How I Defeated Fear and Anxiety

• Do you suffer from fear, worry, and anxiety?

• Do you get trapped in the “What if?” downward spiral?

• Have you tried a bunch of remedies and practices trying to overcome fear and anxiety just to have them fail, and you are still suffering?

• Do fear and anxiety steal your joy, peace, hope, and health?

• Do you not go places or try certain things because of fear and anxiety?

• Are you a Christian, practicing prayer and Bible reading and still feeling fear and anxiety…and therefore also have shame or guilt because the Bible says not to fear?

Four years ago, I would have answered “Yes!” to all those statements.

But God…

But God set me free from ALL my fear, worry, anxiety, and so much more!!!

Here’s my story of going from bondage to breakthrough. From fear to freedom.

Ever since I can remember as a young child I was terrified of nighttime and the dark. I’m not sure where this terror came from because I was raised in a safe and supportive home with no threatening people. However, every night I would lie in bed awake, being careful not to move or breathe too much because I was certain a bad person was in my hallway ready to attack me. I couldn’t fall asleep if the windows were open at night and I would double-check all the doors to ensure they were locked. I wouldn’t look out windows at night because I was sure someone was standing outside looking in. And night terrors plagued my dreams when I did sleep.

This fear continued and multiplied into adulthood. I wouldn’t go into a dark room in my own house if I couldn’t first reach the light switch or have a flashlight, because I was certain there was a bad person or monster in my doorway ready to attack me. When I would step outside in the dark, I would feel a tangible weight jump on my shoulders. My heart rate would increase, and I would start feeling panic.

I still struggled to sleep with windows open because I would listen for the screen to be cut or removed for a bad person to come in. I would walk my house at night to ensure no bad person had gotten in. Walking through parking lots was terrifying because I was sure someone would jump out and attack me. Swimming in open water also scared me because I thought a lake or sea monster would come up and attack me.

And then there were the mind terrors. The horrid “What if?” spiral that would drive me crazy and fill me with fear.

What if my kids are kidnapped, drugged, raped, and killed?

What if my husband gets killed at work?

What if my kids get a terminal illness or life-altering disability?

What if people think I’m stupid or unattractive?

What if I make a mistake or fail?

What if the stove malfunctions and our house burns down?

One question in the “What if?” spiral would lead to another and another, and I would get lost in panic and fear.

Can you relate to any of my story?

The above is only a snippet of the level of fear I lived with. Sometimes it was so bad I would freeze in place, unable to move or function. Sometimes the “What if?” spiral would keep me awake for a week, researching treatments for a health condition that my child MAY have. I would be a crying mess on the floor, afraid of what MIGHT happen. It was horrible.

Some fear is good, given to us by God to keep us alive from real threats. Like being chased by a bear, or almost hit by a car while walking in the roadway. But most of what I suffered from was ILLOGICAL fear, there was no real threat. It was mostly projection into the future of what COULD happen, not what was happening.

All this illogical fear was EXHAUSTING, heavy, and suffocating. I tried for years to get over it, doing what experts said to overcome fear and anxiety. I did counseling, read self-help books, tried meditation, used sleep supplements, talked to mentors about it, prayed a lot, read my Bible, memorized scripture, tried mind-over-matter, and more. Prayer and Scripture helped the most…but the fear Always. Came. Back.

None of what I tried took the fear completely away. And I had the added shame and guilt of being a devoted Christian that was always afraid. The Bible repeatedly tells us not to fear. What was I doing wrong?

Jesus says that Satan comes only to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10a). That is the truth. I know I looked fully functional on the outside, and I’ve had much success in my life, but on the inside, in my heart, mind, and soul, I was tormented. Satan, through this illogical fear, was stealing, killing, and destroying my hope, joy, peace, and health.

So, how did I get set free from all that fear, worry, and anxiety?

I’m so excited to share that with you because it is not what you will find in any expert’s list of advice. However, it is found in the most long-standing and accurate life and health manual on the planet…the Bible.

God set me completely free from ALL my fear and anxiety through a spiritual practice Jesus shows us called deliverance. “Deliverance” is defined as the action of being rescued or set free. That’s exactly what God did. He rescued and set me free from spirits of fear.

The Spirit Realm

The spirit realm is real. There are literal spirits of fear. These are fallen angels that joined Satan when he was thrown out of heaven. Their goal is to torment us, stealing our joy, hope, peace, health, purpose, and future. There are also many other types of spirits in the spirit realm whose assignment is to destroy us. Spirits of anger, lust, rejection, addiction, pride, infirmity, shame, and so many more.

Have you found this on any expert’s list of how to overcome fear and anxiety?! I never did. But addressing the spiritual reality of my fear is the only thing that totally set me free from it! I learned there is a specific type of prayer that commands these evil spirits to leave our lives by the power and authority of Jesus.

Four years ago, our family was hit with huge spiritual warfare that dramatically impacted our daughter’s health. Our church had a deliverance prayer team that came to our house to pray for our daughter. I admit I was very hesitant at the idea because I had pre-judgments about evil spirits and Christians. But oh, how God blew all that out of the water and revealed the truth to us in a beautiful way. The prayer team came every week for months and were the hands, feet, heart, and mouth of Jesus to us. We are forever grateful. Our daughter was completely healed with no medical intervention!

In the process of the prayer team praying for our daughter, the rest of our family was also set free from evil spirits tormenting our own lives. We initially met as a family with the team but decided to meet individually to get more focused on each of our issues and struggles.

Wow, oh wow the freedom and healing we each received in those sessions!!!!    

Inner healing and deliverance prayer set me free from:

• Over 30 years of debilitating fear, worry, and anxiety

• Epilepsy (I no longer need medication!)

• Insecurity

• Shame and Guilt

• Perfectionism

• Pain

• Pride (which was rooted in insecurity and fear of rejection)

Both my kids and husband were also set free from a huge list of emotional and physical ailments. Just through inner healing and deliverance prayer. We were all totally set free from those evil things that had been attached to us for so long and were ruining us.

My husband and I now include inner healing and deliverance into our ministry time with people and see them set free from what has been tormenting them for decades. We have learned through our ministry experience and other deliverance ministries, that a large percentage of what people struggle with - physically, mentally, and emotionally – is spiritually rooted. That means when someone walks in with a laundry list of “health conditions” they often leave our prayer sessions with good health because Jesus set them free and healed them in the spiritual realm. Jesus gets rid of the evil spirits tormenting them and they are free to walk in their new life.

This is a healing process though, it’s not typically a one-and-done. Inner healing and deliverance require working through unforgiveness, trauma from the past, and surrendering control of our lives to God. The freedom we receive also requires work to maintain. If we return to our old ways, habits, and mindsets, we reopen the doors for evil spirits to return. We must be intentional in pursuing a life of righteousness and repentance.

I sure hope and pray that my story has touched you and given you hope that YOU can be set free from your fear and anxiety…or whatever it is that has held you back and is trying to destroy your life. I can’t fully explain how wonderful it feels to be free from fear, worry, and anxiety. I know that freedom from fear and worry is one reason I was able to go through our son’s cancer battle with such peace (read his story HERE and HERE).

God is ready to write YOUR own story of going from bondage to breakthrough. From fear to freedom!