Anxiety is a feeling of worry or uncontrollable nervousness
when thinking or obsessing about an event or a situation where the outcome is
uncertain. Anxiety disorders are the most common type of mental illness in the
United States. According to Scott Stossel, author of My Age of Anxiety, “Forty million Americans have an anxiety disorder.”
He goes on to report, “One in six people in the world will have an anxiety
disorder for a minimum of a year within their lifetime, and one in four people
will experience crippling anxiety some time in their life.” With these
staggering statistics, one has to ask: Is the person sitting next to you in
church suffering from anxiety? Have you felt the worry or fear of the unknown
in your life? If you haven’t experienced the life-changing panic associated
with anxiety, odds are someone worshiping with you suffers in this way. So, in
the life of a Christian where trust in our Savior is first and foremost, what
do we do with anxiety? We understand pain
and suffering are part of our lives. We
dive into God’s promises for strength—his gospel means of grace. Knowledge of life-giving rebirth we
experienced through baptism and the forgiveness of sins received through the
Lord’s Supper can ease the hurt of anxiety.
Even with God’s grace coming to us through the gospel in his Word, in baptism,
and the Lord’s Supper, our human weakness gets in the way. The devil uses anxiety as a weapon causing us
to doubt ourselves, our faith in God, and God’s power. “It breeds within our
hearts and eats away from the inside until we no longer feel human and whole,
but worthless and broken,” says Grace Finstrom in a recent article. We need the gospel to speak to our worries and
strengthen our innermost being. God’s
assurances to Joshua put down the devil and point us to the strength we develop
through trust in God. “Have I not commanded you?” God said. “Be strong and
courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for
the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
When the panic of anxiety stubbornly takes hold of us, we look to the Lord for
strength to overcome our worldly doubts.
The sacrament of baptism is a rebirth for us and a powerful reminder of the
work of faith the Holy Spirit continues tirelessly to perform in our hearts. We
may feel anxiety and worry, but we also know the Holy Spirit continues to
nourish faith in us and connect us to our all-powerful God. Suffering from anxiety is a never ending
cycle of negative self-talk and hopelessness, but remembering the benefits we
receive through baptism can encourage us to switch from negative thoughts to the
positive work the Holy Spirit does in our hearts.
Baptism started our faith life, and holy communion offers ongoing reminder of
the peace we receive through the means of grace. Communion gives us forgiveness of sins,
lifting the burden of anxiety off our shoulders and placing this burden on our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. God sent his Son to die for our sins, even the
sin of worry and doubt. God’s forgiving love can lessen anxiety and comfort us
from the fear of the unknown.
Anxiety is a real mental illness with debilitating symptoms, but with faith in
God and his promises, along with professional help, this disease can be eased.
God is our great healer. He has our future planned and will not let us fall
into harm’s way. We look to the Lord for
strength. We trust in his unfailing love for us. We seek his peace in regards
to our fears and worries. “’Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most
High, will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of
the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust’”
(Psalm 91:1-2). Instead of dwelling on the fear within us, we turn
this gripping fear over to God and his promises. “God is our refuge and strength, an
ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Fear and worries will keep coming, keep changing. But we can find solace in the never-changing
promises and all-encompassing love of our all-powerful God.
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