Anxiety Antidote

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 4:06-07, NKJV).

I dare you not to be anxious about something; double-dog dare you. Anxiety is one of the best schemes of the enemy, ever. It undermines faith, robs you of peace, steals your joy in the Lord, and makes for an anemic witness. And it is so very effective. This long drawn out emotion, whatever its origins, has the capacity to bypass all reason and rational thought, and withstand most attempts at sane mitigation. Unlike raw fear or terror, which cannot be sustained for nearly the same duration, anxiety can plague a soul for years, or decades, or an entire lifetime. Anxiety can kill, and not very cleanly.

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? (Matthew 6:25, NKJV).

“Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; “and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (Matthew 6:27-29, NKJV).

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ (Matthew 6:31, NKJV).

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:34, NKJV).

“But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; (Matthew 10:19, NKJV).

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. “But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41, 42, NKJV).

“And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? (Luke 12:25, 26, NKJV).

There is NOT ONE exhortation in the New Testament for a believer to worry or to be anxious. In fact, the opposite is true, as can be seen from the citations above. Jesus, Himself, makes it clear that anxiety indicates:

• misdirected priorities (Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?; But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part)
• an inflated view of our control over things and life (Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?; If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?)
• an incorrect view of the sovereignty and omnipotence of God
• and disbelief of the following:
• And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28, NKJV).
• “Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? (Matthew 6:30, NKJV).
• But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” “For with God nothing will be impossible.” (Mark 10:27; Luke 1:37, NKJV).

This is serious stuff on at least two crucial levels. Unrelieved anxiety will alter everything about your life and your interface with the world. In response to it, you are guaranteed to become either resentful, despondent, or manipulative, and these are just the main headings under which reside a plethora of possible subheadings, like addiction-prone, compulsive, and/or hypocritical. Scratch the surface of many an unpleasant person and you will discover a bubbling cauldron of anxiety that MUST be relieved eventually, if only ultimately by death. 

Secondly, chronic anxiety is the opposite of faith. It leads to the temptation to rely on something or someone OTHER THAN GOD. This stands to reason, because a correct view of God in conjunction with a knowledgeable faith in God, alleviates anxiety infinitely better than any pharmaceutical (prescribed or otherwise), heretical Eastern mystic practices, frenetic, distracting activity, or cultivation of powerful friends in high places. Without that faith in God, all these other empty and futile solutions may appear to be your only desperate alternatives.

If you've read this far, I hope your mind is filled with "but what about…?" questions, because that is exactly where this is leading. But what about imminent danger? But what about a fearful and devastating illness? But what about not being able to provide for your family? But what about the prospect of losing a loved one, or a child? And finally, but what about the several million other things in life which we either cannot anticipate, or over which we have no influence?

That's the point! For every possible threat or loss or fear you can think of, in reality, you have NO CONTROL. You could take all the precautions in the world, but the simple truth is that something sudden and unexpected (from your perspective) could obliterate all your diligent, proactive preparation in an instant, and that which you feared most could come upon you like a meteor falling out of the sky. Here's the thing to remember, beloved: IT IS NOT UP TO YOU.

Yes, of course we are to be good stewards, and like the wise, when we see peril approach we take action. No, of course we are not to tempt God in any way by being deliberately careless or reckless. But common sense is not what's in view here. Dark and dreary and fearful dread of the unknown future is. And the only antidote for that is to come to the Throne of Grace in prayer and supplication believing that God is Who He says He is, and that He loves you with an everlasting love. Come to Him thankfully and lay at His feet ALL YOUR REQUESTS. Especially those that involve the fearful future. And in exchange, He will provide you with peace. Peace. 

Peace of mind, peace of heart, the peace of assurance, the peace of being loved by God, Himself, so much so that he will rearrange the world for you, His child. And that peace, so sublime, so supernatural, so freely given, is beyond mortal understanding, and it will act as an impenetrable shield and fortress around your troubled heart and restless mind, through Christ Jesus. He is the gatekeeper. He is your hedge and your strong tower. 

