God doesn’t bite his fingernails.

What helps you not to be overly anxious? There are times I fall into a spiral of worry. One thought follows another, circles around to another, and off I go. Sometimes a homely turn of phrase helps me stop the spiraling. When I read this article by Duane Kelderman, I knew the image its title gave would help me. It’s absurd to imagine God biting his fingernails. It makes me chuckle.

And when I think about it, it gives me comfort. It’s like when there’s turbulence in a plane ride. I look at the flight attendants and their calm faces (which I’m sure they’re taught to keep up) reassure me. Or when I was a child and my parents’ encouraging smile would give me confidence. When I look to God, he’s never biting his fingernails.

Another article I read, a sermon by Nadia Bolz-Weber written during the pandemic, talked about how it does not help for God—or anyone else—to say, “Be not afraid.” Saying “Don’t be afraid” or “Don’t worry” (or “Be happy”), doesn’t magically make me stop being afraid or worried. In her sermon, Nadia reminds us of Jesus referring to himself as a mother hen, a comforting image. But she says:

God the Mother Hen gathers all of her downy feathered, vulnerable little ones under God’s protective wings so that we know where we belong, because it is there that we find warmth and shelter. 

But Faith in God does not bring you safety. 

The fox still exists. 

Danger still exists.

So, yes, hearing the words “Don’t be afraid” doesn’t stop the fear. Beyond that, believing the words that we don’t need to be afraid has never stopped me from being afraid. There is a famous story of God’s love for even sparrows where he says, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (Luke 12:25-56). That story, those words, do not actually stop me from worrying, although I know they are true. To take this to its conclusion, I suppose nothing will ever completely stop me from worrying other than death or oblivion.

However, some words and images reassure me and stop the spiral of anxious thoughts, such as God not biting his nails ( :) ) but calmly looking to the future and at me with love, and imagining myself under Jesus-the-hen’s sheltering wings. What are some words or images that help you?

I loved seeing the way Duane Kelderman used verses from Psalm 46 in his article. (I also loved his use of the term “liminal space” but I hope to write about that another time.) That Psalm is full of reassuring words and images. Below are the words of this beautiful Psalm, and a link to a song I love based on it.

Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

“Psalm 46” (Bifrost Arts)

I would love to hear what helps you not to worry or be afraid!