A Christian Woman’s One Word Prescription For Anxiety, with Janet Mylin

How do you cope when anxiety threatens to rule your life? Janet Mylin joins us to share about her battle with anxiety and how she learned to overcome it by standing on the truth of Christ. You’ll discover practical tools and hope for defeating anxiety in your own life.

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Episode Notes

Learn more about the National Day of Prayer

“God Is with You in Your Panic Attack” blog post by Colleen Chao

“A Calm Heart in a Troubled World” podcast series

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Dannah Gresh: Well, in case you didn't know, you and I are living through one of the most anxious periods any of us can remember. Do you need help coping? If you do, you're in the right place this morning. Welcome to Grounded. I'm Dannah Gresh.

Erin Davis: And I'm Erin Davis. And today, we've got hope and perspective for those of us with anxious hearts. In fact, if that's you, if you're feeling anxious this Monday morning, you go ahead and tell us that in the chat. Maybe just raise your little emoji hand or give us a heart, because according to research, most of us are feeling a lot of anxiety right now.

Dannah: Okay, can we just be straight this morning? Is that alright? 

Erin: Always on Grounded. 

Dannah: What is about to come out of my mouth (maybe I should probably think twice about this, but it's too late).

Erin: I'm on the edge of my seat.

Dannah: I'm not usually an anxious person. But this morning, I got so stressed putting my makeup on that I gave myself a hot flash, and I sweated it right off. And so, I'm wondering, Do I look terrible this morning? Erin, will you tell a girl? 

Erin: I can't smell you. But I can't tell by looking at you that you’ve had this sweat. 

Dannah: Did you have to mention that? I don’t know if that's appropriate?

Erin: I think, let's just talk about it. 

Dannah: Yeah, let's just talk about it. 

Erin: I’ve seen anxiety everywhere. I mean, I've got middle school kids, elementary school kids. There's a lot of talk about anxious kids. And there's a lot of talk about anxious adults. There's a lot of people who are anxious. I'm seeing it. 

Dannah: Yeah. Yeah. And this morning . . .

Erin: I don't know that everybody's sweating their makeup off. But some people might be. 

Dannah: Well, if you're feeling it, I want you to know that a recent poll assessed stress in America, and the news isn't good. You're not alone. Here's what one of the researchers of that study reported. Americans have been doing their best to persevere over these past two tumultuous years. But the data suggests that we're now reaching unprecedented levels of stress that will challenge our ability to cope. In other words, it's not over. We're going into something. That's what they're saying.

Erin: Yeah, so that's interesting. They use the word stress instead of anxiety. I think there are lots of words we could use for the same phenomenon. But to me, that inability to cope language is right where we are. 

I do feel that, as I mentioned, I'm hearing lots about it. But I also want to say that I'm not in that camp, praise God. I happen to be in a season of flourishing. I would not say that I am anxious this morning. But I do want to know how can I love my anxious brothers and sisters, of which I know many well, without trite answers, because I feel like we offer that for anxiety pretty often.

Dannah: Yeah, I do. What that study was saying is that what we just went through two years of a lot of on precedented news that we kind of rose up to it and said, “I can do it.” Now that we're coming out of it, they're going, “Oh, what did I just go through, and what's ahead, and look at the aftermath of the economy.” All those things. Now we've got to weather through it, and we need good answers, which I have someone that's going to bring some for you today. 

My friend Janet Mylin is here. I had a front row seat to see this girl fight and win one of the gravest battles of anxiety I've ever witnessed. She had months and months of one hard blow after another. I'll let her share the story in a moment. But she stood on the truth of Jesus Christ, and she found treasures in the trials. And her distinctly Christian definition of anxiety is going to change the way you fight it forever.

Erin: Oh, I've been a Janet Mylin fan for a very long time. She's rock solid. It’s a little surprising to me to hear she's battling anxiety because she's one of those women that is just so secure in Jesus but also hope-filled. 

So, do me a favor as you're watching this. Hit that like button that helps the YouTube algorithm. Listen, nobody understands the algorithm. But what we do know is that the more likes and shares we get, the more women will see it in their feed. So, it really does help us give hope and perspective to more women. 

