Have you ever just been wrecked with fear? Have you ever had something happen or come up in your life that literally shook you to your core?

This happened to me recently. Looking back, I’m astonished the fear came in so easily. I’m the girl who daily fills herself up with God’s Word and His truths and makes it a practice to fight off the enemy and his low blows and attacks.

But not this day.

I learned of something absolutely terrifying that happened in my daughter’s school that potentially put her too close to danger, in my opinion. If that wasn’t bad enough, what she told me followed a major scare that took place in our nation. I instantly became frozen and stiff with fear and worry. My shoulders started burning, which is how anxiety typically manifests in my body. I mean, they were on fire and the burning sensation was not letting up.

After that, I was on a mission. I began chit chatting with other moms. I started making phone calls and sending emails because I wanted to make sure I’d done everything humanly possible to protect my daughter.

But before I knew it, the next day had come and I sensed the fear and anxiety now rolling over onto my other two daughters, who are still young and not in school yet. My mind began to run completely wild. It was going places it should never be going.

That night when I went to bed, I had a full blown nighmare that something horrible happened to one of my girls. I remember waking up with the sickest feeling in my stomach. As my day continued I would periodically have visions pass through my head of more bad things happening to my children.

Later that afternoon, my husband and I were in the car driving. We were headed to a cell phone store to ensure that my oldest daughter had what she needed so I could continually feel connected to her, especially in times of an emergency. On the ride over, things weren’t going exactly the way I wanted and, in an instant, I found myself snapping at my husband. Like, crazy-town snapping. I was elevating my voice, lashing out, and making false accusations towards him. (I’m sure someone can relate with this!)

Right after I snapped, I immediately thought What in the world just happened?

I was really taken aback because this is not normal behavior between my husband and I. We don’t argue. I don’t snap at him. I don’t lash out at him. I don’t say negative things to him. He’s my best friend and my most favorite human to be around. So what in the world just happened?

I was still angry in a sense, at the situation and at myself. In that moment I began to sing a worship song to the Lord in my head. About two minutes into the song, I slowly felt my spirit calm down. I looked over at Jeff and told him I was sorry.

That night, the Lord really spoke to my spirit. He took me to Philipians 4:6–7 (NLT) which says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

I felt instant relief. Just like that. His words washed over me and I literally felt this heavy blanket of peace laying on my whole body.

Man, why did this have to take three days before I got my act together and dug into my source? My Source of life! Through these verses the Lord was telling me, “Kelli, first of all, don’t worry, pray! Tell me what you need. Thank ME for the things I am doing in your life. Thank Me for the protection I am providing to you, your family, and your precious daughters. THEN, you will experience My peace.”

It was in that moment I resolved to be totally vigilant the next time any fear, worry, or anxiety tried to take hold of me. I resolved to be alert! I resolved to be on the lookout!

The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8 (NLT), “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

I see you devil. I’m watching out for you and you are not going to devour this Jesus girl.

Are you fighting fear, worry, or anxiety about something today? Are you sitting there reading this crippled by fear of something? Friend, I am here to tell you to follow the instructions of the Lord. Stop the worry. Pray to Him and tell Him exactly what it is you need. Thank Him for doing it. And then—then—experience His peace that surpasses all understanding. We can be free from fear. We can be free from worry. We can be free from anxiety. Just roll it all over onto Him.

Let’s pray:

“Lord, I thank You for Your Word. I thank You that in You I am free from all of my fears, worry, and anxiety. I thank You Lord that You are working on my behalf. I thank You that You hear and care about my concerns. I thank You for sending Your peace to continually guard my heart. I love you! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”