God’s Answer to Anxiety

Who doesn’t experience Anxiety in this life? It is more common to humanity than any of us care to admit. No one is exempt. We are anxious about what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen. Anxiety is a thief that steals our peace and enjoyment in life. We worry about outcomes, whether they will be good or bad. We worry about people—our friends, family, and ourselves. We worry about our health and our money. These feelings of Anxiety come from a host of different reasons, from things not going our way to being mistreated, insulted, or neglected. Interestingly, the older we get, the more Anxiety we are prone to experience.

Jesus told us not to worry: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ( Matthew 6:25). Jesus’ words are profound! Life has to be more—it has to have meaning and purpose, God-given purpose. We know that God put each of us here for a reason.

Anxiety is nothing new, because Solomon, in his book of Ecclesiastes, gives us some good advice on how to lessen it. Solomon said, “So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 11:10). He knows from experience that our world, in its broken state, brings us loss and many troubles. He tells us to cast off these troubles. In other words, rather than dwelling on what has happened to us, which usually perpetuates the problem, cast it off by giving it to God. Peter also tells us: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

The prophet Isaiah had some things to say about Anxiety: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15). We will never know true peace unless we repent of our sins and find God’s forgiveness. The Christian life is one of quiet trust in God’s strength. God will take care of us. We may face difficult times ahead, but he will be with us. God gives us light in our darkness: “when his lamp shone on my head and by his light I walked through darkness!” (Job 29:3).

Isaiah says, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore, he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! (Isaiah 30:18). It is not always easy to trust God and allow him to calm our hearts, but this is the only way we will truly experience peace without Anxiety.

 

Grace Makes Life Enjoyable

One of the best things we can do is to learn to appreciate the present circumstances of our lives. When we do, we avoid the deadly trap of always waiting and hoping for the time when everything will be perfect. Perfect doesn’t exist on this earth, and we will never see perfection until Heaven. Accepting our life doesn’t mean we don’t strive for improvement. Doing the best we can is part of who we are as committed believers of Christ. However, when we hold onto unrealistic expectations for ourselves and others, we contribute to our own sadness. Paul encouraged us to think like this: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Col. 3:23-24). So often, our dream of perfection is about more money and more things. Paul warned us about this: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Tim. 6:17). God wants us to enjoy our life, with him, with our family and friends and be grateful for what he has given us.

Our need for grace is great. We need grace from God and from others, and we need to show grace to God. In Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian was shown a room full of dust. A damsel came into the room and began sweeping. She stirred up so much dust that Christian began to choke. Then she fetched a pail of water, sprinkled the floor, and swept. Now there was very little dust. The interpreter who was explaining the meaning told him sweeping without the water was the work of the law. It does not do the job, and it is painful in its effort. The springled water was the work of grace. Likewise, when we expect perfection out of our children, our spouses, we choke the life out of them. When, however, we give them grace, we see them flourish.

Job said this world is full of trouble and we cannot avoid it, “Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). We can, however, face that trouble with grace, which makes our life so very different.

Paul viewed his trouble of being a Roman prisoner with grace: “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear” (Philippians 1:12-14). What a difference grace makes!