Anxiety

August 3, 2024

We all have concerns. However, our response to those concerns vary widely, depending on an apparent threat to our well-being.

This is the Bible’s response to any level of anxiety that hampers your walk with the Lord (if you’ve started one), robs your peace of mind (if you’ve found God’s grace), or distracts you from accomplishing God’s purpose in your life… Notwithstanding that, the recommendation in the last sentence, about what you focus on, may well be a universal benefit no matter what you believe about God, Jesus, and the Bible…

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” — Phillipians 4:6–8. New Living Translation.

I did a bit of research about the meaning of the word “anxious,” as used in the Bible, that is the original Greek word — μεριμνάω, merimnaó. There I found this specific meaning: “drawn in opposite directions;” “divided into parts” (A. T. Robertson); (figuratively) “to go to pieces” {being} pulled apart (in different directions)…”

My experience has been that when I become anxious to any degree, I can neither think straight, nor think things through with any coherent rationality. It is a kind of panic in my brain.

Here’s a scientific observation from the website https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anxiety-fear-and-hate :

“Robust evidence shows that anxiety impairs each of the specific cognitive processes responsible for carrying out the multicomponent tasks of working memory. Studies show that people with elevated anxiety are not able to inhibit threatening distractors as compared to neutral stimuli during a cognitive function.”

In this context, can’t you begin to see that the Bible has great practical advice for everyone and effective advice for everyone in every situation?

I am convinced that it demonstrates the veracity and the practicality within the pages of the Bible — what I usually refer to as “meat and potatoes” realism.

So, I guess this is the point of this little essay: Read the Bible and be encouraged to seek the presence of God in your life. Consider choosing the way Jesus taught people to live, turning to Him, trading in our limited wisdom for His abundant and unlimited wisdom.