3 Truths that Keep Me from Panicking

Michelle Teigrob

Oct 2

4 min read

After the death of my twin, I found myself wondering, no, expecting, another horrible loss just around the corner. If such a terrible thing could happen once, why not again, I rationalized. Worry and near-panic often took hold of my spirit as I felt sure tragedy would be striking again the very next day.

I hated the feeling of being controlled by my fear and for a long time responded very stupidly – by telling myself that if more tragedy was to come anyway, who cared how I lived? Of course, that approach invariably made me feel worse, so eventually I tried to deal with the fear in other ways. Again, however, I chose some of the stupidest ways to cope - through distraction, numbing, and/or pretending I didn’t feel the fear.

It took a long time, but I finally realized that the healthiest and best way to cope with my fears was to remind myself of the truth.

Life had taught me that tragedy is possible. So that is not the truth I could grasp: I couldn’t tell myself God wouldn’t let another bad thing happen to me, because He very well might! After all, He hadn’t kept my twin from dying.

Instead, I have learned to allow the following truths, based in Scripture, to carry me. I have found I need to think about them repeatedly. As I do, I am better able to cope and my anxious feelings quiet down. I repeat these truths both when I am worrying about possible problems in the future, and when I am working through a problem in the present:

Truth # 1: God will not allow me to face trials and temptations that are more than I can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). This is the first truth based on Scripture that I often tell myself.

Mind you, oftentimes my trials feel unbearable. I have wondered if God has mixed me up with someone else as He has allowed troubles in my life that certainly feel like they are far beyond my ability to cope. In fact, I’ve cried out to Him, exclaiming that this time He has given me too much. But even while I honestly cry out from the depths of my pain, my heart knows I can always trust Him.

Yes, my circumstances may feel unbearable, but as a loving Father who created me, God knows better than I do what I am able to go through as I rely on Him for help. I can rest fully at peace, knowing that He is lovingly, carefully watching over every detail of my life. Even when the hurt comes, I can remind myself that it has passed through His loving, watchful care. And, while my feelings may tell me otherwise, I can trust that He will never ever let things happen that are so bad that He will not be there to help me and give me a way to escape.

*A Cautionary Note: I do think it’s possible to take on more than we can handle, through pride, or even good intentions arising from a lack of wisdom. We may find ourselves carrying burdens we were not meant to carry or staying in pain-filled circumstances we are not supposed to remain in. Wisdom, prayer, and godly counsel can help us discern when what we are enduring is, in fact, not ours to endure.

Truth # 2: God will be with me and help me through every trial (1 Corinthians 10:13; Psalm 34:18). This is the second truth based on Scripture that I constantly remind myself of. As you can see, it is closely related to the first.

Throughout most of my adult life I’ve longed for and sought to be victorious in my Christian walk with Jesus, but sometime ago I was so beaten down by circumstances that I wasn’t sure I cared anymore about pleasing the Lord. Feeling deeply discouraged to near the point of despair, I did not even really want to keep pressing on in my faith. Yet even in my weakness and questions, God was there, helping me.

How did I know this? I experienced His presence and help through my two loving sisters. While that story would be too long to share in detail in this post, the point I want to emphasize is that no matter how broken we are God will send us what we need to save us and help us get through whatever trials we are facing. (Often, that help may come through other loving people.)

The key is that we are willing to reach out for help, to be vulnerable and totally honest with God and people we can trust about our needs and struggles, and then to watch in faith for the answers to come.

Truth # 3: God will work out my trials for good (Romans 8:28, Ephesians 3:20, Isaiah 43:19). This is the third truth based on Scripture that I repeat to myself.

Over the years, I have witnessed good, yes wonderful things arise even as I’ve walked through many pain-filled days and nights. It is not that the bad in my life has been transformed into good. I will never be able to call death good, for instance.

But again and again I have seen God take the hurt and the anguish in my life and rework as only He can into something that blesses me and others. I have come to love watching for how He will reshape my heartache and hardship into something that is exceedingly abundantly above all I could ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

Again, I want to be careful of seeming to imply that the trouble in my life has, in fact, been good – I am not saying that at all. I do not wish to minimize the very real pain of my and all our suffering.

I am just saying that as I love and trust our loving and trustworthy Father, I can have total faith that He will always have the last word with my trials – and that word will always be for my good and the good of others.

Of course, there are many other truths I could mention, but speaking out these three, especially when I start worrying and panicking about the future, has helped calm my heart so many times over the years. I pray they will help you too. Please reach out if you want to talk further. The Lord bless you.