Needless Anxiety

Anxiety is the fear, dread, or anticipation that something undesirable, bad, or awful will or can happen to us. It is the feeling that we are vulnerable and that we are not safe. When we are anxious, we expect and anticipate that something bad is about to happen or could happen even if we are not aware of what it is that we anticipate. Sometimes our anxiety has a specific focus. We fear something specific, such as being trapped in an elevator or falling from a height. At other times we are not able to identify the precipitant or immediate cause of our anxiety. We have a general feeling of being at risk or vulnerable or we might have a sense of fear but not be fully aware of what it is that we fear. The nature of the potential harm we dread is often not physical in nature such as an injury or death that might occur from falling from a height. Instead we might fear emotional harm or loss of sense of self, rejection, or disapproval. The expectation of harm of any kind can provoke anxiety.
(from The Essence and Nature of Anxiety)

It seems that our culture is inundated with excessive, albeit media-inflamed, propaganda that instills fear in our hearts, so that anxiety becomes a part of everyday life for so many people. With the exception of a chemical or neurological imbalance, the greatest tragedy is that this type of lifestyle can be avoided. People become so easily worried about the cares of life: finances or possessions, health or schooling, careers or occupations. Of course, these things are worth considering when life happens, but I wonder if an overemphasis on these things not only lessens our quality of life, but the length as well. There is an increasing trend of excess in American culture. We buy things we don't need with money we don't have. We clutter our lives with needless activities in order to entertain ourselves because silence and solitude have become increasingly awkward or uncomfortable. We create background noise so that we don't have to really think about the most essential things of our lives. With all these things in place as the norm in our society, it is no wonder that we are anxious. Consequently, in the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry, there are not only over the counter anxiety medications, but at least a couple dozen prescription medications that aim to reduce anxiety or lessen the effects of chronic depression. There exist entire organizations and websites, like this one completely dedicated to this end. Through such organizations, a person can access information about anxiety drugs like Cymbalta, Paxil, Prozac, Valium, Xanax, and Zoloft, among many others, in order to ease their pain. But what is the cost of all this? Are there other drugs that a person should take in order to offset the side effects of these? How far are we willing to go to ease our anxiety? Is it really supposed to be like this?

As a result of our increased anxiety and propensity to worry about so many things, we have become defenseless in our ability to live courageous, confident lives as God intended.

[Because of your faith] I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God...for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:6-7 (paraphrase)

So does this mean that those who have faith never worry or never become anxious? Obviously not. Personally, I have wrestled with my own tendency to worry this summer. With a baby on the way and an income of less than half of last year's, my mind often wanders into the abyss of worry. How will I pay for health insurance for my wife and daughter? How will they be able to get to the medical appointments when I have our only car at work with me? How will we continue to pay off our debts? These questions easily creep into my consciousness as I think about the future. All of these questions create anxiety within me which is the manifestation of fear, the paranoia of my life becoming a "worst case scenario".

But then I'm reminded, as Paul encourages Timothy (see above), that God is a good Father to us, desirous to give us His best gifts (Matthew 7:11).

So here's a gift. A truck like this one is a perfect example of a gift that God gives to those for whom faith is their anchor. Through God's prompting and enablement, a coworker of mine at my new job has decided to sign the title of a 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac truck over to me, free of charge. Wow. Now, an expectation of a material gift like this is beside the point. The point is this: that God is in control of all things. He sustains all things in the depth of their being and has the ability to provide any necessity to any thing that needs something. For me, it is a truck. For someone else, it may be relief from a headache or healing from cancer or a parking spot closer to the store because of a cast on a leg. For plants, it's sunlight and water. You get the idea. Regardless of our perceived magnitude of the need, God has the ability and desire to meet that need.

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious 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? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
Matthew 6:25-34

I cannot imagine what my life would be like without faith that God Himself would provide for my every need. It may not always look like the provision I expect, but it is always the provision I need. I can only venture to say that without faith, my life would be filled with anxiety medication, for we are not meant to live this life alone, dependent on our own ability to satisfy our every need. In every case, somehow we'll be found lacking.

I've never really liked the cliche, "Let go and let God." Personally, I just think it's corny. I think the let go part is okay (see cartoon above), but to let God is a very arrogant thing for us to say, as if God needs our permission to sovereignly and lovingly rule our lives. I prefer:

"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it."
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

and

"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word."
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

and

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen."
1 Peter 5:6-11

So my prayer for myself, my family, and all those for whom God alone is their hope is this: May our complete willingness to relinquish the needs of our lives prove to deepen our trust in God, the Provider of all our needs, lest needless anxiety be our demise. Amen.

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