227: When Anxious Thoughts Come

In last week’s blog post (click here if you missed it) I wrote about taking a break from the news media because of how unsettling and agitated it was making me feel. All the violence and discord were making me anxious. I needed to withdraw myself from the news and turn to something more positive. It led me to a passage in the Bible from Philippians 4:8, which reads, 

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

I then wrote about the breakfast Janet and I had with our 23-year-old twin grandsons and what a delight it was because it personified the virtues the Apostle Paul described in this passage. 

Anxiety creeps in

What I didn’t mention last time was that our breakfast came at a time of anxiety for me in preparing for a vacation trip Janet and I were taking to Ireland. It was coming up soon, and I even thought, “How can I get out of this?” Have you ever felt anxious like this, even over something good like a vacation?

In today’s episode I’ll tell you how I made it through this anxiety, because what I learned in the process may help you when you’re feeling anxious.

But first, I’m John Certalic, and you are listening to the start of season 10 and episode 227 of You Were Made for This, the podcast about finding joy in being the person God created each of us to be. Namely, someone who reflects the character, image, and likeness of God in all our relationships. It’s what we were made for. We were made for this.

Vacation planning causes anxiety

So what was there to be anxious about in planning a 12-day vacation trip to Ireland? Janet and I have both traveled a number of times overseas, but it seemed there were more things to be anxious about this time. 

• Will our Irish cat, Father Patrick O’Malley, be okay with our cat sitter?  
• Will the bus taking us from our home in Wisconsin to O'Hare International for the flight to Dublin get us there on time?
• Will I forget my passport?
• Will our flight be on time, or might it even be cancelled?
• What did I forget to pack?  Did I pack too much, or too little?
• Will I get sick like I did a few years ago, and spend hours in the ER of a London Hospital?
• Will Janet get sick?
• Will I lose my passport in Ireland?
• Will Janet’s foot and knee pain keep her from being able to walk fast enough to keep with the tour guide?
• On our return home, will we be able to find the place to pick up the bus at O’Hare to take us home?

On and on it went. So many things that could go wrong. Was the trip even worth it?

An answer to anxiety

During this anxious time a few close friends were praying for Janet and me. As the day grew closer to leave, I was in the middle of reading through the Book of Psalms in the Bible. At the height of my anxious feelings I came across Psalm 139. And that is what made all the difference in relieving me from my anxious thoughts and feelings.

Reading this psalm several times over a few days calmed my heart. It’s another example of putting Philippians 4:8 in practice, namely, 

fixing my thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Thinking about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

I’ll close now by reading Psalm 139 for you. It’s not very long. I hope you will think of the truths it contains when you’re feeling anxious and unsettled.  Because it is what we were made for. You and I were made for this.

Psalm 139

O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.

You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. 

You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.

You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.

You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!

I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!

If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave,[a] you are there.

If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.

I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—

but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

How precious are your thoughts about me,[b] O God.
They cannot be numbered!

I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!

And when I wake up,
you are still with me!

O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!

They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.

O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?

Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

 

Thanks for listening in, and I’ll see you again next time.

Goodbye for now.

Other episodes or resources related to today’s shows

139: Why Should I Listen to This Podcast?

021: The Most Important Relationship of All

Prior recent episode

226: End-of-Summer Conversations

All past and future episodes can be found at JohnCertalic.com