill God’s calling. After reading the entire conversation between God and Moses, I realized anxiety insults God. When we have the least bit of anxiety about the future or insecurity about our abilities, we doubt God’s unchanging goodness, His almighty power, and qualities as the Creator. We lose faith in Him, when He has not lost faith in us. That’s how good He is! In fact, God has equipped us for our assignments. In the First 5 devotional, author Lysa TerKeurst, “God does everything with purpose and precision. The exact way He made you is in keeping with how He will use you.”

From the devotional, I turned to Philippians 4:6-7,

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” 

Let’s focus on that last part. When we fight against our anxieties with prayer, God puts up a protective shield of peace. Peace so great that we cannot understand the feeling. In times when we should be anxious, we will have a peace of mind. People will wonder why you are so calm in the midst of chaos. In those moments, we have the opportunity to brag on God and tell others about the goodness of his shield of peace.

I’ve experienced this peace many times, so much so that it’s become a part of my personality. People call me chill and calm, but don’t get me wrong; I still experience anxiety. That’s the catch. We only get the shield of peace if we pray for it. On the other side of that shield, the monster is still there. As long as we live, we cannot permanently escape anxiety. So we must keep praying.

If you have not read any of this message until now, remember this: Pray for God’s shield of peace to protect you from your anxiety and insecurities. God is your Heavenly Father. Cry out to Him, and He will come and kill the monsters under your bed.