Fixing Your Problems Won’t Fix Your Worry
The thing is this: I have struggled and dealt with worry and anxiety in my life, on and off, for many years. I often think I can pinpoint it to one particular thing that is wrong in my situation (i.e. if I am unsettled about an upcoming medical test, I may believe that my anxiety is due solely to that event). The problem with this theory is that I have experienced some of the most unsettling times of worry in my most settled times of life.
This theory-breaking discovery has led me to believe that maybe worry is far less circumstantial than I initially believed it to be. Maybe worry is a lot more about me than it is the things that worry me? If that’s true, then fixing my worry-causing problems will not necessarily fix my worry issues.
If I’m completely honest, I can shamefully admit to being guilty of literally looking for things to worry about. It’s not as simple as to say I sit here and think, “What would be a good thing to give me stress and steal my joy today?” but something a little more cerebral. I can get through one thing that I feel is the source of all my worry and not really feel the relief I was expecting to experience because I realize that my heart is just anxious. Period. It was never about a certain situation or circumstance (though those can definitely add stress to things), but simply about me needing to find peace internally for myself.
The good news is that God offers us peace. Real peace, too. Peace that stays and is undeterred by my circumstantial or emotional ups and downs. Peace that fixes me.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
– Philippians 4:6,7
I want to feel settled today. I want my heart and mind to be at ease and free of anxiety or worry, and it’s possible! I can start by giving everything over to God and then thanking Him. Peace is available today, go grab some.
