Panic is something I wrestle against a lot – some people call it phobia. You know, why they don’t get into an elevator… or cross a high bridge… or stand on a high-rise balcony… or climb aboard a Ferris wheel… or even enter a small, cramped room. Things like that can make some people panic and become claustrophobic.
Sometimes my paralysis, my quadriplegia, can make me panicky. Yes, even after all these years. It doesn’t happen all the time, only when I am sick and have to be down in bed for awhile. Or like the other night when I just couldn’t get to sleep. It’s not like I could throw the covers back and head to the kitchen for a snack, or pick up a book and read. I couldn’t toss or turn or punch my pillow and switch to my other side. When I lie awake at night, it’s, well… it’s just that -- lying motionless in one position all night. That is when the panic tightens my chest. But I have learned how to successfully ward it off and dissipate the fear.
And this is what I do. I will whisper the Word of God. It doesn’t matter what portions of His Word. It could be the 23rd Psalm or Psalm 103. I have an arsenal of about seven or eight Psalms that I have memorized and I repeat the words very slowly so as to not run out of any verses (remember I can’t lean over and pick up a Bible). But if after an hour or so I have depleted all the Bible verses I know by heart – you know, snippets of things from the Old and New Testament – then I'll turn to the words of hymns that I’ve memorized.
And I'll tell you what. You know that Scripture that says the Word of God is living and active? I tell you, that’s what I experience. At 2:00 a.m., I can feel it firsthand. I know it to be true. Because the peace of God that passes all understanding settles over my heart and the panic simply vanishes. My words in the middle of the night become alive and active, filled with peace and power, because they are God's Words. I am speaking God's language; I am echoing His own vocabulary back to Him. When we blanket our panic, or our worries or anxieties, when we cover our fears with His Word, it is a way of reaching out to the Lord. And we all know that when we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.
I want you to do that the next time you feel panic rising. Maybe sitting in a dentist chair or how about waiting in a hospital visiting room or a sleepless night in bed. Instead of heading for the refrigerator, reach for your Bible. Better yet, reach for God's Word in your heart – lie there and be still (like me… just try it), be still and know that He is God. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you and give you peace for every panicky thought.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends