"Anxiety is the most predominant form of mental illness in our country, plaguing both young and old, showing up as post-traumatic stress syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder, even phobias and generalized anxiety disorder." - Vince Miller
As much as we welcome being able to instantly know what's going on in the world, it seems that at the same time we're opening up ourselves to a seemingly endless source of anxiety. Even what God says about being anxious brings on a little anxiety: "Be anxious for nothing..." - Phil. 4:6
We are told not to be anxious, and there is no good reason to be, so why do we still do it?! “Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?" - Matt. 6:27
And can we, as Miller's article suggests, 'leverage it [anxiety] to our advantage'?
Don't be anxious, but instead:
- Identify legitimate concerns. Should we be worrying about it?
- Transfer control. Are we thinking too highly of our ability to address our anxiety?
- Deploy 'anxiety management'. Phil. 4:8 is a great process for managing anxiety: Pray, ask, thank, and share.
Leveraging it to our advantage: Miller sees 3 ways that our response to anxiety can be leveraged to our advantage:
- We shift our focus to what really matters.
- We evaluate how we relate to God.
- We transfer trust and concern to God.
Spend a Few More Minutes With: Be Anxious For… Nothing. And No Faking It.