Thoughts On… {Anxiety}

| Allison

Do you worry? I do. I’m nearly always worrying about something or other, and I’m not proud of it. During the past few years, as we moved from one farm to another, it felt like I lived in a whirlwind of uncertainties and anxiety about the future.

Moving might sound petty compared to the worries you’re facing right now, and it very well could be. Moving was a small thing, relatively speaking. As complicated and slightly terrifying as it was to move an entire farm… we were just relocating two hours away.

Past worries have a way of shrinking to their proper size as we travel farther down the road and gain perspective. Present or future worries, however, can loom over our heads like tottering sequoias, filling our whole vision and threatening to crush us with their weight.

I hope this post reminds you to take a few steps back from the tree that’s sprouting new branches of worry every moment. I hope it reminds you that you don’t have to (and indeed, can’t) chop down this forest alone, but that you can hand your burden to the Carpenter who is building something beautiful from the wood.

Now, let’s go back to moving for a little bit. At one point, my parents had narrowed down our choices to two farms: one that was breathtakingly beautiful and well-kept, complete with a grand house. The other farm seemed… tired. And cold, and lonely.

When I walked into the first house, it felt so right. Surely God wanted us to move here!
I prayed that the Lord would give me an eager and joyful heart about whatever farm my parents chose…. but, I whispered selfishly, please help it be the one I want.

spring 4

Guess what? We didn’t get the farm I wanted. I was crushed by that one relatively unimportant decision, and a whole new flood of discontent and anxiety threatened to submerge me.

It wasn’t that I didn’t believe God was good, it’s just that I questioned whether his definition of goodness was the same as mine. I secretly wondered whether my life wouldn’t turn out better if I was in control instead of God. But He used that small trial to teach me more fully that I am not in control of my life, and that’s a good thing.

spring 10

“If we believe that somehow it is up to us to take control of our lives and the lives of those we love, fear is inevitable, because we simply aren’t in control of anything.”

– trust: a godly woman’s adornment, by Lydia Brownback

The fact that God is in control of our lives instead of us is a terribly hard truth to swallow. Doesn’t it make you want to close this tab and find a more palatable article, maybe one telling you to believe in yourself to find happiness? But, despite what our culture proclaims with a sticky smile, “following your heart,” will only lead to more anxiety and worry. Trusting in ourselves would work if we were as perfect and powerful as the world tells us we are, but… we aren’t.

Deep down we can feel that, as Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Look around you. Look inside you. Look inside me. It’s true.

spring 8

But Satan whispers, as he did from the very beginning, that we can follow our feeble, lying heart’s desires and “be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5) He tempts us away from trusting in God by making us believe that we are our own gods. And his strategy works frighteningly well.

I gave into it when we were choosing between farms. I placed my security and happiness in my own plan for my life, and when it fell apart, so did I.

Worry begins when life threatens to diverge from our treasured hopes and plans for our own lives. If that last sentence resonates with you like it does with me, let me encourage you: life won’t go according to your plan, simply because God has a better one.

spring 19

That reminds me of the ubiquitous verse, Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

We tend to take that and say, “oh, that means God wants me to be happy! God’s will is just whatever makes me feel good, right?” Sorry, but nope. Sometimes God’s will leads us to terribly hard places on the path to ultimate, heavenly joy.

spring 9

For example, let’s look at that verse in context. (Always a good thing to do anyway, heh.) Jeremiah was prophesying to the Israelites who were exiles in Babylon. In the previous verse, the Lord proclaimed that the Israelites would be exiles in Babylon for 70 more years after this prophecy is spoken.

So no, Jeremiah 29:11 isn’t saying that God is going to immediately step up and make you feel better. But take heart, dear! When God gives you more than you can handle (and he will, trust me), you can rest in the fact that he will help you handle what you’ve been given.

Not only that, but God is allowing whatever it is that’s worrying you for a reason. He doesn’t just throw up his hands in surprise when something bad happens and then try to appease us by patting us on the back until it’s over. No! He knew this would happen before the foundation of the world; it is part of his good and perfect plan for you.

spring 12

Another example: the book of Judges. It’s one of the most exasperating books of the Bible to read because it’s filled with Israel disobeying God over and over, being punished by exile, then coming to their senses and crying out to God to save them, after which He rescues them once again in his astounding patience and grace. (Hmm, sounds a bit like the story of my life…)

As the Israelites learned, often the brittle thread of our “good works,” good career, or good life has to snap before our eyes can see the mighty rope of salvation through Christ dangling right before our face. Judges is a wonderful example of how God uses the trials that worry us to bring himself the glory that is inextricably bound up with our good.

spring 14

I knew this theoretically, but I sure had a hard time applying it practically when we were moving. I acted as if my security, my true happiness, depended on Jesus + the prettiest house, or Jesus + the nicest farm. Nope! It really depended on Him alone.

Your happiness depends on Jesus alone.

That sentence should fill us with joy! Why? Because if our happiness is staked on Jesus, it is unquenchable. He’ll never me fail like my hopes and plans will. He’ll never change like my desires will. He’ll never let me down like literally every other thing in this world will.

spring 17

My friends, I know many of you truly believe salvation comes through God alone. Then why, why are we acting as if other things can save us too? If I have Jesus + more money, I’ll be okay. If I have Jesus + coffee, I can get through the morning If I have Jesus + other people’s approval, my life will be complete. No, no, NO!

“The security for which we long will never be found in Jesus and something or someone else; it will be found in him alone.”


trust: a godly woman’s adornment, by Lydia Brownback
spring 20

Lord, I plead guilty. Help me place my trust in You and You alone. Dispel my anxiety, wipe away my worries, and take away my urge to control my life, for I would bring death upon myself if I could. Help me take to heart Phillippians 4:6: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Let me take my worries ultimately to You and not look to other people or idols to erase them.