As we're describing the problem here, can we all agree that more women need hope and perspective grounded in God's Word. If you're not already subscribed, make sure you subscribe to the Revive Our Hearts, YouTube or Facebook, wherever you're watching it. You can just hit that notification bell and that means you'll never miss an episode. And one thing that always happens in every Grounded episode is good news. I always say I always mean it. Portia, you're our resident ray of sunshine.

Dannah: She is.

Erin: I usually say it better than this. But what is the good news this morning, P.?

Portia Collins: Well, I am happy to give it to you. First of all, I'm super excited about this topic. Because as a person who deals with anxiety, I think we need this today.

Erin: But Portia, you didn’t sweat off your makeup this morning. You look good, girl. 

Portia: Well, I'm pretty much putting it on with the stuff that they use to prime the cars and make them. Like, that's my makeover.

Erin: Primer, spackle. I don't know. 

Good News: The National Day of Prayer

Portia: Alright, guys, let me share some good news with you. Check this out. You know, we are not the first generation to face anxiety-inducing events. The pilgrims faced droughts, widespread illness, and tense encounters that range from disagreements to all out wars with Native Americans. And how did they respond? They prayed.

Early American colonists often held community-wide days of prayer. In fact, in colonial Connecticut, the governor called the whole state to fast and pray on Good Friday. In Jamestown, Virginia, every 27th of August was set aside as a day to fast and pray. And April 15, 1775, as the nation sunk into war, the Congress made this declaration. Now listen carefully, they said, “Circumstances dark as these it becomes us as men and Christians to reflect that, whilst every prudent measure should be taken to ward off the impending judgments. The 11th of May next be set apart as a day of public humiliation, fasting and prayer, to confess the sins to implore the forgiveness of all our transgression.” 

Do you hear that? That does not sound like Congress. But that was from Congress. And it sounds like a call to revival. And just in case you are wondering if you clicked over to the History Channel by accident, let me get to this little good news part. Some of us are still praying May 5, 2022. I is designated as a National Day of Prayer. This first Thursday of May was set apart by a joint resolution in the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1952. Google it. Check it out. Go do your history. You'll see that God's people plan to pray this Thursday. There are gatherings planned on college campuses and government buildings in front of city halls, at churches, mayors have signed proclamations, teachers are setting aside classroom time. And like I said, churches are making plans to prayer walk their cities. 

So, it's true that there is a great deal of brokenness in our world. But it is also true that God's people are making plans to cry out to Him. And you want to hear the really, really good news. Listen to 1 Peter 3:12, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,and his ears are open to their prayer.”

As thousands, maybe millions cry out to God this Thursday, our loving, powerful, compassionate, sovereign God will be listening. And guess what, my friends? That's good news. You can learn more about the National Day of Prayer at NationalDayofPrayer.org. I will drop a link in the chat and the shownotes for you to check it out.

Dannah: Be sure to check that out. I'll tell you what, Portia. My mom and I have been very involved in the National Day of Prayer for years, I guess less than the last few years. We were both volunteers for many years and loved it very much. I really encourage you personally to google it and see if there might be an event in your local area or join the online National Day of Prayer event. They always have a great online event. 

Grounding for Our Anxiety, with Janet Mylin

It's time to get grounded with God's people. Our special guest today is an author and a speaker who has fought a fierce battle with anxiety and has overcome it. She has tools to share with you so that you can win the battle in your own life. Janet Mylin is here. Good morning, Janet. How are you today?

Janet Mylin: Good morning. I couldn't be better. I feel great. I didn’t sweat like you. 

Dannah: Oh, I'm so glad, you’re looking fine today. I did it for all of us I think. Janet, you have fought a thick battle with anxiety in recent years. Can you tell us about that?

Janet: Sure, I'd be happy to. Let me just start with I do not have all the answers about anxiety. Everyone's story is so different. But here's at least my story and some things that helped me. I struggled with anxiety for a lot of years. Sometimes it was more crippling than others. But it really culminated and came to a head in 2018.

I had about two-and-a-half months of just thing after thing beginning with my mom suddenly passing away. Then I had an illness. I was so sick for quite a few weeks that I couldn't go to her funeral. Then I had two friends move out of state. One of my friends committed suicide. My dad had a widowmaker heart attack in the midst of that. It was one thing after another, and I just couldn't catch my breath. I got to a point where I was just absolutely crippled with anxiety. I was afraid to answer the phone because I thought that more bad news is gonna come if I answered the phone. I just was literally crippled with anxiety. That's when things got really intense for me. 

