Fear or Faith... Which Will it Be?

Philippians 4:6-7:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

On Christmas evening of 2009, my family and I were driving home from spending Christmas with relatives. Our vehicle was loaded up with gifts, most of which belonged to my daughter. It was late, and we'd had a full day, so I decided to turn on some soothing music. Camryn kept telling me, however, that the music was making her sad, and she begged me to turn it off. I refused, thinking that her request was nonsense. What did she have to be sad about with a backseat full of Christmas gifts?

She proceeded at that point to have what I now recognize as an anxiety attack, complete with tears, panic, and shortness of breath. It didn't make sense that this was happening as I had never experienced this before. However, God immediately put the above Scripture on my heart. He gave me the words to share with her to get her through her attack. While my immediate reaction was anger and confusion, God quickly gave me a change of attitude to one of understanding and peace to help my child out of a difficult moment. God used me to help her understand that when faced with anxiety, you have a choice to make... fear or faith, focus on the problem or focus on prayer.

By the time our conversation was over, Camryn had a total sense of peace and was even laughing and being her cheerful self. As a result, I've been able to take this Scripture to heart, applying it to my own life in many situations. Camryn has since had a handful of other anxiety attacks, and she immediately recognizes the need for prayer to get her through them. She knows when one is approaching and tells me so that we can pray together. One one recent occasion, I wasn't available to pray with her. Instead, she wrote a prayer to God and stuck it under her pillow.

I thank God that He is using her fear to bring about faith and trust in Him!