envelop spinner search close plus arrow-right arrow-left facebook twitter

Fear and Anxiety

by David Matranga on July 29, 2019

Fear and Anxiety
By David Matranga

When I say “short term internet fitness craze,” I bet examples come rushing to mind. The Shakeweight, Abb Shocker, Total Gym, etc. My personal favorite is the Indo Board.

It’s a cylinder that rolls around on the ground with a little board that you set on top of it and you try to balance, rolling back and forth like a piece of driftwood in the ocean. It’s pretty fun, unless you fall. Spills are pretty rough on this thing; the board shoots out like rocket from underneath you and you go tumbling backwards. Consequently, when you’re trying to practice on an Indo Board, you feel every little shake, wobble, and change of direction, desperate to stay on your feet. But you know what the best part of an Indo Board is?

You can stop. Pack it up, put it in the closet, and forget about it until the next time someone says, “Hey, remember those things?”

Instability is only fun when you can turn it off. The constant fear of falling isn’t a thrill ride, it’s a nightmare. In one way or another, this is what millions of Americans live like every day. Anxiety is the gift that nobody wants that keeps on giving anyway.

Sometimes we confuse fear with anxiety, but they’re different. Fear is specific. It says, “Hey, there’s a train coming. Get off the tracks or you’ll probably die.” Anxiety is general and amorphous. “Something is wrong and I don’t know what. People will reject me for some reason. My plans will fail somehow.”

Fear is often helpful. Anxiety never is.

While fear keeps us from doing something that is harmful, anxiety just makes the whole world seem like we’re standing on an Indo Board. It makes what should be solid seem shaky. Then, since we think it’s shaky we act like it’s shaky, and that typically doesn’t end well. Someone who is afraid that people will reject him socially will either choose not to engage at all or he’ll preemptively push others away. The end result is that anxiety determines how his life is going to go.

We are shaped by who we think we are and act in accordance with that belief.

Anxiety is that voice constantly whispering, “You aren’t safe. You aren’t secure. Your reputation is on the line, your money is going to disappear, your career won’t matter, etc.” It’s a miserable weight to live with, but thankfully God hasn’t left us without a solution.

How to Overcome Anxiety

1.) Admit it.

You have to get real about what’s going on before a solution is going to do any good. We’re commanded not to be anxious in the Bible (Matthew 6:25, Philippians 4:6), so you ought to own up to it, confess it to God, and tell someone you trust that you’ve been struggling.

“Don’t stifle your emotions and pretend they are not there. Don’t ventilate them and make them too important.” – Tim Keller

2.) Trust God.

God holds the universe in His hands. Nothing comes to pass except by His allowance. Read through God’s promises in the Bible, understand your identity as a child of God, and remember that God’s concern for you involves both the big picture and daily tasks. (Check out Psalm 3, Psalm 56:3, Philippians 4:11, Hebrews 12:28-29, and 1 Peter 5:7.)

“We are afraid to the extent that we put our glory in something other than the Lord.” – Tim Keller

3.) Respond Physically.

There is a physical as well as a spiritual response to physical dilemmas. It’s easy to blame everything on the devil as an attack, but if you have a terrible sleep schedule, if you don’t plan out your tasks at work so everything happens at the last minute, if you have poor eating habits and don’t exercise – it’s no wonder you feel anxious. Anxiety is certainly more than a physical problem, but we know that certain behaviors make it worse. Find a way to check your phone at specified times of the day instead of every few seconds, plan ahead, be a good steward of your time and activity.

“I’ve found that doing some kind of regular physical exercise is so important for persevering in ministry” – Tabor Laughlin

4.) Displace Your Anxiety.

“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 comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” – Philippians 4:6-9

Nature abhors a vacuum, meaning that empty spaces don’t stay empty for long. If you kick a bad thought out of your head but don’t replace it with anything, another bad thought is going to rush in and fill the void.

We can get rid of our constant worries by turning to prayer, speaking the truth of the scriptures over ourselves and our situations, by shifting our attention to the needs of others, by deciding not to worry about things that are too far off, and by surrounding ourselves with other believers who can encourage us and help us.

“When anxiety strikes, practice the shift. Transfer your focus from the things of earth to the concerns of heaven.” – Vince Miller

Anxiety is common, but it doesn’t have to be how you live your life. If you feel like you’re constantly balancing on an Indo Board, grab onto the One Thing that cannot be shaken. Remind yourself:

My God will not be shaken, so neither will my faith, nor will my future.

 (This article is based off of a longer message. Click here to listen.)