Dannah: These are scary, scary things. You lose a mom, you lose a good friend, your dad. How'd you manage to keep yourself stable during that time?

Janet: Well, let me say this, I don't think any of us do well without the community, the body of Christ, linking arms with me, that was huge. And you were a big part of that and a lot of my friends. I could not have done it alone. Although I wanted to run into solitude and isolate myself in an unhealthy way. It was just easier to think of it that way. My husband helped me a lot. But I would say the Word of God is really what brought me back around and the Holy Spirit, my Comforter, my Advocate. 

What really kind of got the ball rolling for me to find freedom was this realization that I was creating realities that actually weren't even happening. I was imagining things that were going to happen. Then I was connecting emotion to those imagined realities. 

So, it's forcing myself essentially to grieve losses that never occurred. So, for instance, when I got the call that my dad had a heart attack, which was terrifying. My mom had just passed away. Immediately, my brain wanted to start mourning the loss of my dad, as if, “Okay, this is it. I'm gonna lose my dad.” My brain wanted to go there. 

I found myself wrapped up in anxiety, but when I stopped and realized, “Oh, wait, the reality is my dad is okay. My dad is in a place where you can get help. The reality is, it doesn't look like he's going to die.” Then I was able to say okay, I saw it for what it was that I was creating these realies that weren’t even happening. I was forcing myself to mourn those losses that weren’t even happening.

Dannah: Yeah. Would you say then you were defining anxiety as a fear of something in the future?

Janet: Right, for the most part. I've had some other women talk to me, that's not what it is for them, and that's fine. But for me, that's what I was doing. Essentially what I was doing was thinking, for instance, if my dad died, I would not be able to handle that. God's grace and love and strength would not be there for me if that happened. 

That's what it came down to. As a believer, that was a big deal. That's saying that, “Okay, if that happened, God would just abandon me. He wouldn't be there for me. He wouldn't help me go through that hard thing.” But that's not what His Word says. It says His mercies are new every single morning. It says that He's going to provide for assistance, He never leaves us, or forsakes us. These are the promises of God. The Word does not say that if something bad happens, He's not going to be there for you. In fact, it says the opposite of that, that His grace is sufficient for us. He will be there for us.

Dannah: So then, put all of that together for me and tell me what your definition of anxiety sounds like.

Janet: I would say for me, anxiety is when I imagine a future that is absent of God's grace and love and strength.

Dannah: Wow.

Janet: And you know, Dannah, it flows into motherhood for me too. I get anxious about my kids. I imagine He's not going to be there for them. They go through something hard. And that's not true, either.

Dannah: Yeah, so true. What I'm sobered by is that definition. Were there some specific Scriptures that you began to turn to when you discovered, “Hey, this is me imagining God's not going to be there for me in the future?” What kind of power verses can we apply when we're feeling those same things?

Janet: Well, I guess it's an unusual power verse. But if you connect it with a verse and Lamentations, that becomes one. Actually, the whole the Scripture about manna in the book of Numbers is really what helped me a lot. But Numbers 11:7–9, it talks about how God provided manna every day. You had to go out, you get enough for that day. If you try to gather more than what you need for the day, it's gonna rot and turn into worms. And that's actually what I think of when I think of in Lamentations, when it says that His mercies are new every morning. I think about manna, how God gives us what we need, for this day, this moment, this task. That's actually something I say to myself out loud. 

When I am feeling anxious, I say God has equipped me for this day, this moment, this task. I don't need to gather up manna for the future because I don't even know what the future is going to be. But I know I'm equipped for right now, this moment, this task.

Dannah: I love that, that’s beautiful. Okay, we need to understand that anxiety is believing that God's grace isn't going to be there. For us. Those are two really important, I think spiritually grounding tools that we can put in our toolbox when we face it. But what about some practical tools? Are there any things that you've discovered are really helpful for you to do to fight anxiety in a practical way?

Janet: Yeah, and I have a long list. I'll just tell you a couple. A lot of people have different ways of dealing with anxiety. But I found one common denominator is to bring us to the present moment. 

