When Your Past Triggers Anxiety, You’ve Been Carrying What God Never Meant You To
You might find yourself asking:
“Lord, why is this happening now?
Is this You… or is this the enemy?”
This question matters deeply, because what you carry emotionally affects your health, energy, motivation, identity, and even your fitness journey.
Stress and anxiety often show up in your body as tension, exhaustion, emotional eating, and inconsistency.
But once you learn to discern whether something is from God or from the enemy, you regain clarity, strength, and peace.
This will help you understand:
- why your past resurfaces
- whether God is revealing it to heal you
- whether the enemy is trying to accuse or attack you
- how to respond spiritually
- how to calm anxiety using Scripture and truth
This is the freedom God desires for you.
“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.” – Philippians 4:6-8 NKJV
When Your Past Triggers Anxiety
1. When Anxiety Becomes Your Default
If you grew up in chaos, criticism, rejection, or instability, your nervous system learned to stay on guard. This is called hypervigilance—constantly scanning for danger even when you’re safe.
You replay conversations.
You anticipate rejection before connection.
You overthink your choices.
You brace for something to go wrong.
I experienced this too. I grew up in an environment where peace was unpredictable, and my body learned to stay alert. Maybe you relate.
But your default is not your destiny.
Truth to Hold Onto
Peace is not found in control. It is found in Christ.
Action Step
When anxiety rises, pause and say:
“Lord, that is my old default. My destiny is peace in You.”
Your nervous system responds to faith spoken out loud.
2. How to Know If It’s God or the Enemy
When your past triggers anxiety, there are two spiritual possibilities:
God Brings Things Up To Heal
Jesus revisited Peter’s denial in John 21—not to condemn him, but to restore him.
The Enemy Brings Things Up To Shame
Revelation 12:10 calls Satan “the accuser.”
His goal is fear, condemnation, and discouragement.
How To Tell The Difference
Does what you’re feeling lead you toward freedom, clarity, and healing?
That is God.
Does it lead to fear, shame, or hiding?
That is the enemy.
Truth to Hold Onto
God reveals to heal. The enemy reminds to rewind.
Action Step
Ask yourself:
“Is this leading me toward healing or hiding?”
If it is hiding, rebuke it with Romans 8:1.
3. You Are Not Who You Were
The enemy tries to drag you back into an identity that God already redeemed.
Scripture says:
“If anyone is in Christ, she is a new creation.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17
You are not the woman you were when the pain happened. You have grown, healed, matured, forgiven, and been restored by the blood of Jesus.
Truth to Hold Onto
When the enemy throws your past in your face, remind him of his future.
Action Step
Write one truth about who you are in Christ and place it where you will see it:
I am redeemed.
I am chosen.
I am free.
I am healed.
I am new.
4. What To Do When the Past Shows Up
Here is your biblical plan for the moment anxiety strikes.
Pause and Pray
“Lord, is this for healing or attack?”
Anchor Yourself in Scripture
Romans 8:1
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Isaiah 26:3
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Revelation 12:10
“And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of His Christ have come,
for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down,
who accuses them day and night before our God.’”
John 21:15–17 (Restoration of Peter)
“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?’
He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’
He said to him, ‘Feed My lambs.’
He said to him a second time,
‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’
He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’
He said to him, ‘Tend My sheep.’
He said to him the third time,
‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’
Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’
and he said to Him,
‘Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You.’
Jesus said to him,
‘Feed My sheep.’”
Stand in Your Identity
Say out loud:
“I am not that girl anymore.”
Truth to Hold Onto
The past is a place of reference, not residence.
5. The Hope That Heals
Here is the important truth:
Either way, you win.
If God brings something up, it is to heal you.
If the enemy brings something up, you have authority over it.
Truth to Hold Onto
The enemy cannot undo what Jesus has already done.
And if anxiety feels overwhelming, reach out to a Christian counselor or mentor. Getting help is wisdom, not weakness.
God wants you whole.
A Faith-Filled Reset Before the Holidays
As the holidays approach, stress, emotional eating, old habits, and anxiety often resurface. This year can be different.
That is why I created The 21-Day Christian Fitness Challenge, available only in November—a peaceful, Scripture-filled reset for your mind, body, and spirit.
Join the 21 Day Christian Fitness Challenge Here
You will receive:
- short daily devotionals
- a 21-day Scripture calendar
- reflection questions
- a Christ-centered approach to your health
- support for emotional eating and consistency
Transformation begins in your heart, and then flows into your health.
Here are many ways to enjoy more podcast and blog episodes:
Remember, You Are Strong. Confident. His.
