Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6-7

Sweet friend, if you’ve been with me for a while now, you’ve likely noticed that I write about anxiety more often than many other topics. I once thought I developed anxiety while working on my dissertation – it was certainly a low point in my mental health – but when I examine my life through Holy Spirit’s leading, I recognize that I’ve struggled with anxious thoughts since I was a young woman. The enemy has a tactic to come at each of us and my weakness is a tendency toward overthinking and overwhelm which lead to overplanning and overperforming.

I wrote a few devotions a month or so ago linking anxiety and pride and as God continues to “grow me up” in this area, what He shares with me is not meant for me keep to myself. Even if you don’t struggle with anxious thinking, I encourage you to read today’s post and share the tips inside with a friend or loved one who does.

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It might not be readily apparent, but have you ever noticed that pride and anxiety often come together? Sometimes the anxiety hits first and we’re too proud to talk to anyone about it for fear they’ll think less of us. Other times the pride takes center stage and we become anxious thinking about how we might fail, how we might take a hit that our pride can’t handle. Whichever comes first, it often turns into a vicious cycle of worry and fear and exhaustion from trying to pretend we aren’t feeling anxious and from doing every human thing possible to keep our pride in place and not take that humbling hit we’re so anxious might come.

The worst part is, the longer we cycle on that vicious path, the more tempting it becomes to run, to run from people, to run from ourselves, and – sadly – to run from God.

Dear heart, I get it. Pride and anxiety come for us all at some point. It may look different outwardly from person to person, but we all have our battles with pride and anxiety and trust me, if you’re wrestling with one of them, you’re wrestling with both of them whether you realize it or not. What do we do then when that unkind partnership strikes?

First, be still. Pride and anxiety are like that one neighbor’s dog when you were a kid. They only chase you when you run. Don’t run from friends. Don’t run from yourself. Most of all, don’t run from God. As God frequently reminds me, just be still and know that God is God and you are not (Psalm 46:10). You aren’t perfect and that’s ok. Pride will tell you it’s not ok to be imperfect, to have fears or worries, but it very simply is ok because the only perfect One is God and you aren’t Him. Be still and release that burden of perfection that your pride insists on to the Lord.

Second, reach out for help. God promises to fight your battles for you (Exodus 14:14) and He promises not only His comfort through Holy Spirit but also the comfort of the Body, your Brothers and Sisters in Christ (John 14:27, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 1 Thessalonians 5:11). The enemy will use your pride to tell you to bottle everything up and shove it into the darkness where no one can see it. Well, you know who else can’t see it there? You. And you know what it does in the darkness? It grows. It creeps up on you, slowly wearing you down from the exhaustion of keeping it hidden as it becomes larger. Sweet friend, get that garbage out in the light where it can be fought. Cut it down and cut it out with the sword of truth that is God’s Word. Heal up your wounds from the fight with the power of prayer and the endless grace and mercy of the Lord. Don’t run and don’t hide either. Trust God with your pride and anxiety. Trust the Brothers and Sisters He leads you to trust too. God designed us as the Body to give us allies.

Third, keep praising God. Even when times are tough. Even when the fullness of your pride threatens to choke you and the weight of anxiety pulls you low. Praise God. Continually praising God helps us (1) remember that He is God (and we’re not perfect and that’s ok because He is) and He is in control and (2) places our heart in a posture of worship where we are better positioned to receive God’s direction and guidance (Hebrews 13:15-16). There’s a song by Lydia Laird titled “Hallelujah Even Here” and in it, a line that goes “Sometimes choosing just to sing, is the thing that changes everything”. So keep singing, keep praising!

Beloved, pride is an ugly creature and anxiety is his sneaky partner. Don’t let them take you places you don’t ever want to go. Give them to God. Get them into the light. Hit them with His Holy Word. And above all, keep praising God even when the storm is relentless, even when the battle is endless, in the middle of the in between, in the middle of your suffering, Hallelujah even here.

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