I feel like anxiety steals time, because I'm so worried about what might happen next, that I'm not present where I am. So, anything, and it may be as simple as counting backwards from 10. I know it sounds silly, but just doing something kind of linear and logical like that can sometimes be enough to get my brain back to where I am. Or it can be exercise. It could be doing something creative with their hands, whether that's some people like cleaning does that for them. It does not do that for me. But that's okay. Or it can be something creative. 

Anything that brings me to this moment in front of me really helps with anxiety. The other really practical thing I do that has done wonders for me is when I'm in an anxious mindset, I'm very self-consumed. I'm self-absorbed, even if it's something that I'm afraid something's gonna go wrong with my kids. Ultimately, that comes back around to me saying I wouldn't be able to handle that. And so, in order to get my mind off myself, I have chosen one person that I've been praying for their salvation for years. And as soon as the anxiety starts to come, the panic starts to come (I've struggled with panic attacks for sure), I will start praying for their salvation out loud. 

It may be as simple as, “Lord, I pray that they would just find Jesus.” And whatever that does in the spiritual realm I'm not totally sure, but somehow that seems to lessen the pressure of the panic when I get my mind off myself and onto somebody else's true need of salvation. And that's just it's not like a magic trick or anything like that. It's really using the trigger of anxiety to trigger something eternal rather than something that is just wasting or taking up more of my time in the moment.

Dannah: I love that. And you know, it reminds me of when the word tells us that we're supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves. It’s so easy in the battle of anxiety to get consumed with, “What do I need?” And when you choose to rise up in prayer for someone, you're saying, “What does someone else need? Is there a need that my neighbor has that I can intercede for?” I love that. That's beautiful. Any final tips, Janet?

Janet: Final tips, I guess, I would say that Philippians 4, which says don't worry, don't worry, don't be anxious. Philippians 4 is one of the more popular ones. I feel like if God's Word says don't do something, it has to be possible somehow. It's easy to apply that to do not murder, right? Like, okay, well, I can do that. But do not be anxious is harder, because it's a much more level playing field. 

I would just encourage anyone who was praying this morning, I just felt this call in my heart to say that it is possible to find more freedom from anxiety. It has to be possible for the believer. It just has to be true, that we can walk in freedom from it to some degree or another. 

So, don't be discouraged, and take one step. Take one step towards something, whatever you feel like is going to give you a little bit of help to get to the next moment. Just take one step, ask the Lord, “What should I do right now to help me be a little less bound up by anxiety?” Because freedom is possible. Just for the believer, it has to be somewhat possible.

Dannah: Yeah, I feel like the way I want to say that today is: it doesn't have to be the way it is. Through Jesus, you can experience freedom. He says, “If you abide in my words, you'll know the truth and the truth will set you free, free from anxiety.” It doesn't have to be the way it is. If you are in a crippling battle with anxiety, reach out to your community, start praying for others, and start getting in the Word. Do whatever it takes, but there's freedom for you. 

Janet, you have been a blessing to us this morning. I'm excited because you're going to be a blessing in Indianapolis in September because you are going to lead a breakout session with me and our mutual friend Shani. Tell us a little bit about that?

Janet: Well, it's kind of a wild breakout session because it's about talking to your daughter about gender. That's what we're gonna do. Dannah, I was at a conference not too long ago where someone stood on the stage and gave a very, what I would call trite, simplistic view of this. And it just infuriated me because I was like, “No, there's more. There's more. This is more complicated than what you're just saying right now.” 

I'm so grateful to be able to come with my friends and have a real conversation about this that's not condemning, that's empowering, that's full of God's Word and truth. It's going to be great. I'm also excited because I'm going to do part of the teen track and actually talk about anxiety to the teens, which I think it's going to be lots of fun. Working with teens is always a lot of fun.

Dannah: So excited to have you at True Woman in Indianapolis in September. We have a myriad of breakout sessions. You're gonna have to check them out on the website. Janet, thanks for being with us today.

Janet: Yeah, thank you. Dannah, I want to say that I know people struggle with anxiety at different levels and in different ways. I don't know what everyone's individual struggle is, obviously. But I do know there's hope, and the Lord is hope and His Word. There's hope in pressing into truth. God's character never changes, so we can lean into it no matter what we're feeling. He is with us right now. Right now. He's here with us. So just take courage, everybody, take courage and press into the Lord.

