Managing Worry and Anxiety By Jean HolthausSample

  Day 6

Believe You Are Competent

When the Israelites arrived at the Jordan River to cross over into what God had promised them would be a “land flowing with milk and honey,” they didn’t see themselves as competent and capable, led and empowered by God, to enter this new land. Instead, they started trying to figure out if they had what it would take by sending out spies. This gave them a lot of terrifying data that started a litany of “what ifs.” They operated out of the fear of what might happen combined with the assumption they wouldn’t have what they needed because they didn’t currently have it. This resulted in an additional forty years of wandering in the wilderness.

By the time they arrived back at the Jordan River forty years later, they had learned some different skills and were better equipped to trust they would be able, with God’s leading and empowerment, to cross over and take the land. This was remarkable, given they didn’t have any more physical resources with them at the moment they stepped into the Jordan River than they had forty years earlier.

Managing anxiety is a process that won’t be fully completed until the day you stand before Jesus in your perfected state. Since it won’t be finished in this life, graciously examining where you are in the learning journey, seeing yourself as competent, then setting goals to move forward, is essential. 

Competence isn’t knowing all the answers but knowing how to access the resources needed to successfully accomplish something. Competence built upon a growth mindset assumes that our capacity, knowledge, and intellect are things that grow and develop over time, so we can always gain in each area.

Competent adults believe we will encounter difficulties and, when we do, we can figure out how to use the resources at our disposal to appropriately deal with those difficulties. We’re willing to persevere because we see putting forth effort and needing to learn as a natural and normal part of everyday life. 

Embracing the ongoing journey of learning and becoming everything God created you to be is worth the time and energy needed.

What anxiety-inducing task have you avoided doing because you’re afraid you can’t do it? Make a list of resources you have or could get that might help you accomplish this task.