How to Stop Emotional Drifting

Michelle Hamel shares a Scripture-inspired way to turn to God when we feel adrift or out of control.

My family always had a boat when I was growing up. We lived one town over from the ocean and spent most summer weekends visiting a local island and going fishing. When we reached a fishing spot, my dad often dropped an anchor to keep us from drifting. He would lower the anchor off the bow of the boat and let out lots of line until the anchor reached the bottom.  

Then my mom would reverse the engines slowly until the anchor caught on the bottom and secured us in one place while we tried our luck with our fishing poles and baited hooks. Being anchored gave us a sense of security and helped us to focus on the important task at hand; seeing who would catch the biggest fish! 

Sometimes life can feel like a drifting boat.  

Life changes, new routines, struggles with a child, lack of connection with your spouse or a friend, unrest in our society, (or any number of reasons) can leave us feeling unmoored. When I feel like I'm emotionally drifting, my initial reaction is always to try and control my surroundings. This usually centers around overthinking everything and trying to "do" more or "be" better. While that might occasionally work for smaller, easier resolved issues, most of the time overthinking just leaves me with a lack of peace paired with a side of anxiety. Overthinking and anxiety are like throwing my anchor over the side but never getting it to catch on the bottom of the ocean. I remain adrift despite my efforts. 

The Best Way to Anchor 

I've finally started to realize in the last couple of months something that helps to truly anchor my heart in times of emotional drifting and storms: holding on to God's Word. It almost feels too simple to be truly helpful (like all of those ads that come up on my social media feed showing how to "just do this one simple thing" in order to finally drop all the pounds you want to!). Yet God's word is powerful, and His truth quickly reaches the places in our hearts that feel lost and adrift. 

During this past Lent, I read one Psalm each day and highlighted anything that felt meaningful to me and touched my heart. It's a practice I've continued somewhat consistently, since there are many more psalms than Lenten days. Last week when I felt ungrounded and all of my overthinking was leading me down the rabbit hole of "what ifs" and worst-case scenarios, I read through some of the verses that I had highlighted until I got to one that made my emotional anchor catch. With the struggles that were burdening my heart on that particular day, God used these words to anchor me: 

My God in his steadfast love will meet me. (Psalm 59:10, NRSVCE) 

God's words entered into my anxiety and anchored my heart in His truth. Even though the circumstances of my situation weren't changed, my mind stopped spinning and I was able to focus on God's truth in that short sentence and find rest for my anxious heart. And every time the anxiety started to bubble up again, I would repeat and choose to focus on those words: "God in his steadfast love will meet me." 

Truth For Every Situation 

You don't have to read and highlight your way through the Psalms in order to find a verse that calms your anxious heart. A quick Google search showing verses of the Bible dealing with whatever emotion is burdening you at the moment — anxiety, fear, anger, or hopelessness, for example — will bring up lots of suggestions. Then, spend a short amount of time looking up those verses in your Bible until your anchor "catches" on the verse that touches and calms your heart. Write it down in your journal to not only remember the verse, but also to remember how God reached out to care for your heart.  

I also like to write it down on a Post-It note and stick it to my mirror (I have a bit of an addiction to those things!). Another idea is to make that Scripture verse the lock screen of your phone. You just want to make sure it's easily accessible so you can repeat it as often as you need to.  

Turn to God, your emotional anchor 

Our need to feel emotionally anchored comes up so often throughout our whole lives! Learning to turn to God and to be anchored in His truth is a skill that will help immensely when circumstances make us feel as if we are unmoored and drifting. His truth cuts through the most difficult emotions and lies of the enemy and allow us to live in the way that is described in Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: 

Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7, NABRE) 

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Copyright 2024 Michelle Hamel
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