How to Deal with Anxiety
Like many, I tend to be a worrier. Fortunately, there is help.
Life is full of circumstances that provoke anxiety. We see a police car approaching us on the highway with it’s lights flashing and siren screaming. We’re on a plane that suddenly plunges into strong turbulence. We’re hiking in the Rockies when we turn a corner and face a bear. We’re late for an important appointment. We’re working through our budget and realize that we don’t have the funds to pay an important bill.
The result? Anxiety. Nervousness. Fear. These scenarios present a real basis for concern, especially if we’re driving well above the speed limit. But we have to admit that most of us worry about things that don’t happen. A bassoon player came up to Toscanini with a furrowed brow and complained that his instrument would not sound the high E flat. “Don’t worry,” he smiled, “there is no E flat in your music tonight.”
Strangely enough, sometimes we feel a smug sense of superiority that those who don’t worry are just too dumb to realize what might happen just around the corner. Of course, that’s a pretty dumb thought itself. An experienced physician analyzed the worriers who were his patients and found that 40% were apprehensive about things that never happened. Thirty percent were concerned with things in the past that were now beyond their control. Twelve percent feared the loss of their health although their only illness was in their imagination. Mark Twain wrote, “I’m an old man now. I’ve lived a long and difficult life filled with so many misfortunes, most of which never happened.”
Anxiety plagues some of us more than others. We envy those who never seem to worry; who exude confidence in any circumstance. They are like David facing Goliath, or Daniel in the den of lions, or Joshua leading Israel into Canaan.
Maybe we can’t be a Daniel, but with the right tools, we can conquer anxiety. First, we need to isolate the sources of worry. It’s easy to see why a threatening situation would normally cause fear and anxiety. That is only human. But what about a vague sense of insecurity that follows a person almost from birth. In many cases it can be traced to an overly strict upbringing. It might be due to growing up without receiving expressions of love and affirmation. We might have lived in a home where we were never sure if we might disappoint a parent. It is so important that families display love.
Steve Cuss writes, “It turns out that my anxious leadership responses are often coping mechanisms I have used since I was a child. They have been an ever-present but insufficient help in times of trouble for decades” (Steve Cuss, First, Take Your Own Pulse” Cty Today, July/August 2024, p. 38). Clearly our home life is important. But more important is assurance of our heavenly Father’s love.
Are we children of God or not? Have we been born again into God’s family? Has God become our Father, not just in a general sense, but in reality through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ, and faith in what Christ came on earth to do? Have we admitted our sins to him, expressed our desire to turn from them, and put our faith in Jesus’s death for our sins upon the cross? If we have become God’s children through faith in Christ, we know he cares for us, loves us, protects us. He has become our Father.
Knowing of our tendency to worry, Jesus dealt with anxiety early in the training of his disciples. “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Look at the birds…your heavenly Father feeds them…Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? …See the lilies… not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field…will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? (Matt. 6:25-34, selected)
Steve Cuss comments, “Most leaders overfunction. We carry more than God has asked us to carry.” (Ibid) As Christians we need to remind ourselves frequently who our Father is and how he promises to care for us. He sits on the throne of universe. He is sovereign over everything that occurs—even the falling of one of our hairs!
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29-31). “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Eph. 1:11).
Psalm 47:8 reminds us that, “God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.” He assures us that “all things work together for the good of those who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). Whenever worry assails us, we would be wise to read again the whole of Romans eight which describes in detail how God is intricately involved in every believer’s life.
The whole Bible is full of promises of God’s care for his children and exhortations that we not fear. Consider Psalm 23. Or 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your care upon him for he cares for you.” Lloyd Ogilvie asserted that there is a promise about not being afraid for every day in the year. That may be an exaggeration. Someone else counted occurrences in the KJV and came up with 71 times. Still, that’s more than enough to dispel our fears!
What we know/believe about God ought to dissipate our anxiety. But there is also something we can do; we can pray. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:6,7).
When we bring our anxieties to God, he sends his Spirit to minister peace beyond understanding into our hearts and minds. The more we develop the habit of praying about our worries the more thoroughly God’s peace guards our consciousness. But note how this is connected to thanksgiving. Gratitude for the Father’s love and grace should season all our prayers. Rehearsing the greatness and faithfulness of our Father, today and in times past, changes our focus preparing the way for peace.
“Lord, throughout the decades past you have shown yourself faithful in caring for me. Help me now with this current worry. Dissolve this imaginary and exaggerated concern beneath waves of Fatherly love. Take away my anxious thoughts and replace them with peace. Amen.”
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