Be anxious for nothing

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. (Philippians 4:6-7)

I have no qualms in stating that my work is stressful. There’s little room for error in what I do every day. Being responsible for the schedules, travel, deadlines, and behind-the-scenes coordination of top corporate executives means that if I miss something, if I can’t keep up, problem-solve, and facilitate as needed, successful daily operations, events, and management will fail. I quietly carry that responsibility on my shoulders every day. It’s enough to carry that burden for one chief corporate officer. I carry this weight for eight executives, with two more starting in the next three weeks. That’s a heavy burden to bear.

I barely remember the last year of my life. Working 12-hour days does that to you. Gone are my evenings when I could quit at 4:00 pm, work in the yard, and read before bed at night. I now cook a week’s worth of meals on Sundays and live for Saturdays, when I can finally work in my yard and leave my computer behind. Even writing about this lifestyle leaves my stomach in knots.

Over the past two months, my stomach aches have advanced to chest tightness, shortness of breath, and lightheadedness. I visited my doctor last week to try to figure out what’s going on.

“My work is stressful,” I began, after explaining my symptoms to her. “This isn’t fun.”

“You’re having panic attacks,” she explained.

“But I’m not panicking,” I retorted. “I’m just sitting at my desk, working.”

“Your body is reacting to the stress,” she explained. “Part of your body wants to rest, and the other part is saying, ‘Keep up! Get moving! Don’t stop!’ The result is a chemical reaction resulting in all the symptoms you’ve been feeling.”

While she prescribed a pill I can take up to three times a day, if I need to, I don’t like pills. I tried what she prescribed, and while it helped with some of the symptoms, it also has side effects that aren’t any more comfortable.

What I need is peace. What I need is to give it all to God. I’m determined to do so. I’m covering all of this with prayer. I need to reclaim my life, refocus on God, and remember that what I do for Him, how much time I give to His focus, worship, and praise, is what’s most important.

For now, I’m collecting Bible verses on anxiety and peace. Here are just a few that mean so much to me:

• Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. (Proverbs 12: 25)
• Do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
• Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
• Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)
• For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7)
• Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22)
• Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)
• So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)
• Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)
• Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:34)
• Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)
• Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life? (Matthew 6: 25-27)
• I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. (Psalm 34:4)

I know this won’t be an easy forward path, as my workload isn’t changing. I can’t control that.

What I can control is how I handle the stress, how I deal with letting it pile up.

I know that my God is greater than anything the world can throw at me. I am not alone. My Heavenly Father is the Creator of the universe. Even the winds and rain obey Him. The next time I feel the stress begin to build, I’m going to stop, pray, and meditate on the words He gave us all, remembering that He alone is in control.

I trust that God will sustain me. After all, His Word commands, not asks me, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

And so, I shall. I know He will deliver me.