The Weight of Anxiety

The year 2020 will go down in history as one of the most memorable years for our community, our nation, and our world.  This year has been fertile soil where doubt, fear, and anxiety can take root, stealing our schedules, routines, peace, and, most of all, the joy we find in Christ.  This month, I want to share a chapter from Gospel Shaped Emotions, a book the Lord allowed me to write last year.  I pray you will find solace and peace as you shed the weight of anxiety as it is replaced with the comfort only Christ can give.

Chapter 11

The Weight of Anxiety

Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs it down, but a good word cheers it up. —Proverbs 12:25

My wife and I purchased our first house outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2008. We watched as the builders poured the foundation and added the walls, and we watched our dreams become a reality as the keys to our new home were handed over to us. After all the waiting, it was time to move in; the house was ours. I can remember decorating our house for Halloween and waiting by the door, anticipating our first trick-or-treaters. I can remember the smell of the candles Kristina purchased so our home would give off a pleasant aroma to those who entered our little habitat. I always felt safe when I was home. We had an alarm system installed and a sign outside that warned intruders to stay away because this house was under surveillance and protection. We both worked, so we would lock the doors and go our separate ways to accomplish the work God provided for us. Thinking back, it was an enjoyable time, but not every day was enjoyable.

            I came home early one day, right before the Christmas holiday. When I arrived, I noticed the front door was ajar. I pulled into the driveway, and as I made my way to the front door, I found it had been kicked in, and our Christmas wreath, which we had hung with great care, lay in the middle of the hallway. I thought, What is going on? Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to call the local authorities so they could make sure no one was in the house at the time.

Then I called Kristina and told her, “Don’t panic, but our house has been broken into.” I never thought I would call to tell her those words. I always thought my house was safe and secure, protected by signs, locks, and alarms. We found out from the authorities that thieves had broken into several homes that day using the same technique. They would find a house built with alcove for a front porch. This design allowed them to be hidden from view while they broke into the home. Their plan was to kick in the door, run to the nearest room, and make off with whatever they could take. The thieves made off with a lot of valuables from our neighbors, but what they stole from our house was personal. They took my wife’s wooden jewelry box, which had a necklace her grandmother had given her. The peace we once enjoyed each night as we slept was now interrupted by the events of the day.

            Our hearts were anxious and heavy for many days. We lived with an uncertainty while in our house. Things didn’t seem right; the security we once felt was replaced with the memory of being robbed. I think this is what anxiety in our hearts often does. Worry robs us from savoring and enjoying the life God has given us to live. On more than one occasion, I have gone to sleep worried about something, only to be assaulted by the same worry and anxiety seconds after I awake the following day.

Anxiety comes in all forms. We find big things to worry about; we see little things to worry over. We make small things into big things and worry about them. We worry and fret over people, places, and situations. We worry about the past, the present, and, indeed, the future. We worry about our money; we worry about our marriages; we worry and fret over who we are going to marry and even if we will find that special someone. We worry over kids—man, I never knew how much I feared until I had kids. I worry about them crossing the street, meeting a stranger, getting injured, getting lost.

I have to be honest; writing this section alone has caused a bit of anxiety in me. Some of us have anxiety that alters our quality of life. If this describes you, then seeing a trained licensed professional is a wise decision. Anxiety is nothing to dismiss or to not take seriously. It will rob you of joy and happiness and will cause you to take your eyes off Jesus and his great love for you.

            I can testify that anxiety has stolen a lot of time and energy from my life. I have spent hours worrying and have not seen any forward movement in my life because of what I was experiencing and feeling. Anxiety often makes a person feel hopeless. Anxious people will often feel insecure and out of control, isolating themselves from people and a God who loves them. Proverbs 12:25 states that a troubled heart is heavy, burdened by the circumstances of the world. It’s heavy with fear and worry, and often these emotions take over our day; we take our eyes off the everyday moments of grace given by a loving Lord. Worry often steals more than we’d like to admit.

Let’s examine three ways worry can rob you blind.

Anxiety Steals the Security We Find in Christ

Worry and fear have a way to make us doubt the security we find in Christ. The world is always trying to define our identity. The world wants to conform us to its set pattern. Every age has attempted to rewire the DNA of the children of God. The enemy knows if he can make you doubt who you are in Christ, then he can attack the weakness you have in your fleshly body. Jesus says these words to his sleepy disciples on the night of his betrayal: “Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

Anxiety can weaken our flesh, and we find our spirits are not strong enough to fight off the things we fear and fret over. Anxiety wants to conquer us. Worry intends to strip away the peace we experience in Christ by abiding in his presence. The enemy knows this one thing about someone who is a believer. Once we lose our security, anxiety takes over like a virus, unleashing thoughts and fears we thought we would never experience.

