Don’t worry, be…praying
We all deal with anxiety a little differently to one another. Some people are natural stressers, and some of us are more relaxed. Whichever category you fit into personally, you have a lot of external pressure on you at the moment. Jobs are uncertain, many are cooped up inside with their children, and others are lonely with no-one to talk to for long periods of time.
How do we cope with this higher level of stress?
- You could try to think positive and look on the bright side of things, the “don’t worry be happy” approach to life. While I personally like the sound of that, it is lying to say everything is good when it is not. If we just try to ignore the bad and focus on the good, that might help a little, but the bad is still a problem.
- You could use mindfulness techniques such as breathing exercises and meditation to clear your mind and relax. There might be a place for such things, and they are widely practiced, for they do make you slow down and think rather than just panic. In the end, though, this cannot remove the anxiety. We will have to face real life.
The Bible shows us a better way. It is in the famous verses from Philippians 4:
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:4-7 ESV)
Paul wrote this from prison. He had reason to be anxious about his life! His antidote to anxiety is not pretending the bad things are not there or clearing his mind to remove them. His solution is to pray. We know the Lord is at hand, nearby, so we can pray to him. We know he loves us and values us immensely, more than the lilies of the field or the sparrows. As we pray to God, we will experience peace. We will know that the One who controls whatever happens has heard us and cares for us. We know that whatever our current situation is, we are not alone.
This is so much better than the options the world offers to us. It doesn’t deny that things are difficult; they are. It doesn’t require some effort of will in order to see the world differently. Prayer reminds us that God is real and in control and loves us; knowing that cannot help but change the way we think about life. In the midst of a crisis, prayer is the antidote to anxiety.
Has this current crisis improved your prayer life? If you are always anxious, turn off the news. Close your eyes. You have your Lord at hand whom you can speak to right now.