Who Handed Worry a Microphone?

Claire Black: Welcome to True Girl, a podcast for girls and their moms. I’m Claire Black. Together, we’ll explore God’s truth for us one drive at a time. Buckle up! You’re about to grow closer to each other and closer to Jesus.

Song:

I am a true girl.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
I am, I am, I am a true girl!

Claire: When I was little, I used to think roller coasters were really cool and sounded really fun . . . right up until the moment I was actually strapped into one.

Suddenly, I’d start thinking things like:

What if this thing gets stuck upside down?
What if I passed out?
What if I totally regret this?!

Sometimes anxiety feels exactly like that. Your thoughts start racing. Your stomach twists. And before you know it, your brain has taken you on a ride you never even wanted to go on.

Maybe you’ve felt anxious about school, friendships, sports, family stuff, what people think about you . . . or even things you can’t explain. If you’ve ever felt that way, you’re definitely not alone.

The good news is that God cares about anxious hearts. And this season, Dannah Gresh and Suzy Weibel are exploring what the Bible says about worry, fear, and learning to trust Jesus when your thoughts feel out of control.

Last week, they said that anxiety can feel like a roller coaster ride you didn’t mean to get on. But, you’re actually in control of which ride you choose.

Today, they’re still exploring the amusement park and discovering that sometimes the loudest rides happen inside our minds.

Get ready for episode 2 of season 28, “Who Handed Worry a Microphone?” Here’s Suzy.

Suzy Weibel: Okay, I have officially found my favorite part of the theme park.

Dannah Gresh: The giant slides?

Suzy: No. This giant soft pretzel.

Dannah: (laughing) Of course. You have been a foodie as long as I've know you, Suzy.

Suzy: Actually, I think theme parks are basically just snacks with roller coasters attached.

Dannah: Ah yes. The true theme park experience: carbs and fear.

Suzy: You know what’s funny?

Dannah: What?

Suzy: Nobody walks off a roller coaster saying, “That was a calm and emotionally regulated experience.”

Dannah: That is very true.

Suzy: Your heart’s racing. Your stomach’s flipping. Your brain feels scrambled.

Dannah: Honestly, that’s kind of what anxiety feels like sometimes.

Suzy: Exactly. And sometimes the hardest part isn’t even what’s happening around us. It’s what’s happening inside our heads.

Dannah: Oh yes, the thoughts.

Suzy: You know what’s interesting?

Dannah: What?

Suzy: You can recognize your friends’ voices instantly.

Dannah: Oh, absolutely. Like if my phone rings and I hear your voice, I know it’s you immediately.

Suzy: Exactly! Or if your mom calls your name from across a crowded room, you know her voice without even looking.

Dannah: That’s true.

Suzy: I think anxious thoughts can be like that too. The more you listen to certain voices in your mind, the easier they are to recognize.

Dannah: Oh, that’s really good.

Suzy: Like sometimes anxiety has a very specific “voice.”

Dannah: Oh no. You’re about to do voices, aren’t you?

Suzy: I absolutely am.

Dannah: This is gonna be good!

Suzy: Okay, let’s say you walk away from an awkward conversation at school. Suddenly [in a dramatically nervous voice], "Oh no. Everyone definitely noticed how weird you sounded."

Dannah: Yep. Been there.

Suzy: I think everyone’s heard that one.

And then, another voice jumps in. [sassy whisper voice] "And now they’re probably texting each other about it."

And then the really dramatic one shows up. [deep dramatic movie-trailer voice] "And you will never recover socially."

Dannah: (laughing) Okay, wow! That escalated quickly!

Suzy: That’s how anxious thoughts work sometimes. It’s like one worried thought hands a microphone to another worried thought . . . and suddenly everybody’s talking all at once.

Dannah: That is such a good description. One tiny thought suddenly turns into this giant story in your head. And honestly? I’ve experienced that so many times in my own life—where one tiny thought suddenly turns into this giant spiral in my head.