Dannah: Amen. Thanks. Janet is the author of Arrows Make Terrible Crowns. You can learn more about her at JanetMylin.com. Portia . . .

Portia: Amen, amen, that was such a helpful interview. We we’re getting so many comments from people just saying how they needed to hear this today. So, thank you both so much. 

Well, if you're someone who battles anxiety, like me, and you've just resigned yourself to it, or maybe you've decided that it's just your personality. Well, let me give you some motivation to ask the Lord to work in this area of your life. Check out this short clip of my girl Dannah teaching on emotions from a past Revive Our Hearts Conference. 

Video: Dannah on Emotions

Dannah: Ladies this morning I'd like to ask you to open your Bibles to Luke 1, and I would love to address the topic: The lie that I cannot control my emotions.

I don't know if you've noticed but tween girls today are in crisis. As I was preparing and researching to write Lies Girls Believe, I came upon the research that told me that today's tween girls aged 8 to 12, it's not that they might struggle with depression, anger, resentment, greed, selfishness, depression, anxiety, stress. They will struggle with it, but to what degree. They have developed what they call a spectrum of anxiety to measure teens, tweens emotions. 

And this scariest thing that I read is that the anxiety levels of tween girls today for the normal average girl is higher than what would have put a girl aged 8 to 12 in an in treatment mental health facility in 1957. 

Our daughters and our granddaughters are in crisis. But as I was preparing this message for you, I was meditating on my concern for those young girls. God started speaking to me and He said, “Dannah, what is more tragic is that tween girls, who are not yet mature in their faith and in their minds are struggling so terribly with their emotions, that many Christian adult women have not grown up out of that?

Portia: Dannah. So good. So, let me ask you this. Do you think that the problem has gotten better or worse since the conference.

Dannah: Definitely worse. One thing that we can see in metrics is that the number of people who have requested sleeping pills, prescription strength sleeping pills, since the pandemic began, has just gone through the roof. 

So, that's just one example. People aren't sleeping. Why? Because they can't turn the anxious thoughts off. So, it's definitely gotten worse. In our teens and our tweens, we have seen the suicide rate increase dramatically just in the past two years. We can't just keep pretending like it's normal. It's not normal. It may be common, but it's not okay, we've got to do something for them. Because we can do something with the truth and the power of Jesus Christ.

Portia: I love what you just said, while talking with Janet about like that. It doesn't have to be this way. We can be free. And I think the big idea of that clip was that we don't have to be ruled by our emotions. Would you say that that's true of anxiety.

Dannah: It's absolutely true of anxiety. First of all, God created our emotions, so they're good. He says in His Word in Genesis, after He created everything, He looked at it and said, “It is good.” When He was done with everything, He said, “It is very good.” And our emotions are part of that. 

Now, we don't always think that they're good when it's emotions like stress, anxiety, grief, sadness. You need to think of emotions as messengers. They are telling you something is not right in the world. 

So, we experience grief when something devastating happens, because it is appropriate. Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. Why did Jesus grieve? Because it was a sinless, perfect response to the evil of this world under the curse of sin. And so, our emotions are messengers that tell us to respond to something, when we respond to them truthfully. For example, if you are stressed out and you're feeling anxiety, you do need to look at your schedule and say, “Am I taking on too much? Do I need to say no to some things so that I can say yes to everything in the present moment in a healthier, better way?” 

When you do that, the anxiety and the stress should abate because it's done its job. The message got read and responded to.

Now, here's where it gets complicated. If you're sitting on a beach and you're eating bonbons and drinking lemonade with your feet propped up and you're still feeling anxious, that is probably evidence that not something needs to be changed in your environment. But something needs to change in your heart, because you're probably believing a lie. 

Janet identified a lie today. The lie she was believing when she thought about her father dying, was that God's grace would not be there for her in the future, for whatever devastating thing might happen. That's an example of the kind of lies we have to identify and then say, “Hey, listen to what is God's truth.” And so, she went to the Word of God and found that the manna was God's provision every day for the needs of the Israelites in the desert. There's a truth of God for whatever lie you're believing. You need to just go to the Word of God. 

So first, look at your emotions, your anxiety, and your stress and say, “Is there something I need to address in my life? Is God sending me a message that I need to respond to?” And if it still exists after that, then you need to go to the Word and say, “Maybe I've been believing a lie. What is God's truth that I need to use to replace that lie with?” 

