A READER WHOSE business has been having difficulty and who has been feeling anxious about the future and going through a period of discouragement has been wondering about biblical counsel on overcoming anxiety. To him, I reply . . .
You are certainly not alone in your feelings. Discouragement swats us all from time to time. And anxiety seems to sweep over us like a wave just when we lack a surfboard. When that happens, I have found the only solution is to fully hand over to God whatever is bothering me or causing me anxiety, and to ask him to renew my trust in him alone. I do not mean some shallow or pseudo-spiritual prayer. I mean telling God the complete and unvarnished story, including how I honestly feel about the entire matter.
As you know, our emotions always respond to our perceptions of reality, and we usually form perceptions on the sensory world around us. That is not surprising, for it is the only world our natural senses can perceive. It is unfortunate, however, because that whole world is itself only temporary, and it can never provide ultimate fulfillment.
This is why it is so important for us to walk by faith and not by sight (see 2 Corinthians 5:7). By faith, we can “see” the unseen (see Hebrews 11:1-3, 6-7, 24-27). The eternal realities are all invisible—God on his throne, Jesus at his right hand, God’s eternal purpose, his unfailing love for his people, and our final victory through Jesus Christ. Whenever we focus on those realities, our emotions realign in keeping with true perceptions.
In my case, negative emotions usually result from disappointed expectations—whether anger, frustration, anxiety, or sorrow. And those expectations, I must confess, frequently spring from my own desires for personal comfort, creaturely satisfaction, momentary pleasure or ego gratification. God has not promised me any of those things—and certainly not all the time! Yet when they do not come, I often feel cheated, short-changed, or denied what is due me. Illegitimate expectations produce inevitable frustrations.
I must constantly remember that God is my provider and my sufficiency—and that knowing him is the only worthy ultimate goal. When I do remember these truths, and when I accept and affirm them with all my heart, the temporary problems involving people and circumstances fall back into proper perspective.
These are my own weaknesses and faults, and I do not presume that any of this is true of you. But if you should happen to resemble me in these matters, perhaps these thoughts will have been worth mentioning.