Anxiety Steals Our Hope for the Future

            Anxiety wages war against the hope the believer has in the future. A Christian worldview paints a very positive and encouraging future. As believers, we know certain truths that drive the hope we have. We understand this world is not all there is. Our future is not tied up in the present life. We know we have a future home in heaven with God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, who has made way for us by the provision of his death, burial, and resurrection.

“In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, and when you believed. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)

Paul informs the church that God has secured their future by way of the down payment of the Holy Spirit. God now possesses his children by his indwelling Spirit, giving them victory over sin and preparing them for the glory, to be revealed in the heavenly places. We remind ourselves of these truths as we journey through life, looking forward to the inheritance we have in Christ. Anxiety tends to cast a shadow on the theological truths of the scriptures. God says our future is secure, but worry makes us question our future. God says he loves us so much that he is preparing a place for our future, but anxiety makes us wonder if his love is secure and eternal. God says that nothing will be able to separate us from the love that is found in Jesus Christ. Worry makes us question every decision we have made and reminds us of all the obstacles and obstructions that seem to hide the delight of his presence from us. God wants our faith to be secure in his presence, his Word, and his power. Worry has a way of deflating our hopes and hiding the reality of God’s existence and presence in our daily experiences.

Anxiety Steals the Joy of Abiding in Christ

Worry and fear have a way of ruining the joy we find in Christ in our everyday experience. Most of the pleasure we experience in the Christian life is not seen in the mountaintop experiences but in the everyday situations of life. Like Elijah in 1 Kings 18, we experience the joy and triumph of the Lord on the mountain, only to see ourselves running, scared, alone, and seemingly abandoned by God. Anxiety and fear can creep in and rob us of the joy of the abiding presence of Christ when we focus on what is happening to us externally, instead of what Jesus is doing in us internally.

Worry often becomes the operating system we use to process life. We see the events unfolding around us—not through the sovereign reign of God but through our ability to handle the situation. We have to deal with a truth that unsettles us to the core. The fact is, we can’t handle most situations. It may seem we are in control; it may seem we have everything worked out. It may seem we have a solution to every problem that can happen and an answer to every question that may come up.

Worry and fear, however, paint another picture; it’s the portrait of what-if. What if I missed a detail? What if I face a situation that doesn’t make sense? What if the answer I thought was right is wrong? What if my faith fails? What if my flesh fails? What if I am not strong enough, smart enough, or talented enough? Anxiety, fear, and worry can turn every circumstance on its head and leave us afraid and alone, isolated from others and isolated from a God who loves us so. We all live with this tension in our lives. What if I fail? What if God fails? Anxiety will pounce on us and have no mercy.

Not long ago, I was very anxious about a circumstance, and I wrote these words as a prayer to the Father in my journal: “Father, I felt my anxiety creep up on me like an army advancing on a wall.” That’s how worry made me feel. Instead of my being met by the joy of the Lord in the morning, I would begin the day with fear because of what I felt the day might bring. We question our existences and his love for us, but we need to hear and believe what God says about our identities when worry has robbed us. Proverbs 12:25 lets us know we need to listen to a cheerful word.

The Gospel Restores What Anxiety Takes

            Proverbs 12:25 lets us know the feeling anxiety brings is not the final word. Worry can easily make us feel heavy and burdened by the weight of life. The emotions that anxiety brings will often try to shape our identities and the purposes we have. Too often, I have allowed the things I worry about to control and dictate how I act and respond during my day. Fear and worry will make me blow things out of proportion, making the challenges I face bigger, scarier, and darker than they are. In my life, I have allowed anxiety to speak louder and more clearly than the one who created me and knew me intimately. Our lives get out of order when anything speaks louder than the voice of our Father.

At just the right time, the cross of Jesus rescues us and brings a message of good news; this is the answer we need! The gospel is more than an event; it’s a message, and this message can shape our lives and order our days better than worry or fear. When we view our lives through the lenses of anxiety, we see chaos; even the things that seem in order can look chaotic. Worry is like a funhouse mirror that distorts reality intentionally, and so does anxiety and fear. Worry can make us stressed out about things we know deep in our hearts are not true. When anxiety amps us up, it takes our minds and thoughts off of a provisional and loving Father, who has provided all we need through Jesus. Fear makes us look at life and ask questions over and over about things we know are concrete in our lives.

Worry will drive us crazy! The answer is to let anxiety drive us to the gospel, where God has dealt with our problems and sins in full. Only in the gospel of Jesus will our out-of-control lives make sense. The gospel takes whatever anxiety distorts and puts our lives back in order. What the enemy stole in the garden is restored by the one who, in his garden of trouble and torment, took our fears, doubts, delusions, and, yes, our worries and dealt with them on a cross. The cross that crushed him frees us, and the tomb that could not hold him gives us resurrection power to face every day, no matter what comes our way. Praise God for such salvation!

© Kevin Wilson, Gospel Shaped Emotions, 2019