A Small Book for the Anxious Heart

These are anxious times! The unknown is scary whether anxiety is something you struggle with on a daily basis or only on occasions that are unfamiliar and uncomfortable for everyone. 
 
Most of us have at least a little anxiety right now thanks to COVID-19. But, God’s Word has a lot to say about feeling fearful and anxious. The following is an excerpt from A Small Book for the Anxious Heart by Edward T. Welch, a small but powerful devotional book to remind us of the encouraging, beautiful words in Scripture written to anxious people.  ​

Don’t Be Anxious . . . Pray. ​This sounds too simple, doesn't it!?

"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

Don’t be anxious . . . PRAY!

But don’t brush this off as trite and simplistic.

Every other way of dealing with fears and anxieties relies on some technology, medicine, and/or self-talk. But we all know—even children know—that our anxieties need the right person, and you and I know that Person!

Have you tried this when you are anxious?

Have you ever answered your anxious thoughts with Scripture-led prayer?
​It turns out that this seemingly simple and available-to-all teaching is one of the hidden and underused treasures of Scripture. It only sounds trite if you haven’t practiced it. It is simple, but, like the simple instruction to “love one another,” it takes a lifetime to master.

So, what happens when we answer our anxious thoughts with Scripture-led prayer?

• We learn to speak honestly to the Lord about our fears and anxieties.
• We grow in making simple requests, such as “help!”
• We talk to God using His words in the Bible—merging our requests with what He says is true and what we know the Lord delights in giving us.
• We learn to wrap all of this together with thanksgiving, remembering what Jesus has done in the past, what He is doing now, and what He will do in the future. 

​Those who consistently respond to anxiety with prayer are the sages in our midst. Too often we brush off Philippians 4:6 and look for something more complicated. Meanwhile, this wonderfully compact teaching stands waiting for us.
 
Ed Welch writes, "The last thirty years of my life have been spent shortening the time lag between the appearance of anxiety and the onset of prayer. That gap has gone from two days down to one, and then down to an hour.

Occasionally, prayer comes even before my anxiety is full-blown. When that happens, I marvel at the power of God that equips me to do what is counterintuitive. Left to myself I spin out doomsday scenarios, hoping that my frenetic mind will stumble into some answers. But when I go to my heavenly Father and tell Him my worries, when I remember His words to me (an ever-present help in trouble), and when I thank Him for His care, the peace of Christ does begin to rule my heart and mind. It’s a miracle that still takes me by surprise."

"God is our refuge and strength,a very present[b] help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; He utters His voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Come, behold the works of the Lord, how He has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the chariots with fire. 'Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!' The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah" (Ps. 46)

For this passage to come alive to you and me, we have to know that God is near.

Paul mentions that right before he tells the Philippians to replace anxiety with prayer (Philippians 4:5). For the ancient Israelites, God was just on the other side of a curtain, residing in His Holy of Holies. Now, for us, Immanuel—God-with-us—is in us and we are in Him.

Are you persuaded that He wants you to talk to Him?

This is what happens in the best of relationships.
We speak of what is heavy on our hearts, and the other person never minimizes our struggle. Although the Lord knows your thoughts and feelings even before you do, He values you actually putting those thoughts and feelings into words and into prayer. Welcome to the deep wisdom of God that is available to us through Jesus! Welcome to don’t be anxious . . . PRAY!

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Purchase A Small Book for the Anxious Heart and get started this week!

​Fear and anxiety are chronic struggles for many, and they are only intensifying and increasing.
Best-selling author Edward T. Welch shares the comfort and peace of Jesus in fifty brief readings for those of us who wrestle with fear and anxiety.

A Small Book for the Anxious Heart is a powerful devotional that reminds us of the encouraging, beautiful words in Scripture written to anxious people.

While many books on fear and anxiety exist—promising to help us manage our struggles with methods and formulas—this devotional reaches deeper into Scripture, making the Word of God more accessible. Don’t put a Band-Aid on your fear and anxiety; rather, learn to bring your fear to Jesus, relying on His Word.

Welch has been counseling for over thirty-eight years and is the author of more than a dozen books, including A Small Book about a Big Problem (which we'll look at next Tuesday), Running Scared: Fear, Worry and the God of Rest, Shame Interrupted, When People Are Big and God Is Small, and many others.

Jesus cares for us, and in these readings, Welch invites readers to trust God for today, knowing He goes before us always.

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Read a sample of A Small Book for the Anxious Heart here.

Last week, we looked at A Small Book for the Hurting Heart. Be sure to check back next Tuesday as we highlight A Small Book About a Big Problem.

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If you've read A Small Book for the Anxious Heart by Ed Welch, I'd love to know what you thought and how it impacted your life.