A Better Way … to Weather Anxiety
I have a Bible that I use for personal devotion, bound in a red cover with my name emblazoned in gold letters on the front cover. Inside the front cover is an inscription with the date and place this Bible was gifted.
It’s been 30 years since I was called up with my third-grade classmates to kneel at the altar rail of Boston Avenue United Methodist Church in Tulsa, Okla., and receive the Holy Scriptures.
This simple gift has lived with me as the world swirled around. I have used it for study, reflection, devotion and prayer; it has been a steady reminder of the faith I inherited. This faith undergirds all of who I am, and all that I do in the world — present in both the highs and the lows, wrapping itself around me in times of trial and in times of rejoicing.
That same faith is present when I find myself in the swirling quagmire of anxiety. Let’s be honest: who isn’t feeling anxious right now? Between our poisoned politics, toxic social media and a world that is (quite literally) on fire, it feels like we’re all in a handbasket, headed to a very hot location.
Anxiety can weigh on our hearts, minds and spirits. It can be frenetic, making us feel like we’ve had one too many cups of coffee. Anxiety can also become so noisy and paralyzing that we find ourselves unable to make decisions or calm our hearts.
When we’re in the midst of the maelstrom, how are we expected to find safety and solace? How are we to find abiding peace when the storms rage on?
Here’s where I start. We can find peace, healing and solace in Jesus Christ.
It is God in Christ Jesus who relieves our burdens and invites us to rest. Again and again, God invites us to place the burdens of our hearts and the anxieties that threaten to consume us onto the shoulders of the one who was sent by God to unburden all creation.
We can unburden ourselves and offer our anxieties to God in many ways. Through prayer, we offer those things we are able to name, as well as the ways we feel and the anxieties that disturb our grounding in creation. We can offer these to God silently, aloud, or as a deep sigh when words seem to fail. We can practice deep breathing to ground ourselves right where we are, right in the moment.
When the world around you is crushing in, abide in the love and presence of God that is already with you. Lean on prayer and the Word of God, knowing that it breaks open our hearts and offers only grace and mercy in return.
Cling to the tangible reminders of God’s presence — especially those things that carry memories, like a third grade Bible. As it sits unassumingly on the desk by the computer, it will be a stalwart reminder that we lay our anxieties and burdens on one whose strength knows no limit, and in whose love we abide.
And for that, we can say, “Thanks be to God.”
A Prayer for Quiet Confidence
O God of peace, who hast taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be our strength: By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee, to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou art God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Book of Common Prayer