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Don’t Let Anxiety Steal Your Joy

Don’t Let Anxiety Steal Your Joy

With the world at our fingertips, we receive the best and worst news instantly—down to the hour, minute, and second. While staying up to date with the latest news isn’t wrong, the influx of information can be overwhelming, if not crippling. From foreign wars to local murders to natural disasters, the list of anxiety-inducing items is endless. As Christians, we are called to set our eyes on the eternal goal. But how do actually live in that truth daily?

Yael Eckstein reminds us of a moment in American history that defines what it truly means to give praise to God amid troubling times. “More than 160 years ago, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation” that birthed the beloved holiday, Thanksgiving. This turkey-centered holiday was created during the Civil War, “the bloodiest conflict in U.S. history.” Even when the country was divided and threatening to destroy itself from the inside out, Lincoln thanked God. Following Lincoln’s precedent, we must always remember to keep our focus on the One who is in control.

In Todd Mullins’s book, Don’t Let Doubt Take You Out, he describes his first encounter with anxiety as well as Paul’s antidote to it: “The first time I had a panic attack I thought I was dying. I had never experienced anything like it before, so I had no idea what it was or how to deal with it. It came in the middle of the night; I had been having trouble sleeping for weeks. We were not only in the middle of a global pandemic but months filled with racial tension, demonstrations, and political division. I was trying to lead our church through these unpredictable waters and help our community get back on its feet and move forward. The problem was, I was stuck. Ambushed by anxiety.

What I discovered was that anxiety wasn’t the problem. It wasn’t sinful or wrong. Instead, anxiety was the warning flag, the indicator light, telling me there was something I needed to deal with.

You don’t need another person to tell you that anxiety is at an all-time high. In recent years, our world has experienced changes that have fundamentally altered the landscape of mental health, bringing issues such as anxiety to the forefront of the conversation. The profound impact of global events, coupled with a digital age that often blurs the lines between reality and perception, has left many of us grappling with heightened levels of anxiety. These new pressures are stacked on top of the stress we already manage in our relationships, schools, and careers.

Anxiety, at its most basic definition, is a psychological and physiological response to stress. Something happens, and we perceive it as a threat. Our mind starts to race. We worry about what could happen next. For some, anxiety causes physical changes such as increased blood pressure, and leads to panic attacks, as it did with me. Anxiety looks different in different people in different seasons.

Notice that in Philippians 4:6, Paul gives us the antidote to anxiety: ‘Be anxious for nothing.’ Nothing. Nothing is worth losing your joy. No thing is worth losing your peace of mind. Worry about nothing. You might say, ‘But what about my family? My family is falling apart.’ Nothing. ‘What about my job? I might lose my job.’ Nothing. ‘What about my kids? What about my doctor’s report?’ Nothing. There is nothing worth worrying about.

Jesus said, ‘Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?’ (Matt. 6:27, BSB). In fact, worrying never adds to your life; it only takes from your life. Worry is a robber. It robs you of time. Time spent worrying can never be regained. It’s gone forever. Worry also robs you of your peace. So many times, the things I’ve worried about never happened, but I lost peace of mind and hours of sleep lying in bed worrying they might.

In this passage, Paul doesn’t just tell us, ‘Don’t worry, be happy.’ He doesn’t give us bumper sticker theology. He’s not just saying, ‘Don’t worry. It will be OK.’ He gives us the solution for anxiety. When we’re facing a serious problem, we need more than just the power of positive thinking. We need more than an attitude adjustment. We need the remedy, the path forward that will heal us from the effects of this poison.

Look again at that verse in Philippians: ‘Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ Paul gives us three weapons to use when anxiety attacks: the prayer of connection, the prayer of supplication, and the prayer of thanksgiving. All three weapons require you to open your mouth. All three require you to speak up.”

For more information on Todd Mullins’s new book, Don’t Let Doubt Take You Out, visit MyCharismaShop.com

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