.February 2008

Dear friends,
Almost all of us are familiar with anxiety - that knot in the stomach, the overdrive pitter-pattering of the heart, the sleepless spell in the night. It’s been said that the two things in life we can’t avoid are death and taxes, but anxiety must come as a close third.
Anxiety is really FEAR about future uncertainties - what might happen in the future, either near or distant. We feel vulnerable and poorly protected against these threats, which may be as varied as social rejection, physical injury, disease, poverty or death. We think something bad is going to happen, we feel there is nothing can be done to stop it, and we feel there is no one to help us (one or all of these may apply). A threat may be real or imagined, but even if it turns out to be imagined, its grip is just as strong. Winston Churchill said on his deathbed that he had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which never happened!

Like every other problem, the best policy is to trust in God. That probably sounds trite and clichéd, but it happens to be perfectly true. The Christian faith may not be there primarily for our convenience, acting to airbrush away all our problems. But the balancing truth is that a vital faith in Christ does produce real, tangible benefits - like reduced anxiety. Let me explain.
While the Christian may feel insecure, the reality is that he is very secure (Proverbs 3:21-26). While the Christian may feel helpless, the reality is that he has great help (Romans 8:31; Psalm 27:5). While the Christian may feel isolated, the reality is that God is always at his side (Psalm 23.4; Matthew 28:20).

The remedy for anxiety is therefore complete trust and confidence in God’s ability to deal with anything that threatens us. The more we learn about Him, the more we know His infinite power and concern for us (Peter 5:5, 7). He has promised peace of mind to those who are willing to commit their anxieties to Him (John 16:33; Philippians 4:6, 7; 1 Peter 4:19).

Is that it? Just some Bible verses that I have trawled up from somewhere? Well …. have you looked them up yet? Were you - ahem - planning to? If not, then why not get those pages turning, and pray over them? You’ll never know till you try!

Of course, we also need to be realistic. Peace of mind does not depend on solving all the problems, righting all the wrongs, or getting what we want. Some problems have no solutions, and some situations must simply be lived through. We must learn to let go of some problems and allow the Lord to be in charge of them. As Jesus himself said, we need to learn to live one day at a time (Matthew 6:34).

Anxiety is a quite pointless activity. It’s like sitting in a rocking chair - it gives us something to do, but won’t get us anywhere. God has given us the means to deal with anxiety. And who knows? Taking Him at His word on this might be a doorway into a whole new mansion of faith-living that you never knew existed.

Yours in Christ,
Alistair Donald

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