Okay. Just this afternoon I spent a little time doing some business followthrough. Immediately I felt a bit of anxiety pop up on my radar! When you feel isolated, or that the weight of the world is on your shoulders, well, it’s normal to exert some brain matter worrying.
Yep. It happens. Even for me. I’m no different than anyone else, so let’s dispel the myth that we can be immune to the weightier issues of life.
It matters little what I was dealing with, but if I were “running” a business and suddenly all my income paused for several weeks, am I prepared to survive? If no-one darkens the doors of a church, how long can it survive? Think about it, if all you do is cut hair, and suddenly you can no longer do your job…how will you ever get through it?
What is anxiety? Well, the dictionary likes to tell us it’s simply “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.”
Yep. Imminent event. Uncertain outcome. And my name’s on the dotted line. Oh, what shall I do, and how shall I survive?
What drives anxiety?
Mostly? Emotions. Fear. Uncertainty.
This laundry list of items helps me overcome the fretful moments. It’s someone’s identity of what must make up a mentally strong person. Of which I know I’m one, but anxious times do happen for all of us. (Download the picture if you want!)
- Move On. They don’t waste time feeling sorry for themselves.
- Embrace change. They welcome challenges.
- Stay happy. They don’t waste energy on things they can’t control.
- They are kind, fair, and unafraid to speak up.
- Willing to take calculated risks.
- They celebrate other people’s success, nor do they resent that success.
Think With Me About This
Intrepid explorers risk everything for the reward of the find. Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Jim Bridger, Lewis and Clark, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin… An endless list of people with strong intestinal fortitude and the grit to make it through the unknown challenge before them.
Inventors don’t know when to stop. They find a way even when everyone says, “No way!”. Bell, Edison, Ford, Whitney, and the Wright Brothers come to mind.
Scientists keep digging until they find answers. Madam Curie anyone?
You and I.
Why are some mentally strong and others not? There are varied answers, but I know for me that it comes down to analyzing myself, looking for flaws that make me weak, and work on changing directions!
How Do We Get Out Of This?
The one thing I know, there are medical reasons that create an anxious mind. I cannot diagnose your particular issue, but I do know some cannot face their future without some medical support.
For anyone else?
Support groups are the answer. Well, maybe. Everyone is probably too worried about showing up and being the worst one there. So, they skip it, call in sick, or fake an “Oh, I forgot”!
Don’t face your fears alone. Get help. Well, that makes sense. Who do you get help from? In truth, I want to lean on someone who has been down the road a while, faced all the monsters in the dark corners, and shown how to shine the light and dispel the beasts!
Experience counts!
Buck Up! This is the grim reaper telling everyone they can do if they get a grip and simply do it… Well, I’m a witness to this. I’m not a soloist when it comes to singing, and I need music to help me along, so don’t ask me to simply buck up and do it! You’ll regret the results!
My one focus has been the lack of fear at taking small steps to something I’m unsure about. The first time in a tail-dragger airplane, with an instructor bound and determined to scare me to death that first time up! Nope. Not me.
Apostle Paul
The Apostle Paul gave us a foundation on facing fearful moments. If anyone had anything to fear, then going before the highest law in the land to plead your case must have been something that would have turned many to a bowl of jello! Cowardly Lion, anyone?
That’s not Paul.
He had many tests along the way. Think about him standing in from of King Agrippa long before he stands before Caesar.
Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.”
So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself:
“I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently….”
(Acts 26:1-3 NKJV)
How can Paul be so bold? He knew this was his route as directed by God (Acts 9:15-16), so, why not simply face it head-on and do what needs to be done? God told him this would be his path.
In my favorite epistle he states it like this:
Be careful [anxious] for nothing;
but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:6-7 KJV)
Our Worry Comes From Our Fear
I wish I could state this clearly. This Greek word [G3309 and his source G3308]] that is translated as careful simply means anxious. In all of the New Testament, only two speakers use this word. Paul. And Jesus.
Jesus says to take no thought for your life (Matthew 6:25) and tells Martha she is careful about many things (Luke 10:41). Between these two gospel accounts, Jesus speaks about anxious thoughts 11 times. Paul only deals with it 6 times in 1 Corinthians and Philippians.
Fear produces anxiety, which is simply our way of recognizing our fear and giving it the power to control us.
Peter
But Impetuous Peter gives us insight with the Greek word [G3308] and tells us to cast all our care (distraction) on God. Why? He is interested in you.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you in due time,
casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
(1 Peter 5:6-7 NKJV)
What is he dealing with at this moment? Warning us about the big resistor to our life in Christ. The Devil. The Roaring Lion. The Adversary.
How Big Is Your Worry?
If we have a big problem, we need to remember we have a bigger God.
If I've learned anything during my years it's simply this. God is always bigger than any problem I can imagine, and He's bigger than that little speck of me that occupies my space in life. Click To TweetHow do we get and keep mental toughness? By reminding ourselves that God is bigger than any problem. Quit thinking about the insurmountable odds, and start rejoicing in that indefatigable God. He never grows weary. His arm is not shortened. His skill has not failed, nor has his interest in us waned.
He’s never failed me, yet… says the old song. We should simply quit singing it as we knew it to be… He’s never failed me…period! And he never will. There is no “yet”…
So. Get over your worries and anxiety feelings. Trust in God. He’s got this!