Thinking about anxiety

Jesus said, Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear… Matthew 6:25

Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches… 2 Corinthians 11:28

I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4

Last time I wrote about anxiety, and I am grateful to one or two readers who responded with comments.

The discussion boiled down to what might seem a contradiction: on the one hand Jesus tells us “not to worry” about the practicalities of life (Matthew 6:25); but on the other hand Paul, using that same word, speaks about “the pressure of my concern (= worry) for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11: 28).

What seems a contradiction arises, of course, from the fact that the English language offers us a variety of words – worry, anxiety, care, concern – whereas in the New Testament the same Greek word stands duty for them all. So it’s no great mystery. It just highlights the fact that there is a right kind as well as a wrong kind of anxiety. The right kind is what we might call sensible, responsible caring; the wrong kind is a failure to trust in God, a giving in to either crippling worry or happy-go-lucky optimism.

Putting it another way: the fact that Jesus tells us not to be anxious doesn’t mean that anxiety is sinful. To many people that will just seem common-sense; but I think there are sensitive souls who get very troubled when anxiety begins to nag at them, and even feel that they are guilty of sin: “I am disobeying a clear command of Jesus!”

How should we answer a person in such a frame of mind? What comfort can we give?

The simple answer is that certain things that look like commands are not really commands at all. A loving parent trying to comfort a frightened child will say “Don’t be afraid!”, and those three words look like a command if you take them from their context. But of course they aren’t. They’re a short-hand way of saying “There’s no need to be afraid! Nothing bad is going to happen!” and no doubt they’re backed up by a cuddle and a soothing tone of voice. The parent is not saying “Stop it! I forbid you to be afraid!” The very thought is grotesque.

It’s the way we’re made. There are certain moods and feelings that come to us whether we like it or not. If somebody tells us a good joke we don’t think to ourselves, “Right, now I’ll laugh”. We just laugh; it’s a natural impulse. By the same token if a danger suddenly threatens we don’t think, “Ah, it’s time to be afraid”. It just happens.

And it’s the same with anxiety; it’s a natural impulse, not something we choose to feel. Whereas a sin is a decision, something we consciously opt for.

But there is more that can be said; more, indeed, that needs to be said. Putting it in a nutshell: Even when anxiety jumps on us from out of the blue, we do have a responsibility, with God’s help, to bring it under control. That, surely, is what Jesus means when he says “do not worry” – by trusting in God we can put our worries in their place, we can subdue them as we would a yapping dog.

I personally find it helpful to take a leaf out of the psalmist’s book and give myself a bit of a talking to. “Why are you cast down, O my soul?” he asks himself; and immediately answers his own question: “Hope in God!” (Psalm 42).

In the same way, when worries seem to be building up on me I can have a little question-and-answer session…

Do I believe in God? Answer: Yes, I do… Is my faith a living reality or just a formal, nominal thing? Answer: Well, I certainly mean it to be a living reality, even though sometimes I’m afraid it wobbles a bit… Do I believe that God loves me? Answer: Yes, though that faith also can sometimes wobble… Do I believe that Jesus is my Lord, Saviour and Friend? Answer: Yes, I do… Over the years you have trusted him, has he ever let you down? Answer: No, though some of what he has done or allowed still puzzle me, I have to admit.

All right then: so from experience you have learned that God loves you and is with you? Answer: Er, yes, I suppose so… Well then, do you really have any reason to be anxious? Well, now you put it like that…

I’ve made it sound very simple; which, of course, isn’t always the case. It’s a process, if that’s the right word, which needs to be repeated every day, if not every hour. And it’s a process in which we may need the support and help of believing friends. But given that support, we can be confident that God our Father will indeed “deliver us from all our fears”.

The two key words are prayer and faith. Muster your faith in the way I have suggested; and then turn it into simple, humble, honest, childlike prayer to God. Your anxieties may not melt away immediately; but they will be brought to heel.

Loving Father, please help me to win the victory over worry – not to surrender to crippling anxiety, and not to be guilty of shallow irresponsibility, but to trust you with a quiet, determined faith. Amen.