How to Take Every Thought Captive: Finding Support for Your Anxiety

Does this sound like you? Your mind is plagued with a never-ending cycle of anxious thoughts. Do these thoughts look or sound like fear or self-doubt? Sometimes they can be accompanied by sweaty palms, a queasy stomach, and the feeling that you are going to vomit. There are days when you have life figured out, but then, you are blindsided by anxiety. You wonder if you will ever be free.

Lies Spoken by Anxiety

Anxiety tries to convince you that you must be in control. It whispers in your ear that if you let your guard down, everything will fall apart. It tells you that you must babysit your problems, keeping careful eye on them so they don’t multiply or grow into something even larger and more dreaded.

The lie that anxiety whispers, and sometimes screams in your ear, is that you have to be in control always. Anxiety wants you to reach and maintain a state of heightened awareness, where your mind neither rests nor relaxes. Sometimes, there is no realistic or apparent danger. It makes you live on the edge and encourages you to overanalyze every situation, expecting something bad will happen.

Lies lead to self-doubt

Anxiety also ties your self-esteem and self-worth to your productivity and accomplishments. Do you feel as if your productivity or your accomplishments, or even your ability to manage your emotions perfectly is a measure of your worth? Many people feel the pinch that not keeping their anxiety at bay is, well, anxiety-inducing and hard on the ego. They believe not having control over their anxiety is a weakness and a source of shame.

For example, you may believe that those moments when you are too exhausted to prepare for the worst (because that’s what your anxiety has convinced you will happen) will be your undoing. You think maybe your house, though fine to most, will not be clean enough to meet your mother-in-law’s standards. You fear that when you’re too tired to continue scrubbing those baseboards, you’ve failed. That’s your anxiety talking, not reality.

The Challenge of Anxiety

What if instead of giving anxiety control, you learned to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ?

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. – 2 Corinthians 10:5, NIV

That all sounds wonderful, but how do you actually break free? How do you take control of your thoughts rather than letting anxiety control you and your constant need to prepare and monitor for the worst, then feeling horrible when you can’t?

You start by asking yourself (and maybe a trusted individual such as a spouse or Christian therapist) if the thought that is controlling you and your hypervigilant actions is based on truth or fear? Ask yourself, “Does this thing that looks catastrophic align with God’s Word? What does He say about me, His relationship to me, and my future?” If the thought is harming you, rather than helping you, it’s time to capture it and take it into submission.

Challenge any thought that doesn’t measure up to what Scripture tells you is true. Replace those thoughts with God’s promises. Instead of letting fear and self-doubt take control, realign your thinking with Scripture. We are instructed to focus on what is true and praiseworthy, not the lie that anxiety likes to spread.

Rest and Trust

Anxiety may have convinced you that you can’t rest or take a break because everything is bound to fall apart. However, rest… true, soul-deep, peaceful rest… is not laziness. It’s an act of faith. When you step back away from the thoughts of “what ifs” and the long list of things to do that hypervigilance has dictated, and breathe, a beautiful thing will happen.

When you trust God to hold what you cannot, fix what you can’t fix, and prepare what you cannot, you are living in the belief that He (not your anxiety nor hypervigilance) is ultimately and beautifully in control.

Jesus himself modeled this mindset. In the middle of a dark and raging storm, where waves crashed and the disciples panicked, you know what Jesus did? He was asleep in the boat (Mark 4:35-41). Why? It wasn’t because he didn’t care about the disciples, their safety, or their panic. It’s because He knew His Father. He knew His Father was in control. When that storm rages in your mind, do you trust that God is still sovereign?

When anxiety rears its ugly head, step away from the busyness and prioritize peace. Take a moment to shift your focus from the “what ifs” that are racing through your mind to the “what is” happening in that moment. Have you lost your job? Have you been evicted? Have you gotten the diagnosis? Or are you just anticipating the worst?

Resting in God doesn’t mean ignoring your responsibilities, but it does mean that you are recognizing your worth is not tied to how much you do or how well you hold your life together. It’s a way of practicing gratitude for the things that are real, concrete, and beautiful. It is asking God for help in surrendering the rest.

Resting in God is a way of surrendering the need for constant vigilance and allowing yourself to experience peace, even when everything isn’t perfect. Over time, the renewal of your thoughts will lead to greater peace and freedom.

Freedom From Anxiety

If you need additional support in dealing with your anxiety and hypervigilant behavior, seek therapy from a professional Christian therapist. Through counseling, you can identify the blurry line between what is true and what are just lies that anxiety has instilled in your mind. You will be able to learn coping techniques and learn how to put your faith into practical action.

Freedom from anxiety isn’t found in controlling everything. It’s found in surrender. It is knowing that you don’t have to do this life alone. Freedom means trying your best but forgiving yourself when you don’t meet impossible standards. Freedom comes from recognizing that you’re human and even in your frailties and mishaps, God is faithful. He is awake, watching, and monitoring your problems so you don’t have to.

God is the one who sustains everything, not you. That is the true path to freedom and peace. If you are ready to start counseling, contact our office today. We will arrange an appointment for you with one of the many gifted therapists in our directory.