Jesus, and Jesus, alone.

He knows the number of your days, and the hair on your head. He knows the end from the beginning. He is the Sovereign God of all existence.

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. (Psalms 139:16, NKJV).

Nothing and Everything

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, 7, NKJV).

Nothing and Everything

I naturally tend to do the exact opposite of this verse: anxious for everything and thankful for nothing. Part of the problem is that when I rehearse the things for which I am truly thankful, anxiety rears its ugly head over all the people and things I could lose. I am pretty sure Satan is smarter than me, and this is a brilliant tactic on his part to keep me focused on me and the world, and not God. Then my loving heavenly Father has to smack me upside the head with my own weakness and inadequacies so that I realize once again for the billionth time that any thought of control I have over my life, good or bad, is an hallucination.

Why oh why am I so thick-headed? What has my Lord ever done to make me doubt His faithfulness and love toward me? Yes, I have lost loved ones and have suffered pain and heartache, but that is life in a fallen world and without Him sustaining me by His love and grace I would have suffered far worse. Why is it that I cannot let go of the illusion that I must always do something in my own strength? He has shown me over and over again that He will give me strength and motivation when I need it. He has always been far more kind to me than I would have ever imagined. What is it about His demonstrations of love and care that I find so difficult to trust?

I could easily hide behind the excuse that I know I deserve none of His kindness so that it would be the height of arrogance for me to expect anything. But that is a noble sounding lie. What I long for in life has nothing to do with what I deserve or I expect. The longing part of me could really care less about the deserving of it. I still want and long; justice has very little to do with any of it. And here I believe is where I approach the crux of the problem, because I know and understand that the anxiety increases in proportion to the anticipated disappointment of the "not getting". I really don't want what the Lord wants for me. If I did, I could relax knowing that whatever comes is from Him, even the stuff that happens because of my own stupid action or inaction. And it will all work together for good.

The bottom line, I believe, is that I war for control over my life. I am afraid that if I submit completely to His authority, I won't be happy with the result. I don't think I'm arrogant enough to think He doesn't know what's good for me, but I do think I don't trust Him enough to leave the outcome completely in His hands. This IS incredibly arrogant; like a child thinking he or she knows better than the loving, wise parent. But it's also worse than that. The child, after all, has some justification in thinking that the parent in view isn't infallible, or perfectly loving, or powerful enough to ensure the intended outcome. It kind of makes sense in that context for even the most loving and obedient child to have twinges of doubt and fear in regard to the human parent. But if I really believed the things that I say I believe about my God and Father, I would not be anxious once I brought the situation to His attention in my heart.

Of course, He already knows all about what I am facing, but there is a transaction that seems to take place when I consciously lay those things at His feet. I give Him my cares, trusting completely that He cares for me, and in exchange, He gives me His peace that surpasses all understanding. Go back to the picture of a fearful child again. At a certain very young age, children in a loving household believe their parents are magic and powerful and can fix everything. There is an innocent trust involved that is precious and necessary in order for the young and vulnerable child to grow and mature without collapsing under the weight of reality. A loving look, a comforting hug, or kind and understanding words can obliterate mountains of the little one's fear and panic. As they get older, this effect and trust is undermined by actual experience, as they see their human and fallible parents fall far short of the standard of perfection the child thought was theirs. In a very tragic way, the growing realization that Mom and Dad are mere sinful human beings is heart-breaking.

But  as a child of God, I have no such justification. If I loved Him even in small part the way He loves me, I would NEVER be afraid for more than the time it takes me to remember Who it is who has my very breath in His hands. Who knit me together in my mother's womb. Who knows the number of my days and the hairs on my head. Who has inscribed my name on the palm of His hand.

My anxiety then is not just a lack of faith. It is a lack of love. My love for Him.

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18, NKJV).