And if we do that, we can live in freedom. That's the promise. I'm gonna say it again. Jesus said, “You can know the truth and the truth will set you free.” That's what John 8:31 says. But don't forget verse 30. It says, “If you abide in my word, you're truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” 

We've got to identify the truth planted deeply in our heart, and we can live free from anxiety.

Portia: Amen, take me to church today, Dannah. Thank you. 

Dannah: I'll tell you who's gonna take us to church today, Erin Davis. It's time to get grounded in God's Word.

Grounded in the Word: Philippians 4:6–7, Mark 14:32–42

Erin: Yeah, I was gonna say it's not time to get grounded, it's kind of time to stay grounded. Dannah, took us to the Word, and that's where we want to be. I'm going to unpack Philippians 4, and Mark 14. Janet mentioned Philippians 4. But while you're turning there, I do want to shine a spotlight on something that Janet said rather quickly, and what I wish I was teaching the whole time on, because it's so important. She talked about the importance of your Christian community when you are facing anxiety. And she talked about our human propensity to want to withdraw and isolate ourselves when we're feeling anxious. That is the most dangerous thing you can do. 

So, as we're opening our Bibles this morning, we're doing it together. We are pointing each other to God's truth, together. And if you are both anxious and isolated, I want to sound all the alarms and tell you you need to run yourself to a Christian friend this morning. 

Okay, we're gonna look at two verses together. One of them is likely familiar if you've ever battled anxiety. In fact, it's possible that somebody might have tried to weaponize this verse, and shoot it at you like a torpedo in ways that weren't helpful. And if that's true, I apologize. I hope that we can see this verse with fresh eyes this morning. Philippians 4:6–7, it's underlined in my Bible, because there are times when I'm anxious and need this truth. Philippians 4:6–7 says,“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Now, there's some pretty extreme words there. In everything, there's a plan. Now, if you read those verses, like a command when you're feeling anxious, “I feel so anxious that I know, I'm not supposed to feel anxious about anything.” That can lead to shame, which is just going to be like pouring gasoline on a fire when it comes to your anxiety. 

And if you read them like a promise, that if I am not anxious about anything, or if I take everything to Jesus, then I won't feel anxious, then you might feel gypped, like God has not done what He said He would do because you still feel anxious. 

But what if they aren't a command? What if they aren't a promise? What if instead you looked at those verses as a process, a tool that you can use every time anxiety hits? And it will. It hits all of us at some point or another. 

Now, I actually think that we see Jesus model this in Mark chapter 14. So, flip to the left and your Bible a little bit from where you were. I'm going to read us 10 verses Mark chapter 14, verses 32–42. You might have just read these verses a couple of weeks ago, as you were preparing your heart to experience the beauty of the resurrection. Try to put yourself in Jesus' shoes for just a moment. 

And they went to a place called Gethsemane. [And there's Jesus.] He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray” and he took with Him Peter and James and John . . .” 

What you need to know about that is Peter, James, and John were his inner circle. So, He did know he needed His Christian community as He faced this anxious hour, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 

And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death, remain here and watch.” And going a little further, he fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible that our might pass from him.” And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup for me, yet not what I will, but what you will.” And he came and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour.”

Now, I'm not saying your Christian community is going to handle it perfectly? But He continues to have the conversation with them. Verse 38, 

“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.” And again, he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again, he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough, the hour has come, the Son of Man has betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.” 

What did Jesus mean when He said, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to the point of death?” Well, I always say that the valley of the shadow of death is that place where you find yourself and you say, “If I have to stay here one more minute, I'm gonna die.” It's oppressive darkness; it's oppressive fear. 

I think one of the things Jesus might have meant was that he was overwhelmed with anxiety. He Himself said He was sorrowful. Scripture says He was distressed and troubled. Now and never does it use the word anxiety. But we can use lots of words for that feeling that we can't move forward. In verse 34, He prayed that if it was possible the hour would pass from Him. He was saying, “I don't want to face this, Father.” That's anxiety talking. He said, “Remove this cup from me.” That's anxiety talking again, “I can't handle this” is what He might have been feeling. 

