How To ThriveSample

How To Survive THRIVE - Emotionally

Day 2: Anxiety

 

Statistics show that more and more people today are being diagnosed with some form of an anxiety disorder than ever before. The fast-changing pace of this world has a huge influence over these stats. Anxiety and uncertainty enjoy a close relationship. Constant change will produce uncertainty. What is in fashion today is out tomorrow. With social media, plans change by the second, nothing is secure. Every program or piece of technology we buy, has an updated version of itself tomorrow. The education you invest in today will be irrelevant to the job specs of tomorrow. Nothing is the same yesterday, today or tomorrow. Trying to anchor one's identity to the fast-changing world is like throwing a chain with no anchor into deep waters during a hectic storm - an anxiety producing scenario. We try ease the panic of anxiety by a vain attempt to row as fast as we can over the swells of life, which often just triggers even more anxiety. In the same way, it is impossible to have any form of control over the swells at sea and impossible to have any control over the guaranteed love and loyalty of a spouse, the certainty of a promotion, or good physical health. It is unwise to anchor our identity to anything that is unstable and inconsistent. 

Hebrews 6:18-19 “So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our soul. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.” 

There is a strong confidence and certainty we can trust in when we anchor our identity to our relationship with Christ. He is unwavering and unchanging, a truth that is our compass to the storms of life. When we place our identity in the certainty of who we are in Christ - no matter what storm hits us - we have a confident hope of knowing that God is unchanging, dependable; and in place of anticipated anxiety, we have a peace that surpasses all understanding. The house of both the wise and foolish man was secure while the sun shone, it was only when the rain came that the wisdom of building one’s identity on a rock became evident.

Written by Madz Deyzel | Grace Counselling Director