Fear Less: Devotions for Courageous FaithShembull

How to Stop Anxiety in Its Tracks 

One of our teenage sons is adopted from foster care, and he suffered trauma and abuse before he came to live with us. 

All of his life he has struggled with extremely challenging behavior, but things came to a head during the years when he was ten to twelve years old. Our family barely survived as we endured one crisis after another due to his violence and aggression. Every wall of our home had holes punched in it. We called the police so often that we were told to quit calling. 

Our marriage, our finances, our mental health, and our other children suffered greatly. Finally, after years of advocacy, our son entered residential treatment and lived away from our family for an extended period of time.

Today, as I write these words, our son is about to celebrate his sixteenth birthday. He is back living with our family and is thriving. He goes to school. He has friends, comes to church with us, and practices Tae Kwon Do. Sure, we still have our issues, but in many ways he’s a typical teenager.

When we were in the midst of our toughest challenges with our son, one day I sat on a ragged couch in our therapist’s office and poured out my heart about my extreme anxiety and fears for his future. Instead of telling me not to worry so much, she suggested the opposite.

The therapist told me to go ahead and think about the worst-case scenario. What if my son killed himself? What if he hurt someone else? What if he went to jail? She was honest that those things might happen, and I needed to prepare myself for that reality.

Rather than overwhelming me, her words brought me a certain comfort as I pondered the fact that yes, each of these scenarios would be incredibly painful, but I also had faith that God would bring me through it. 

Sometimes the key to anxiety is to face the worst-case scenario head on and remember that God’s grace will be there to uphold you.

Reflection Question

Is there a worst-case scenario you need to face head on to stop your anxious thoughts? If it happens, how will you lean on God for help?