How to Take Steps Towards Freedom from Anxiety and Fear

 

Take a Step Towards Freedom from the Grip of Anxiety and Fear: Rebuild Your Identity and Secure Your Faith in Christ

God will reestablish us in His perfect peace each and every time we enter into His presence. We can retreat to Him and find shelter from the storms of life any time we choose. However, if every time we leave the safety of our prayer closets we find ourselves stricken with panic, we must then ask ourselves, Have I truly learned to rely on Jesus Christ, the Rock of my salvation, as my one sure foundation? Am I secure in my identity in Him?

Before learning the truth of God’s perfect love for me, before finding my identity in Christ, I would get up to look in the mirror each morning and count the many blemishes and imperfections I saw staring back at me. It was frustrating and embarrassing to still be struggling with acne into my thirties. No matter how many different products and treatments I’d tried over the years, I continued to battle bad breakouts. In the midst of my frustration, helplessness, and shame, I couldn’t see that who I was in Christ mattered more than whether or not I had clear skin. I only saw someone who didn’t measure up on the outside. 

Starting in my teen years, I turned to makeup in an effort to conceal the imperfections on my face. I thought if I could cover up my flaws, people would be more likely to accept and love me. With makeup on, I felt confident and beautiful. Without it, I felt unworthy and ashamed. It wasn’t long after starting to wear makeup that I no longer felt comfortable in public without it. I didn’t realize I was establishing a dependency on makeup—a dependency that would lead to a fear of letting others see the real me. 

 

Understanding Our Identity Helps Us Overcome Anxiety and Fear

It was wrong for me to build my identity and self-worth upon foundation makeup rather than the foundation of my faith, Jesus Christ. It wasn’t until years later, on a journey with the Lord to overcome anxiety and fear, that I sensed God calling me to stop wearing makeup. I heard God saying, Stop letting the mirror tell you who you are. Stop believing its lies. Let Me tell you who you are in Me. Don’t look to the world, which says you don’t measure up, which says you aren’t enough. In Me, you are enough. “For by one sacrifice [I have] made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:14).

It was time for me to find out who I really was, to let others see the real me, and to learn to love myself. At first, I tried to ignore God’s still, small voice again. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I could commit to giving up wearing makeup completely. It would feel like walking out my front door stark naked, completely exposed. However, His voice persisted. As much as I didn’t want to go through with it, I knew I needed to be obedient to follow God’s leading. Plus, I really wanted to be free from my bondage to makeup. Thus, not a drop of primer, foundation, concealer, mascara, eyeliner, eyeshadow, blush, or even lip gloss touched my face for a whole year and a half. I didn’t cheat once—not even with a tinted moisturizer, translucent powder, or clear lip gloss, tempting as it was.

It was difficult to do at first. I felt very insecure, and I feared what people might think or say to me. God met me in my insecurity, though, and reassured me I was doing the right thing with the truth of His Word. He showed me Isaiah 54:4, which says, “Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.” 

Much to my surprise, I never once heard a negative remark about my appearance during the whole year and a half I fasted from makeup. Instead of being shamed and rejected, I experienced tremendous freedom and healing! I learned that people didn’t just love the me who seemingly had it all together, but the real me—imperfections and all! A huge weight was lifted, one I didn’t know I had been carrying around with me for far too long. 

 

Mark Batterson writes in his book Soulprint, “Scripture is the only perfect mirror because it reveals how our Designer sees us. Most of our identity problems are the result of looking in the wrong mirrors.” 

It’s not uncommon for those who struggle with anxiety and fear to attempt to mask their weaknesses. Unbeknownst to them, this is how the enemy shames them into establishing a performance-based identity. A performance-based identity centers a person’s life and self-worth around what they can accomplish and control in their own strength. Someone whose identity and self-worth are built upon their performance believes their works are what make them who they are. Driven by pride and fear, they start believing they need to do more, achieve more, and be more to prove themselves worthy of man’s praise and God’s love. Ultimately, fallible human effort and works are an unstable foundation. 

Our worth is not self-made; it cannot be found in any of the following: our job titles, our relationships with others, our parenting skills, our net worth, our physical appearance, our list of accomplishments, the good works we do, the number of volunteer hours we work, the success of our ministry, or even how well-versed we are in Scripture. Our worth is found in being adopted daughters of our heavenly Father (see John 1:12; Romans 8:15; Ephesians 1:5; and 1 John 3:1). It is found in who we become in relationship with Christ. The death of Jesus on the cross allows us to proclaim, I am loved because Jesus Christ found me worth dying for! The end. 

Right before Jesus breathed His last breath here on earth, He declared, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Therefore, since His death and resurrection are final, there is nothing anyone can do to improve upon or add to what He already accomplished, we ought to start believing that who we are in Christ is truly enough! According to the Word of God, we are children of God (see Galatians 3:26), heirs to a kingdom not of this world (see Romans 8:17; John 18:36), chain breakers (see Isaiah 58:6), the salt of the earth (see Matthew 5:13), the light of the world (see Matthew 5:14), chosen, holy, and dearly loved (see Colossians 3:12), wonderfully made (see Psalm 139:14), altogether beautiful and flawless (see Song of Songs 4:7), and the bride of Christ (see Revelation 21:9). All this, God says, and more!

If our faith is built upon a foundation of false beliefs—misconceived notions about who God is, what He has done for us, or who we are in relationship with Him—then we are likely living as unbelievers on some level, deprived of the fullness of life we could be living in Christ. For this reason, it is vital we rebuild our identities and secure our faith on the sure foundation of Jesus Christ. 

My experience has taught me that the primary way this is accomplished is through the reading and hearing of God’s Word. Not only will you find peace in His presence, but His truth will penetrate your heart. As you allow God’s Word to grow deep roots and dwell within you, you will gain greater understanding of who God is, what He has done for you, and who you are in Him. This understanding will consequently establish your identity and secure your foundation of faith in Christ. It will drive fear right out of your life!

Paul put it this way: “Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life” (Ephesians 3:17, TPT). 

Overcome Fear and Anxiety by Trusting In God’s Perfect Love

As a believer, the foundation of your faith has already been laid. Now you must learn to rely on it, to trust in God’s perfect love. Allow God’s Word to help you discover who God really is and who you are in Him. Let it shine light into every dark corner of your heart, and drown out every voice that says you are unworthy of His love, not enough, or that you will never outrun your past. Let it remove all untruth, deception, and unbelief. Receive the Word, and you will grow to be strong and stable as the oak tree. Isaiah 61:3 says of believers in Christ, “They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” 

Find your identity and security in Christ, friend. Continue taking small steps of faith with simple acts of obedience, like reading your Bible and praying every day, and God will cause your faith in Him to increase. Allow the roots of His perfect love to grow deep down into the soil of your heart, firmly establishing you upon the sure foundation of Jesus Christ, and your faith will finally begin to flourish! Although people will sometimes disappoint you, your health will eventually fail, and your possessions will not last forever, you can fearlessly place all your hope in Jesus Christ. At the end of the day, Jesus is all you need to secure a rock-solid faith and future. 

 

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for establishing me upon the sure foundation of Jesus Christ, my Rock. Thank You for Your Word, which tells me I am a child of God, an heir to the kingdom, and fearfully and wonderfully made. At times, I struggle to believe that who I am is enough. Please forgive me when I allow pride to harden my heart, preventing the seed of Your Word from taking root. I confess that, at times, I fear man’s opinion more than I fear You. Father, forgive me. Help me remove any masks that keep me from being who You created me to be. Remove any barrier to Your love so I may be able to receive it, allowing its roots to grow down deep.

In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. 

Written by Kelly Ann Snyder