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When Your Anxiety Is Great

Not long ago, I had an illogical but emotional experience with anxiety. I was standing in the living room of a good guy who was helping me fix some bad habits with my voice. As I struggled with a few of the exercises, I could feel my brain and body starting to unravel. At one point, I noticed my toes were curled, clenched vertically in my shoes. “You okay?” the guy asked me, but I didn’t know what to say besides, “I’m really sorry, but I have to go.” I had to, and I did. Looking back, there was nothing about it that was logical, but there was something undeniably powerful.

Have you ever felt the power of anxiety? According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, anxiety is the number-one mental health struggle in America, chronically affecting about 20 percent of adults and a rising number of children.* Statistically, in every row at church, every circle of friends, and every extended family are people with anxiety.

Ongoing anxiety is not just the nerves you feel before a first date or a big presentation; it’s more like a “what if?” snowflake that snowballs into an avalanche of worry. It’s the thought you can’t stop thinking, a roller-coaster ride with one loop that never stops—the one that gets stuck in your head and goes around in your stomach and keeps you up at night. Twenty percent of us feel just like that.

And it happens in church too. A lot. Even though Christians know we shouldn’t worry, we still do. Even though Christians know we should trust God to take care of it, we still don’t. She worries about her safety, even though she’s not in any real danger. He worries about dying young, even though he’s not actually sick. She worries about being good enough for God, even though she’s perfect through Jesus. He worries that his struggle with worry is proof that he isn’t really that sorry, and maybe he’s not that worthy, and maybe God is that angry.

So, how do you deal with your anxiety? Or theirs? Telling anxious people, “You’re fine. It’s fine. Just don’t worry!” doesn’t work. We need more than that. Thankfully, God offers more than that. His Word doesn’t promise any quick fixes (growing your faith is more like growing a tree, not microwaving a frozen Salisbury steak), but his promises do help us catch our breath and remember that even if we feel anxious, we are in the hands of the Almighty God.

“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy” (Psalm 94:19).

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27,28).

“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:4-6).

* “Mental Health by the Numbers,” National Alliance on Mental Illness, accessed March 30, 2023, https://www.nami.org/mhstats.