Flypaper flag

Do you ever wrestle with anxiety, even though your trust in your Heavenly Father seems strong?Sometimes, despite our deep faith, anxieties seem to swarm about some of us like annoying insects. “Go away!” We say. "You have no place here. Go back to the humid jungle of unbelief.”

We know our Good Father has always taken care of us and those we love, when they were willing to receive His care. His faithfulness has been rock solid in the days behind us (though we sometimes need hindsight to make our vision clear). Why, then, do we still sometimes find ourselves ineffectively attempting to bat these anxious flies away? Thankfully, we’re not God, or we would probably say to ourselves, “Really? You’re anxious again? Why are you worried? After all these years of my watching your back and answering even the smallest of your concerns,  you still don’t trust me?  I’ve had it with you.”

How thankful I am that He never gives up on us or forsakes us, despite our failings. He remains our Coach, however.  He doesn’t just consign us to chemical imbalances, family histories, or spirits of fear and dread, saying, “Well, that’s just the way you are” or “That’s to be expected, considering your family’s vulnerability to anxiety.” Instead, He says, “Let me help you get free from this.” He never wants us to remain in bondage. He came to set the prisoners free.*

There are different forms of anxiety, but He can help us with them all. One type is sometimes called ‘free-floating anxiety.’ There is no particular issue triggering the anxiety. It is rather the state of being anxious. This week, the Father gave me a picture of a flag made of flypaper being held aloft. He said that in this type of anxiety, it’s as if we’re sensing we either are or should be anxious about something and mentally reach out to catch things swirling about our minds to turn over there and fixate upon. In fact, our flypaper flag has caught so many bugs that our minds jump from concern to concern (even things long over and done with...mistakes made in years past and even resolved!). We can’t seem to take control in this ‘battlefield of the mind,’** despite our best efforts.

For some of us, something’s out of whack in our body systems. For some, we are worried and anxious about a particular situation. Regardless, the answer is always from Him. He doesn't want us to say, “I’m just a worrier.” Or, “I guess I’ll never be free of this....I’ll just have to live with it.”  As our Coach and Cheerleader, He guides us with strategies for overcoming.  Some directions include Scriptural warfare through declaration of His Word. Other times, He just makes us laugh at ourselves. Case in point:
“My Child, take down the flag!”
“What flag, Lord?”
“The flypaper one.  You’re holding it in the air to see what to roll around in your mind and worry over in your anxious state.”
“The what???  Oh....I get it.”
“Let me help you to escape the swarm cloud.”
“Yes, please....and thank you.”

He then reminded me to:
1) Recognize what is happening and identify it as the spiritual battle it invariably is, even when the anxious state involves biological issues.

2) Keep the arsenal of His powerful Word loaded in the chamber of our minds and hearts. Record (index cards, notebooks, digital files, sticky notes on mirrors....use whatever works best), ponder, and digest it so that it becomes a nutritive part of our strength...coming to mind quickly in battle.

3) Use it! A weapon hanging at our sides is the same as one shelved in a closet. Keep verses ‘at the ready’ to declare. We musn’t wait to search for them when we're anxious.  Attention Deficit Disorder thrives in the anxious state. We will be tempted to default to some sort of other seemingly entertaining  ‘escape’ to divert ourselves, which will only delay the real solution.  [However,  watching, listening, reading, puzzling, etc. can later help us, if the content is not inconsistent with His Word.]

4) Play peaceful Christian music [like Hidden in My Heart ***(Scripture set to  music); Quietly, a Piano Album; Julie True (soaking music); Fernando Ortega; and others.

5) Breathe in His Holy Spirit.  Talk with the Lord.  Tell Him, "I'm breathing You in, Holy Spirit.  Thank You for Your Presence.  Please calm my mind...my soul and spirit.  Quiet the beating of my anxious heart.  Help me to rest in You.  I and all my family belong to You. Thank You for caring for all of us, as a Good Shepherd cares tenderly for his sheep.  We are Yours.

6) Use your lifeline:  Call a trusted friend who understands the principles of spiritual warfare and is sensitive to the particular challenges of anxiety.  Don't spend long rehearsing the problem. Rather, ask her/him to pray (on the phone or in person).

7) Read scriptures, like the 23rd Psalm, out loud. Personalize it. Make it first person.  For example.  You, Lord, are My (Our) Shepherd.  You give me a quiet place to lie down in green pastures.  You are leading me now beside still waters.  You are restoring my soul.... I'm breathing in the gift of Your Holy Spirit. Thank you for caring for me and for my family even in the dark valleys.  Thank you for anointing us with oil, even in the presence of our enemies....Thank you for feeding and caring for us so tenderly.  Nothing is too difficult for You.  Nothing too big or too small to receive Your attention.  Help me now to receive Your Shalom of body, soul, and spirit.  In Jesus' Name Amen.

8) Remember, you're never alone in this.  He will never leave your side.  He is for you and wants you free. He suffered immeasurably and died for it. Don't wait for heaven.  He wants this deliverance for you and for me now.
____________________
*Psalm 146: 6b-8a
   Who keeps truth and is faithful forever,
   Who executes justice for the oppressed 
   Who gives food to the hungry
   The Lord sets free the prisoners
   The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down

**Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer    (If it's been awhile since you read this classic...or if you've never gotten around to reading it, now's the time.)

***Hidden in My Heart; (Volumes 1-3); Quietly, a Piano Album by Jay Stocker; Julie True (just about any album takes you right into the Presence of God); Fernando Ortega (many great albums)