Suzy: Oh, yes.

Dannah: You start replaying that conversation or start worrying about something that hasn’t even happened yet, and before you know it, your thoughts feel completely out of control.

I remember when I first started talking publicly about Jesus and everything He had done in my life. I knew God was leading me to write my first book and tell my freedom story about how Jesus revived my heart. But I never knew, I never imagined, I was going to have to speak publicly if I was an author. A friend told me, “People are going to invite you to speak after they read your book. You’ll have to say yes because that will help more people hear about your book.”

I remember saying, “I will never speak in front of a live audience.”

Suzy: Really? That’s kind of suprises me since you do it all the time at True Girl events!

Dannah: I know! But at first it was more than a bad case of stage. Every time I spoke, I heard this anxious voice in my head.

That wasn’t very good. You’re not a good speaker, you know! People are going to think you’re so strange for how you got up there and talked about Jesus!

I mean, it was so bad, I would have to pray and pray after a speech. I felt really foolish for the way I said it, for forgetting to say things I would remember after I spoke. And, well, it was such a bad feeling. I could hardly sleep at night because it seemed like the anxious thoughts got even louder then when there was nothing else to distract me.

Suzy: That is such a relatable feeling . . . especially at night.

Dannah: Yes. Why do anxious thoughts always feel louder at bedtime?!

Suzy: Because apparently nighttime turns our brains into dramatic storytellers.

Dannah: Seriously though, I think all of us know exactly what that can feel like. And after awhile, if we’re not careful, those thoughts can start sounding true.

I started to believe I was a really bad speaker. I’m not the world’s best, but I was actually beginning to believe, it would be better for Jesus if I just didn’t say anything at all.

Suzy: Wow!

That's a perfect example of how not every thought we think is actually true. Because Dannah, you’re a very good teacher. 

That reminds me of a verse.

Let me grab my Wonder app. I did not bring my Bible to the theme park. I didn’t want it to fall out of my pocket when we eventually go upside down on that roller coaster.

Dannah: Okay, I see what you did there.

Suzy: Okay, 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us what to do when anxiety gets loud in our heads:

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Dannah: I LOVE that verse. 

It reminds me that I have the power to determine which thoughts are beneficial to me. I don’t have to be trapped letting every thought run wild in my mind.

Suzy: Exactly. We can stop and ask, “Is this thought actually true?”

Dannah: That’s precisely what I had to do when I started feeling insecure about my teaching ability. And I found a Bible verse that helped me take control of my fear and anxiety.

Suzy: Which one?

Dannah: Second Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

Suzy: Oh, that's a good one!

Dannah: It was a perfect one for me when I felt insecure about speaking about Jesus. The apostle Paul wrote it to Timothy.

Timothy was a younger pastor facing opposition and false teachers. He probably had fear or discouragement about standing boldly for Jesus, don't you think? Maybe he even had anxious thoughts about it.

Suzy: Just like you.

Dannah: Paul tells Timothy to “fan into flame the gift of God.” Or, in other words, remember this calling to teach is a gift from God. Don’t let it die like a fire that’s turning into embers. Fan it. Just like you do a camp fire where the marshmallow roasting is about to end. You fan it and the embers fire back up!

That’s what we’re supposed to do when we feel anxious and fearful, especially when it comes to talking about Jesus. Then after that comes the famous verse:

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Suzy: Wow, the verse actually contrasts the fear with the much greater things we get from God’s Spirit: power, love and self-discipline!

Dannah: Right! I would pray that Bible verse every time anxious thoughts about speaking came into my head. “God, I know you do not give me fear like this. Please fill me with your power, Your love, and give me the self-discipline to not let the anxious thoughts be in control.”

Suzy: Hey, you know what you did? You took the microphone out of anxiety's hands!

Dannah: Exactly. I don’t think Jesus wants us to be anxious. 

