The feelings were unfamiliar. Years ago, I was in a car accident that resulted in soft tissue damage to my upper back; but it was nothing major. Pain pills and muscle relaxers didn’t work, and I was unable to sleep. The lack of sleep added to my growing apprehension and worry clouded my thoughts. I began anticipating the worst.

An injection that was supposed to help with my back pain only added to it when the needle hit my sciatic nerve. Things seemed to be getting worse instead of better.

My irrational fears were paralleled by all kinds of physical symptoms: chills, a racing heart, a tingling feeling in my arms, shortness of breath, and headaches. I was convinced I had ruptured a disc and the doctors had just missed it.

As my thinking spiraled out of control, so did my trust in God. Why had He let me get in a wreck? Was I being punished for something I had done? Why did He seem so far away?

It wasn’t until I went in for a CT scan and the doctor gave me a pill to “calm my nerves,” that I actually felt better. The physical and mental issues I had been dealing with were not caused by a physical injury. I was experiencing anxiety.

In His grace, God showed me love. God’s Word gently reminded me that bad things happen because of sin. In the Old Testament, Job went through horrific circumstances – losing his sons and daughters, his possessions and even his health. His response?

But human nature has a tendency to focus on self to the exclusion of all else. Over the course of several months, the Lord exposed some lies I had believed and revealed the truth from His Word.

The biggest battle I faced wasn’t physical, it was spiritual. My mind was the battlefield. I had a better understanding of the apostle Paul’s instructions to the believers in Corinth:

The car accident and the nine months that followed were defining moments for me. It was tempting to let my old thought patterns remain instead of doing the hard work that required me to change my thinking. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, and with the help of my husband, friends, and godly counselors, I experienced the encouragement I needed to overcome the lies with the truth.

It’s critically important to challenge the thoughts that pass through our minds. Do they line up with the truth?