Conquering Anxiety

“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.”

~ Proverbs 12.25

You have lost any control that you thought you had. You can’t get a handle on the situation either emotionally or physically. The doctor’s report hasn’t come back, so you don’t know why your health is declining. Financial markets are unstable. Your business is threatening to downsize, so you might be taking a severe financial hit. Your grown children are at odds with one another, and you can’t get them to reconcile. That person you love is flirting with apostasy, and you feel helpless.

This situation and the threat of loss are all you can think about. You are hyper-focused, and your mind is spiraling quickly through the scenarios, none of which have good endings. In fact, the more you think about it, the greater your fear of loss. And there is nothing you can do about it. Your heart feels as if it is being compressed in a vice. It is heavy. Your countenance is tight. When you are with other people, you are emotionally distant, focused on this situation.

You’re anxious.

Anxiety is an expression of fear. This fear originates in legitimate care that has now run amok. Care for ourselves and others is good. Excessive care that manifests as this great fear of loss as if we will lose everything if we lose this one thing is a good disposition that has turned into a sinful attitude.

Anxiety in your heart is you speaking to yourself false words about God and your situation. You believe that God isn’t in control, or, if he is, he doesn’t care about you; he’s fine with treating you badly; maybe he even enjoys it. God doesn’t love you. Maybe he is punishing you. On and on it goes, spiraling ever downward and killing your soul.

What is needed here is a good word spoken and believed. A good word will make you glad, lightening your heart, and, thus, giving you the life of restful security that God intends for you. This is a word that gets you out of your own head and the cycle of death.

This may be that gentle reminder that God has proved his love for you once for all time when he demonstrated his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us (Rom 5.8). His love can’t be questioned. Your times may be difficult, but you are reminded that the Lord disciplines those he loves as a father disciplines his children (3.11-12). No discipline is pleasant for the time but painful. Nevertheless, it will yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness. God is training you (Heb 12.11). The good word may be a Psalm or some other Scripture passage that comes to mind or is spoken to you reminding you of truth and correcting your errors. This good word may be that you have blown everything out of proportion. A friend’s word helps you put everything in perspective and lifts this heavy weight off of your heart. The good word might be the announcement that an issue is resolved, forgiveness has been asked for and granted; people you love who were at odds have been reconciled. You may be reminded that you have limited or no responsibility for the situation. You will not be held accountable for what goes on. God hasn’t given you authority to deal with that, consequently, he hasn’t given you responsibility. Assuming responsibility without authority is a great source of anxiety. Being reminded that God doesn’t burden you with that responsibility can lift you out of anxiety. It may be a simple word of encouragement to someone who has the anxious blues, or a friendly kick in the pants that tells the person not to give up. These good words restore rationality, give perspective, and, therefore, lift the burden.

While each of us needs these good words at times, we also need to be the speaker of these good words so that our words become a tree of life to those who listen (Pr 15.4). To be a speaker of good words, we must learn these words by listening and applying them to our hearts. Our minds must be filled with God’s good words and promises that gladden our hearts with hope that nothing is ultimately lost for those of us in Christ Jesus (cf. Rom 8.38-39).

Hear the good words of your God and fear not.