A simple, biblical way for Christian women to overcome anxiety using this daily practice.
It began in earnest the moment I woke up. The tumbling feeling in my stomach that felt more like rocks in a dryer instead of butterflies.
Anxiety welled up within my mind and heart–something had to be wrong. The night before, I’d laid in bed, wondering why my pregnancy this time around felt so different. No nausea, no indigestion, and most surprisingly, no overwhelming exhaustion.
I wasn’t an anxious person by nature (though I did have times of worry and seasonal depression), but knowing that I could be facing a miscarriage right at the edge of the “safe zone”, 13 weeks, heightened my sense of fear.
There were moments in this waiting time that I literally had to take a deep breath, close my eyes and pray that God would slow down my hammering heart and turning stomach.
We headed to the doctor and I was filled with dread. The doctor looked serious, and my heart pounded, but what she said surprised me.
Everything was alright. Baby was fine. My body was just treating this pregnancy different for some reason. And the physical signs of miscarriage I saw? Easily explainable.
Obviously, this news was a huge relief. My husband and I felt ourselves physically relax and we gave much thanks to God. Yet, after I had some time to reflect on the situation, I deeply sensed the need for calming my anxious heart going forward.
I couldn’t just continue to rely on my grit and strength, whether it was during the pregnancy (the nausea came on full force shortly after my doctor’s appointment, strangely enough!) or whether it was another difficult situation we might face in the future. Because life isn’t always going to be full of good news.
Have you been in this place in your life? Struggling with anxiety, your stomach in knots over a fear or worry that is out of your control?
How do we find the peace and calm that our anxious heart desperately needs? Distracting ourselves from the thing that’s hurting isn’t a long-term solution. And neither is assuming that we aren’t able to be healed and simply must try to survive from one emotional turmoil to the next.
There is peace to be found in taking our thoughts captive to Christ. I love what St. Augustine wrote:
“Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
The Simple Daily Habit That Makes the Difference
The very simple but powerful habit that can help you is the practice (or discipline) of writing God’s Word.
Digging into the Bible will bring us to a place of rest and peace. It isn’t a quick fix, but it’s a process of letting the Holy Spirit root out the worries and fears that threaten our joy.
When we spend less time letting our own thoughts take over, put pen to paper and just write through the Word, little by little our hearts and minds are transformed and the peace that Philippians 4:7 talks about works its way into our lives.
It doesn’t mean we won’t ever struggle again, we live in a fallen world, after all, but simply that we recognize that there is power in the Word through the Holy Spirit to complete the good work that has been started in us.
When You Start to See Things Change
Oftentimes, we don’t even realize how much change has taken place until we are faced with yet another trouble, and see that in that trial we are repeating words of Scripture and whispering heartfelt prayers, rather than being pulled down under again.
In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world. John 16:33
There is such a release and reassurance in this simple practice! Friends, I want you to experience this!
I’m not perfect at all, and many days I have to go to the cross again and rely solely on God to lift me up, and start calling to mind Bible verses that have been imprinted on my memory through the practice of writing Scripture.
Won’t you join me in Writing through the Word with a Scripture Writing Plan?
To help you bring calm to your anxious heart through the power of God’s Word, I’ve created Write Through the Word.
What is Write Through the Word and How Can It Help my Devotional Life?
Write Through the Word is a simple Scripture writing plan method designed to help you hide God’s Word in your heart in a way that sticks, even if you don’t have a lot of time for a Bible study each day.
Each month is a journey through a Biblical theme and gives you one to three verses to write down each day.
Through a journaling page that includes prompts and questions, you’ll be guided to a deeper understanding of how the daily verse applies to your life and what it teaches you about God.
(Below, a fellow mom, Casi, uses Write Through the Word in her morning devotions!)
My heart in creating this is to minister to moms who want to be intentional about growing in their faith and needed to know how to turn to the Word in times of anxiety and struggle, but feel like the overwhelm keeps them from developing a stronger devotional life.
This resource is a digital, downloadable product available in our shop that you can print out on your own.
Write Through the Word includes:
- Dated, 12 month Scripture calendar for 2022 on the theme Biblical Motherhood
- Perpetual Scripture calendar, so you can start any time of the year and still have 12 full months of Scripture writing available to you!
- Reproducible printable journaling page with space to write down the verses of the day, thoughts on the verse that are guided by three simple questions to help you dig deeper, and a spot to write down a personal prayer. You can also use the journaling page as a guide and grab your own notebook for daily writing.
- Beautiful Bible verse prints, coloring pages and Scripture cards so that you can have God’s Word in front of you throughout the day.
- A printable prayer list for writing down requests and answered prayers.
- Printable, reproducible women’s sermon notes page
- Kids’ Scripture Writing reproducible resources: Kids’ Journaling Page with prompts, Kids’ Prayer List with prompts, and Sermon Notes!
- Two encouraging videos that teach you how to develop a consistent devotional time and how to make the most of Write Through the Word.
- NEW in 2022: Monthly video devotionals that I send straight to your email to help you get the most out of the topic for each month.
In just a month of using Write Through the Word, you’ll journal over 30 Bible verses and experience spiritual growth and heart change, growing stronger in your faith and able to relate the Word to your life.
Your devotional time can start out at just 5 minutes each day.
And the more you write down these life-changing words, the more time you want to spend in the Scriptures.
Your heart and mind are reminded of truth when you need it most, because you’re making Scripture writing a part of your day.
I want you to experience this spiritual growth, just like I did.
Don’t let another day go by without the strength and reassurance that comes from writing and praying over God’s Word!
