“Cast your cares on God; that anchor holds.” — Frank Moore Colby
Just a look at her eyes and posture, and I knew it: She needed me. My friend suffers from anxiety and knows how that demon plagued me for many years; therefore, she has asked me to become her accountability partner.
As she sat down, downcast, she started sharing her burden.
“It happened all of a sudden. I was sitting there and started feeling anxious about this issue,” she said, teary-eyed.
I know the feeling.
Sometimes it happened when I least expected — sitting in front of my computer, working on a project. It started with tingling in my hands and feet, the dreadful signs of an upcoming anxiety attack. Then my heart started racing, and awful, often senseless, fears filled my mind. I was also young and did not know what was happening to me. I did not feel comfortable talking to anyone since anxiety or depression were taboo subjects several years ago. There were no commercials about it, and people certainly did not talk about dealing with these taunting monsters.
I held her hand.
“I know what you are feeling. But I also know the truth. And you do too,” I said, confidently.
“Yes. But …”
“No. There are no ‘buts.’ Let’s talk about what you know. Let’s cast an anchor into this stormy sea.”
My friend knows it — she read my book. I call verses of Scriptures “anchors” and have several written in small notes posted around my house.
“What does God say about being anxious?”
“Be anxious for nothing,” my young friend whispered.
Yes. But Scriptures also tell you how to do that. And so, I pulled the verse in Paul’s epistle to the Philippians on my screen, and we read it together:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds.”
We then talked about how to take anxious thoughts captive before they took over, and instead, pray about her concerns.
She then prayed a sweet, childlike prayer, tears streaming down her cheeks. I held her close, all too aware of the confusion and fears gripping her heart.
I printed the verse and handed it to her. “Put it where you will see it all the time. Memorize it.”
In my opinion, there hardly is a better metaphor for Scriptures than that of an anchor.
Anchors have been used since ancient times to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent it from drifting due to currents or strong winds.
The earliest anchors were probably rocks, and many have been found on the seabed dating from at least the Bronze Age. Pre-European canoes, called Maori Waka, used hollowed stones tied with flax ropes as anchors. Ancient Greeks used baskets of rocks, giant sacks filled with sand, and wooden logs filled with lead. Regardless, ever since men started navigating earth’s bodies of waters, anchors have been used to keep vessels from drifting away or from being destroyed by the storms.
There is no question that there are situations in which people need medication to help them heal from anxiety and depression. However, I truly believe that the only way to consistently overcome forlorn or anxious thoughts is by anchoring our hearts and minds in what we know to be true.
Whether in the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures) or the New Testament, we repeatedly read the accounts of men and women of God who, during times of distress, fear and doubts, would counter-attack the afflux of negative thoughts by remembering God’s faithfulness to his people. From Abraham to the persecuted old-testament prophets, from Jesus when tempted by Satan in the wilderness, to the apostle Paul in prison waiting for his execution. We have been taught, by their example, that the secret to surviving life’s strongest storms is to anchor our hearts in the unchangeable character of God.
I don’t dismiss it as an easy thing to do. It has been a lifelong process for me. But rather than allowing my thoughts to wander into dark places when trials come, I have learned to remind my heart of the many times God rescued me in the past, and that there is no reason not to believe he will do it again.
And so, I share the story, hoping that just as my friend’s heartbeat slowed down as she started praying instead of fretting, someone out there will pause today to pray, trust and believe.
Patricia Holbrook is a columnist, author, blogger and international speaker. Visit her website www.soaringwithHim.com. For speaking engagements and comments, email pholbrook@soaringwithHim.com
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