Suzy: I know He doesn’t. Jesus once told Martha, who was worried and anxious about a lot of things, “Hey, don’t be anxious. Look at your sister, Mary. She has chosen something better.”

Dannah: In other words, I don’t want these loop-de-loop thoughts bothering you. Jesus cared about it!

Suzy: Jesus didn’t say: “Martha, you’re ridiculous.”

He said, “Friend, you can choose something better.”

Dannah: Yeah. He was gently showing her that her thoughts had pulled her away from peace.

Suzy: And away from spending time with Him—the Prince of Peace.

Dannah: And I think that happens to us too. Sometimes our thoughts get so loud that we stop paying attention to what’s true and important.

Suzy: Which is why we have to learn to recognize the voices we’re listening to.

Dannah: Exactly, because not every voice deserves a microphone.

Suzy: WHOOA. That’s good.

Dannah: If a thought is constantly leading you toward fear, panic, shame, or hopelessness, that is not the voice of Jesus.

Suzy: Because Jesus leads us toward Him—not away.

Dannah: Exactly. Now that doesn’t mean we ignore problems or pretend hard things aren’t real.

Suzy: Right. But it does mean we stop letting anxious thoughts boss us around.

Dannah: And we bring those thoughts to Jesus.

Suzy: So maybe this week, whenever an anxious thought shows up, pause and ask, “Is this thought true? What does the Bible say about this?”

Dannah: And if the answer is no, maybe that thought doesn’t deserve the microphone after all.

Suzy: You know . . .

Dannah: What?

Suzy: I think my inner voice is telling me I might need another soft pretzel.

Dannah: Mmm, I think mine is too!

Suzy: Wait! Another message in-coming!

Dannah: Oh no!

Suzy: (sophisticated voice) “Suzy, one pretzel is enough.”

Dannah: Reasonable.

Suzy: But wait . . . (goblin-like voice) “BUT WHAT IF WE NEVER FIND SOFT PRETZELS AGAIN, PRECIOUS?!”

Dannah: (laughing) I think you’re probably okay on that one, Suzy! Don’t listen to that anxious voice.

Suzy: (deep dramatic movie-trailer voice) “In a world where mustard packets are limited . . .”

Dannah: (laughter)

Claire: True Girl, not every thought deserves a microphone.

Sometimes anxious thoughts sound loud and convincing—but that doesn’t mean they’re true or deserve to take up space. You’ve got to take every thought captive and let Jesus be in charge of your thoughts. He doesn’t want you to suffer from anxiety.

This week, when worried thoughts start swirling around in your mind, stop and ask yourself, “Does this thought sound like Jesus?” If not, invite Jesus to take it captive and to control it. And if you aren’t sure, get into your Bible and find out!

If you need help taking your thoughts captive, you’ll like "The Peace Box" we’re shipping right now to our Subscription Box members! It’s based on Dannah’s bestselling book Lies Girls Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free. It includes a poster that helps you learn the process of identifying lies in your mind and replacing them with God’s truth—kind of like what Dannah did when she felt insecure about teaching! The box also has daily devos on how to control your thoughts, a mom-daughter activity, and some great summer fun! 

We’ll ship that box until the end of July, or while supplies last. And sixty days later, we’ll send another. And then, you get it, every sixty days we ship discipleship tools to your front door. Every box is filled with special ways to help you grow closer to Jesus and closer to your mom. Learn more at MyTrueGirl.com.

And the Wonder app Dannah read from today? That’s our Bible study tool for teen girls. Check it out on the app store.

Next week, Dannah and Suzy are getting a behind-the-scenes look at how the park rides are controlled—and what prayer has to do with anxious thoughts.

Song:

Oh, oh, oh, oh.
I am a true girl.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
I am, I am, I am a true girl!

The True Girl podcast is produced by Revive Our Hearts, calling women of all ages to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

*Offers available only during the broadcast of the podcast season.