[5 Conversations With Christ] Anxiety / Worry Part 2Sample

Can’t Run Away, Can’t Fight Back!

Anxiety hides deeper feelings and problems. It is like a red light that flashes whenever we are suffering from more complicated matters. Fear that lives in secret comes to the surface when a person suffers from anxiety. Fear is at the root of anxiety. It is not enough to renounce anxiety; we must deal with the underlying factor of fear. Fear lies at the unconscious level and it is many times difficult to discern. 

Let us examine the predicament King Hezekiah had to face when Israel was being threatened and surrounded by the Assyrians. When this king heard the words sent by Sennacherib, King of Assyria, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth. This practice was common when someone died. We can see the level of distress Hezekiah felt. His people were in danger of death and extreme humiliation. Israel was surrounded by the Assyrians; due to the siege, the nation’s water and food supplies were at the very lowest. 

The choices were either seeking to escape, or sitting down and waiting for inevitable defeat. As a matter of fact, they could not escape, because they were surrounded by the Assyrians. They could not fight back, because they knew they were at a disadvantage. Not even the Egyptians had been able to resist the Assyrians. How could a few Israelites fight against the mightiest people of the time? Can you imagine a situation where you can neither run away nor fight back?

Yet the Lord had given King Hezekiah a word, through the prophet Isaiah, stating that the King of Assyria would not succeed against Israel and would return in total defeat to his homeland. “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” is what we read in 2 Chronicles 20:17. This was Israel’s only option. Have you ever been in such a predicament, where there is nothing you can do but sit and wait? It is in these difficult situations that we learn that sitting and waiting are not the worst things we can do. Learning to trust God comes through experience, and it is not until we learn to trust God that we can rest in Him. Thus, the purpose of going through tough times is not only to learn to trust God, but also to learn to rest in Him.