Wrestling with anxiety?

Jesus said to his disciples, Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes… Who of you by worrying can add a simple hour to your life. Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Luke 12:22-26

Are you prone to anxiety? I knew somebody once of whom it was said that if she didn’t have something to worry about she would worry about not having anything to worry about.

Ha-very-ha. But of course it isn’t really funny. Anxiety can be a truly crushing weight, dominating a person’s life. And, as we look on, we might be tempted to say, given that person’s circumstances, “and I don’t blame them!” The assurance “Don’t be anxious” or simply “Oh don’t worry!” can come across  terribly glib, and we can all think of people both in our own personal circle and in the wider world to whom it would seem shallow and even cruel, however well-meaning. It’s like cheerfully saying to someone “Be well!” or “Be happy!” when well-being or personal happiness are completely beyond their control.

Yet doesn’t Jesus do exactly that? To his disciples he says “do not worry about your life…”. Given that we know he is anything but shallow or cruel, we can only deduce that he wanted them to reflect upon the reality of anxiety and learn to bring it under some kind of control when it rears its ugly head. Anxiety is a beast; but the question is, Can we, with the help of the Holy Spirit, render it a tame beast?

I hesitate to offer my thoughts, because I tend to err on the happy-go-lucky side myself, like a man I once knew who simply refused to worry about anything, blithely assuming that because God loved him everything would be fine. Well, that was all very well; but you only had to look at his wife’s face to see who did the worrying in that family…

In other words, some degree of “anxiety” is inevitable – the opposite is not necessarily faith or trust but, frankly, irresponsibility. (If you are technically minded you might be interested to know that the word used in Luke12:22 for “worry” (frowny face) is the same as that used by Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:28 for “concern”(smiley face). In a nutshell, there is a right and proper kind of anxiety.)

Having said that, can we say anything else that might be helpful when it comes to wrestling with anxiety? I suggest three things…

First, remember that the only true foundation for freedom from anxiety is childlike trust in the fatherhood of God.

Jesus teaches us to address God as “Our Father in heaven”, and given that his fatherhood is perfect why should we doubt it? Our problem is that that trust often blows hot and cold.

I suggest that every so often we may need to give ourselves a serious talking to, to “take ourselves in hand”. This talking to might run along the lines: “Do I believe that God is my loving heavenly Father?”... “Of course I do!”… “Yes, but do I really believe that God is my loving heavenly Father?”… “Well, yes, certainly…” “Good… but do I really, really believe that God is my loving heavenly Father?”… “Er, yes, I think so…” “Well, start acting like it then!”

Is it about time you took yourself seriously in hand?

Second, remember that God’s time-scale is very different from ours.

Of course, we want freedom from anxiety - and we want it now. That’s natural enough. But it isn’t the way God works: he has many other plates to spin of which we know nothing. So a worry may have to be wrestled with for a lengthy period – even (and how hard is this?) a whole lifetime. It may take that long to learn the art of trust.

If that sounds rather grim, we need to remind ourselves that our Father is in the business of changing us, of re-making us, of making us more like his Son; he’s not, if I can put it so, just messing around. In the context of everyday life this process may seem unbearably long, but in the light of eternity it is next to nothing. In 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 Paul –  a man who knew what he was talking about! – spells it out: “Therefore we do not lose heart… For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all…”. Oh, our troubles may not seem “light and momentary” now, but when we look back from our heavenly home how different it will seem!

Are we learning to be patient with God?

Third, remember that God works with the grain of different personalities.

Putting that another way, some people are naturally less anxious than others. Their temperaments are placid, and it takes a lot to trouble and unsettle them. This may have nothing to do with their spiritual strength – quite possibly they simply had a settled and secure childhood, or have enjoyed good physical health throughout their lives; they may be blessed with a particularly happy marriage, or a particularly satisfying job. Others have had to battle severe storms and have known great sorrows, which has left them ragged and insecure. Men and women are made of very differing raw materials: look at those great friends Barnabas and Paul; look at Simon Peter and his temperamental ups and downs. We shouldn’t make excuses for ourselves; but at the same time let’s not be too quick to “beat ourselves up”!

If these thoughts are correct, what they amount to is this: Jesus gives us the responsibility, by his grace, not to cave in to anxiety; but he is infinitely patient with us if and when we do. Our God is a God of new beginnings. Are you due for a new start?

Father, please teach me by your Spirit to keep a clear distinction between a healthy seriousness about life, a proper concern, and a destructive and debilitating giving in to worry. And so may the peace of God that passes all understanding keep my heart and mind day by day. Amen.