Meditate on Grace After a Panic Attack

Severe anxiety and periods of panic may have come to complicate your grief, adding more pressure to the pain of loss you already feel. Sister in Christ, take heart. You are holy and set apart by the grace of God, even today and even in suffering. We have discussed how Christ nourishes us in our anxiety and how the Bible gives us perspective as we face panic attacks and anxiety; today, we are discussing four biblical meditations for when you are recovering from a panic attack.

As you recover, dwell on these verses of Scripture that extol our God for His grace in our lives.

– He has already perfected you for all time.

“For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Hebrews 10:4

If you feel as though you are blemished because of your panic attack, remember that panic attacks are an experience—and personal experiences do not exist to tell you who you are. Only God’s perfect Word has the authority to do that. If you are in Christ, you are perfected for all time. For Christ was perfect, and you are in union with Him.

– He has replenished you, and He will replenish you.

“Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; His going out is sure as the dawn; He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 6:3

As believers, our sins that were previously ascribed to our accounts were repugnant to our holy God—separating us from relationship with Him. But because of the righteousness of Christ, we are made purely clean and brought into fellowship with God. When you have come to the end of yourself, remember that His presence in relationship with you is as sure as the dawn. Even in the middle of a panic attack—should you experience one again—you will never be depleted of His unlimited replenishment because this relationship with Him cannot be taken from you. His presence and grace are your constant help. Let the truth of Him choosing you in love—to know Him and be in continual peace with Him—wash over you again like the spring rains.

– Grace isn’t based on what you have to offer to God.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” Ephesians 2:8

If you have recently experienced a panic attack, you likely feel depleted and low. Yet, as a believer, you can allow this experience to remind you that you offered nothing to God for the efficacy of your salvation. Your reason for living—your God—has not come to you because of the merit or works you had to offer. Use the truth of being depleted to remember the state in which God came to you. Today, even if what you feel you have to offer to God and those around you is not what you would wish because of your experience with anxiety, rest that He already came to you in Christ through a one-sided covenant not based upon your capabilities.

– His thoughts are beyond you, which means His love is unsearchable.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” Isaiah 55:8-9

When the perplexities of this life feel overwhelming, believe that you do not need to fully understand, comprehend, or figure out this life. You have a perfect God who is all-knowing—discerned all, ordained all, understood all. This aspect of His character is true when applied to the difficult-to-understand experiences of life—when suffering comes and you know you cannot fully fathom His foreordained plans. Yet also, the unfathomable knowledge of God applies to the fullness of His love toward you. As His daughter, praising Him for the grace that has been given to you—receiving it fully, gladly, and with worship—is wonderfully holy. A time of life that makes you feel exhausted and incomplete in and of yourself—like when experiencing and recovering from a panic attack—might be one of your most opportune times for recalling to your spirit the grace of God given to you in Christ. The truth of His grace, perfected to your understanding in weakness, makes you spiritually strong:

“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

Not many in your life may be able to fully comprehend what you have endured; many times I have uttered the prayer, “God, only You see this. Only You see and know what I have endured every one of these minutes to exist.” But knowing the grace He has given to make you as a person solid and stable even when your body decides not to be—you know the unbending strength of His truth in Christ (what power!) and you comprehend Him like you otherwise could not. “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness…”

Lianna is author of Made for a Different Land: Eternal Hope for Baby Loss (Hope Mommies, 2019). More of her writing can be found at her website.

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