Anxiety Part 4: This battle isn’t mine

Part 1 is HERE.

Part 2 is HERE.

Part 3 is HERE.

….Until that still, small voice gently nudged me to open my Bible to a specific passage. One I was familiar with. But one that God was going to use that night to turn my life around.

11 Chronicles 20:1-30

I encourage you to go read it for yourself and go read it again, even if you think you know it. I thought I did, but up until that point in my life, I had never heard God speaking so clearly to me before. I had never felt His presence so strongly in my life. I knew without a doubt that He was right there beside me. On His knees with me, sitting next to me, holding me while I cried.

I am just going to reference the verses that He spoke to my heart. I have it written in my Bible and it was just like the God of all creation was telling me these words as if He was standing right in front of me.

V12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. – Lord, I’m looking to you. I don’t know what to do.

V15b Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. – This is your battle, Lord, not mine.

V17a Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: – Just stand still.

V17b …fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you. – I will not be afraid. You will never leave me.

V18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord. – Worship came before victory.

V20b Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. – I will trust you.

V21-22 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. – I will praise you and sing to you. You will deliver me.

V25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much. – Your blessings will be much more than I ask for, more than I deserve, more than I expected.

V27-28 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the Lord. – I will rejoice and thank you.

V30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about. – I will rest in you. You alone can give me rest.

I can’t really explain what or how this helped me other than it was God. I put it all in His hands. And I decided to let Him fight it for me. He gave me the strength to do what I could, and He did what I couldn’t. I got my bible verse list back out and I started re-memorizing those verses and saying them over and over again. This was the first step, because the verses constantly in my mind replaced some of the fears and thoughts that would not stop. It didn’t completely stop them, but it made me able to think more clearly. And then I did just what He told me to. I started worshipping Him even though my situation didn’t change over night. I would sing and praise Him on my way to work. Every breath and every thought was centered on Him. Then I started taking care of my body. Mind first, then body. I cut out sugar and caffeine and I started eating healthy. No fried or fast food. *Caffeine is a known anxiety trigger. As is sugar. As my mind and body started healing, I started exercising. At first all I did was walk. But it helped the stress tremendously. Maybe that ENT did know what he was talking about after all. (I realize that some people have health issues that prevent them from physical exercise, so this might not help you. But I urge you to try ANY form of physical activity. I was told that even if I couldn’t walk, to sit on my couch and just raise and lower my legs and arms. Just do something! Even an activity or hobby that relaxes you is good to practice every day.) The panic attacks lessened and eventually went away. In recent years I have done more research. The dizziness issues I suffer from now, also bring on anxiety. But I have learned things that help. Vitamin B Complex and Adrenal Support Supplement. A friend suggested these through a book she had been reading Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Recipes For Vibrant Health. The below quote is an excerpt from this book:

“Symptoms of mental distress or disorders such as irritability, nervousness, panic attacks, excess fear, depression, or suicidal tendencies often indicate a B-vitamin deficiency….B vitamins are most effective taken as a complex.”

You can purchase the Vitamin B Complex here and the Adrenal Supplement here. This stress zapper tea was good to take, too. Also, breathing techniques which you can look up on the internet, help when I struggle to breathe. And when I get very tense and I’m not able to walk around or get up and try to burn the adrenaline off, I contract every muscle in my body that I can think of. It sounds strange, but it helps. Just squeeze your palms, hold, and then release. You can go through all your muscle groups. Shoulders, arms, legs, feet…The best thing to do is to try to get your mind off what is happening to you. Which sometimes seems impossible, I know. If you have someone with you that understands or maybe even if they don’t, tell them to ask you questions that make you think about the answer. And then answer them. The last thing anyone wants when having a panic attack is to be around people. But your mind won’t stop and sometimes can’t think about anything else if you are alone. This is why the verses help so much. Say them out loud. Your mind has to think about what you’ve memorized.

All of these things –working together– helped me. And it took a while. I know there are medications you can take, but I didn’t want to go that route. There are also essential oils and many other things, but I didn’t know anything about those at the time. Nourishing your body with the right foods -cultured food and a whole food diet- helps restore what the stress has taken away. This is a great website for cultured foods. The Lord led me in all the things I did to regain my health. Everyone is different and just because they worked for me, doesn’t mean they will for you. I can only tell you my experience. However, I firmly believe God’s word is the most powerful thing we have here on Earth. That and prayer. And that is the best place I could ever advise you to start.

I’d also like to say one more thing. I have been in church my whole life. And sometimes well meaning Christians will tell you that if you are having problems with anxiety and panic attacks, that you are not trusting God enough or at all! God does talk about anxiety and how we shouldn’t worry about things, because He takes care of us. But sometimes our body’s chemistry gets messed up and our brain’s function gets out of whack. These are physical things. I truly believed God was in control. That He would take care of me. I would pray and tell Him that almost every time I had a problem. But when your stress has taken over the health of your mind and body, sometimes you need help getting it corrected. So please don’t think I am shaming anyone or disagreeing with other methods that might help. If you can find a good Christian counselor to talk with, do it. If medicine will help you get to the point that you can focus on getting better, do it. I think there is a root cause though, and until it is fixed, anxiety and panic attacks will just be the symptoms that never improve.

In keeping with the song theme of my blog, I thought I would share the song the Lord gave me to go along with what He showed me. Maybe it will be a blessing. Listen here.

Stay tuned for the last part of the series and why it’s the most important thing I want you to know about anxiety….