Anxiety Series: #5 What is Driving Your Anxiety
Updated: May 30, 2023
I feel like a broken record as I state off the bat this isn't all inclusive, or meant to do anything more than to get you thinking about what is behind the anxiety you are feeling. I am not talking about those that need medication for anxiety that tends to come out of nowhere, and are medically being treated. What this is aiming to do is help you to identify things that cause you anxiety so that you have a clearer picture of what your triggers for that are, and looking at where those anxieties lie.
Remember that God isn't the author of confusion 1 Corinthians 14:33 "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, was in all the churches of the saints.". God also states in John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.". That word abundance is more of a "fullness of life", many put it as riches or things exclusively. Fullness of life brings that past material things into ALL aspects of our lives here on earth and beyond. We need to be aware of where our anxiety is coming from to understand why God is needed during those times of anxiety. Many times I hear Christians state that they don't need to hear that God can help or deal with their anxiety. This is complex because there may be multiple reasons why Christians feel this way, experiences, beliefs, not believing.... Ultimately it comes down to many people just living with and in anxiety because they just don't feel a way out. Going to God in the past hasn't led to the answers they sought, paths they were hoping for, outcomes they wanted and so on. So they are left without hope, without a way to deal with their anxiety. That was the reason for this whole series, to hopefully bring some new perspective, or hope, to those people dealing with that.
If you are going to God with an outcome in mind, please be forewarned that many times that isn't how life goes with God and his plans. Sometimes there is pain, frustration, outcomes that seem to be worse before they get better. For me I am COMPLETELY speaking from experience on this one. God, time and time again, does things that go against what the people who have gone to him expect for outcomes. Let me point out that Israel was excited to be freed from being slaves only to head out into a desert and wandering for 40 years. Moses didn't expect to lead them and then find himself not even entering the promised land. Note again, the beauty in all that is Israel was taken through many aspects of growth out in the desert. Moses was shown the land his people were to have (which was SO much that only God would be able to have him see what he did), and then GOD buried him. I bring Moses up a lot because for many of us, we get being in something for years and the frustration, abandonment, sadness and such that we feel during that time. Like Israel, most of us lean on what we want vs. what God is providing. We turn down the daily mana for substance, spices, meat, etc. that WE want because that is what we are accustom to, or feel we are entitled to. Sometimes it takes us sitting back and trusting that God has these things under control and if we were just to walk that path he sets forth, even though we may see it in the rear view mirror, we can see the beauty in how God's plan is laid out.
Now it's your turn to look at what drives some of your anxiety. This is your time to sit back and take some time looking inward. Don't rush through this, you have invested this much time, take this and look at what things you are dealing with and places you can use some of the tools gained through this series.
What is one of your leading causes for anxiety?
Write down some of your most recent causes of anxiety. How did you deal with those each time?
How do you normally deal with anxiety?
How often do you go to God and actually give everything to him and release it all even if the outcome is different than what you had planned?
How do you feel about anxiety. What are YOUR beliefs surrounding anxiety and how does that match up with what the Bible says about being anxious.
How do you feel about others anxiety when it crosses over into you, affecting your life/daily routine?
How have your thoughts changed since working through this series?