Help me trust your Son, who came to earth for me and grew up as a Nazarite carpenter, to skillfully guide me through a forest of worries, knowing that You have allowed each size and shape and type of wood to take root, and that Your Spirit will, in His own perfect time, hew them down and build something wonderful from them that will proclaim the glory of their builder and shelter me under Your grace. Never let my worries obstruct my view or distract my heart from You. In the name of your Son Jesus, who carried the all sins and cares of the world to the cross, Amen.

***Allison***

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66 thoughts on “Thoughts On… {Anxiety}”

  2. Wow. So true and wonderful post. ā¤ļø Satan uses fear as a weapon. God uses trials for perseverance. May we LOOK TO HIM through the attacks of anxiety. Iā€™m so happy you wrote on this. Iā€™m currently writing a guide to anxiety for teens, and am planning two posts this upcoming week at my blog about anxiety. Amazing timing! God is good!

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  3. AHHH. As always, I completely agree. You wrote this so beautifully, my dear! Also I remember that house and everything. šŸ˜‰ Also that book sounds really good! It looks like it inspired you to write this and I’m glad you do. We all need it. Thank you, my dear! šŸ™‚ ā¤

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    1. AHH THANKS. Ha ha, I’m sure you do. šŸ˜› The book IS really good – I highly recommend it! It’s a book of quick but excellent devotionals one of my pen pals sent me. And yes, it was definitely part of the inspiration behind this post! It was my pleasure. Thank YOU for reading, my friend. ā¤

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  5. This really hit home hard, I’ve always worried about one thing or another. One thing that really helps me is the concept of sleeping on it. Sometimes in the moment, things seem like such a big deal, when in reality, when we look at the entire world and think of how big God is, we see that our worry is really not such a big deal as we once thought. šŸ˜‰

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  10. That was a great post, Allison! I recently went through a challenging time of worry and confusion but I found that God puts those trials there for a reason. During that time, I was able to refocus on God, give everything to Him and ultimately strengthen my relationship with Him. James 1:2-4 really encouraged me to not feel frustrated at my troubles but to instead say thank you to God for allowing me to get closer to Him and to strengthen my faith.

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    1. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I’m sorry to hear you went through a tough time lately, but that’s such a great lesson to learn from it! I love that passage as well. ā˜ŗļø

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  11. Thank you for this post Allison. It is excellent.
    My sister and I were actually talking about that a few days ago; about our culture’s follow your heart and believe in your self stuff. (like all those messages Disney princess cartoons send) And how “you can do it,” but you can’t do it, not without God. And when you believe in yourself there’s nothing to believe in because you are nothing without Him.
    Thanks again for the post.

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  14. Agreed Allison! Unfortunately I am someone who tends to worry a lot. But most of the bad things that happen is God testing how strong our faith is in times of of trouble. I so often worry about the future, who I am and who I want to be. And it gets me NOWHERE. It’s like Satan tempts people to turn from God by using our weaknesses, doubts and anxiety. Thanks for the post Allison! Your writing is a gift from God and I find it so uplifting. Keep it up ā¤

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  15. This was so good. I have been through many situations where this would apply! So often, we think it’s so easy to trust Him, but it’s when a trial comes along that we REALLY learn to trust. Especially in a “waiting time”. There is so much blind faith involved in a “waiting time”. You have to learn to live every day with the attitude of “Lead me where I need to go, God!” It’s such a time of growth and strengthening. Thank you so much for sharing! ā¤

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  17. Good post, Allison! I think a lot of us deal with worry in some form or another. I know that I am too much of a worrier, but I am trying to work on it, and lately I have been having more victory in this area and peace through Jesus Christ. It really helps to read the Bible and pray daily, and this Lent I’m trying to commit more time in the morning to this. I try to constantly remember the verse that says “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And all these things will be given to you as well.” When we put our focus on the Lord, then the cares of life won’t cause us so much anxiety. Thanks for the encouraging post!
    ~Sassafras

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    1. Yesss, that is so true. I’ve recently been trying to read the Bible more and you’re right, it does just help you put your focus and priorities in order. Thanks for the lovely comment, and my pleasure!

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  21. This post was awesome. We/I often have to remind myself that God would not give me more than I can handle. It has taken years to learn God is in Control. It was my nature to try to influence my future and force things to happen in my time. I have learned that things work out so much better when I let go and let God. Thanks for sharing.

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  22. So good! Thank you for sharing! It is so easy to stray off into thinking Jesus+something, or to be sure that a dream has to be the best option. God must be our ultimate focus and his glory our ultimate desire.
    ~ Gracie

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  23. ā€œItā€™s not that I didnā€™t believe God was good, itā€™s that I questioned whether his definition of goodness was mine.ā€ I think Iā€™ve said nearly the exact same thing at least a dozen times šŸ˜‚ Beautiful post. Thanks for sharing!

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  25. Hey Allison!! thanks a ton for this post, it speaks straight to the core!! God is working in you and through you mightily, keep going:)
    I too have recently begun a blog. you may check it out if time permits. either way, no worries!
    God bless ya!

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  26. I too struggle with anxiety and know this all too well, Iā€™m with you sweet girl. God is good, he has bigger plans for you and your life. Stay strong ā¤ļø

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  31. Your post was very heartwarming. Having a close relationship with God is imperative in the times that we live. Anxiety can envelope us and cause us doubt our relationship with our Heavenly Father. One scripture that I find reassuring is Psalm 55:22. This scripture in part tells us to throw our burden on Jehovah and he will sustain us. Anxiety like other burdens can be given to God to lighten our load and give us the strength to press onward.

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