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Day 2: Put Your Guard Up

It is scary when anxiety is barreling down on you. Imagine being in the ring with a big angry opponent. Your natural instinct might be to run, but there is nowhere to go!

When anxiety strikes, you often cannot stop that initial wave of feelings and emotion coming down upon you. Much like it is difficult to stop a larger, aggressive opponent from marching forward and throwing blows.

Fighters are taught to put their guard up. This means raising your hands/gloves up to protect your chin from being hit. Since we often can’t stop what triggers anxiety (old memories, new environments, new circumstances, certain people, etc.), we need to be aware when it is attacking and protect ourselves accordingly.

We can see Jesus’ response to facing anxiety the night he was going to be arrested before being crucified. His response was to pray. He also asked His disciples to keep watch with Him, but they were of little help in those moments. He pretty much had to face it alone. Jesus praying was the equivalent to putting His guard up. It was protecting Him from the blows that were sure to come. Asking people close to Him to help was another way.

What does putting your guard up look like to you?

Spend some time in prayer and ask God. This is critical because you will not be able to stop every anxious thought from entering your mind. You have to know what to do when they get there.