Anchorage: The Storm of Anxiety | Part 3 of 8ናሙና

Why am I Anxious?

Another important aspect of dealing with anxiety is recognizing the root cause of it. What is the source of your worry? What causes you to turn into a bundle of nerves at the smallest hint of a problem? While this varies from person to person, the biggest cause of anxiety for me was not being in control. What I mean by that is simply that I was not able to control the sequence or outcome of a situation. When I felt like the situation was slipping out of my control and was unfolding differently than I had envisioned, I started panicking. While I knew that worrying would not help the situation in any way, I still did it because my mind had been trained to ‘fight, flight, or freeze’ instead of trust. Trust is a learned experience laced in faith.

The Israelites, as we know, struggled all throughout their journey to the promised land. They worried. They complained. They grumbled. Was it because they lacked something? Absolutely not! God performed wondrous miracles in their midst every single day, thus taking care of all their needs and supernaturally providing for them. But because they chose to focus on their problems, worries, and compared their present reality to the positive aspects of their former lives in Egypt, their perspective was skewed. Instead of being grateful for the blessing of today, they were fearful about the uncertainty of tomorrow. They had to learn to trust in God’s process, and that his purpose was not to get them to the promised land in mere physicality, but mentally and spiritually as well. In the same way, learn to trust and lean on His process. Freedom from anxiety is at your fingertips, and He is your ever present help in trouble.

Reflection

Take some time out to identify the reason(s) for your anxiety. It may be an unaddressed sin, a guilty conscience, feeling insufficient or insecure, a deep rooted and exaggerated fear or, as in my case, a sense of not being in control. If you are like me, you’ll soon come to realize that not being in control may just be a blessing in disguise. While it took immense effort and a lot of time for me to hand the reins back to God, it was the most rewarding and liberating experience because the burden was no longer mine.

Let's dig deep into your memory banks for a time as a child where you experienced anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed. Now, in that scene, imagine Jesus walking in. How is he responding to your stress?

In recent events, what has caused you to worry? What has caused you to lose your peace? Even on this day, how is Jesus responding to your stress?