And how did Jesus respond to these overwhelming feelings of stress and anxiety? Well, with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. When did Jesus's anxiety begin to fade? Well, we don't know. But what we do know is that He modeled the pattern that he later gave us in Philippians 4. He called out to His Father. He thanked His Father for who He was. And then somewhere in that process, after involving His Christian community, after praying, after going to His Father and being honest about what He was feeling, Jesus stood up straight. He said, “Arise.” He walked right into that thing that He didn't think He could face. He walked right into what God had for Him that day. 

So, “Do not be anxious about anything. But in everything through prayer and supplication, present your request to God” isn't a command, maybe. But it's also something that Jesus modeled for us that He said, “Watch me, girls. I'll show you how it's done.” And because of Jesus, because of His Holy Spirit living in us, it's possible. You've heard that so many times today. It's not something we plan to say. But God planned to say it to you. “Listen, if I've asked you to do it, I will empower you to do it by the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

So, let's practice. Let's pray. Whatever it is that's making you anxious this morning. Have that in mind as I pray. Lord, we love You. We feel anxious today. There are big anxieties, little anxieties. I'm thinking of my little second grader who couldn't find his glasses this morning. He has testing today at school, and I don't know how that's gonna go. And for many women watching and listening, it is so, so much bigger than a lost pair of glasses. 

But You modeled this for us. We thank You, that we have You. We thank You that we have Your Word. We thank You that we have Your Holy Spirit living in us. We thank You that we have our Christian community. And so we present our requests to You. We ask You to give us what we need to face the day. We love You. We trust you. It's in Your name I pray. Amen.

The Good Stuff

Portia: Amen, amen, amen. Thank you so much, Erin. Well, I am here to give you a few tools to help you stay grounded, and I am happy to share them. The first is a blog post from my dear friend Colleen Chao. The title of the blog post is “God Is with You in Your Panic Attack.” And if you're a person who's ever experienced a panic attack, you know how scary it can be. Colleen she shares her personal experience of how God met her in the middle of her own panic attack. And so, I want you to check it out. I know that it'll bless you, and it will be a great encouragement to you. 

Alright, the second thing that I want to recommend is a Revive Our Hearts podcast series. It's entitled “A Calm Heart in a Troubled World.” And it's taken from Psalm 37. I love Psalm 37. Honestly, as a person who struggles with anxiety, it's a place where I visit pretty frequently. So, if you need a little extra umph to add to your Bible reading I encourage you to check out their podcast series.

Dannah: Portia, those are some great tools to help us continue with this battle. I have two closing thoughts if I can throw them in here. First of all, Erin, you kind of blew me away for a moment when you started saying Jesus was responding to His anxiety. And I had to pull out my verse that says, “He was tempted just like us in every way that we were.” So of course, He experienced anxiety, right? But then Peggy posted this comment. She was quoting Janet, she said, “Use the trigger of anxiety to do something of eternal significance.” 

Remember when Janet challenged us to do that? Does it get any more eternally significant than what Jesus did on the cross? After he prayed those prayers bringing His anxiety before the Father? Let's be women like that. Let's be women who live out the gospel in a sacrificial way, even when anxiety knocks on our door.

Erin: Count me in. 

Dannah: Me too. 

Portia: Me too. So good. Well, listen, we want to be the first to tell you Happy Mother's Day. 

Dannah: It’s a little early. 

Portia: I know this. Well, you know, by the time we return, it will have been Mother's Day. And so, we’ve got to get it in there to tell our sisters Happy Mother's Day.

Dannah: This is also your reminder. It's Mother's Day, get the cards sent.. 

Erin: Right.

Portia: Yes, yes. Yes, we've got some of our favorite moms joining us next Monday. One of them is Robyn McKelvy who is a mother of 10 and Dannah’s sweet mama, Kay Barker.

Dannah: I can’t wait to introduce her to everybody.

Portia: I know. You cannot miss this episode. Okay, so mark your calendars; set your alarms. Don't meet me there, beat me there.

Erin: I'm gonna start it early. Once you meet Kay Barker, you are going to want her to adopt you. So we'll just start to adopt Grounded daughter's petition for that episode. She's a delight. 

Hey, before we say goodbye, one last reminder to hit that subscribe button. Listen, we're tracking the information, and only about 30% of the people who watch Grounded actually subscribe. So double check that you have done that, and that means you're never gonna miss an episode. Let's wake up with hope together next Monday on Grounded

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