Anxiety - A lurking threat for disciples of Jesus (Part 1)

A feeling of dread rises in my body. I try to ignore it or suppress it, but it demands a response. I can’t face myself in the mirror, let alone my phone or computer with all of the notifications, let alone my calendar with all of my responsibilities, let alone (gasp!) another human being with all of his / her reactions to my problems. I can’t even look at the time on the locked screen of my phone, another reminder of the wasted opportunities and lost potential in my life. 

Anxiety is a perennial threat to human well-being. It can affect humans of all ages, cultures, personalities, and backgrounds. Though it is becoming more socially acceptable to acknowledge anxiety and identify as anxious, it seems to me that it has historically been more hidden and less discussed than it is today. 

Persistent anxiety is extremely destructive to human well-being because it saps human energy, depletes human potential, and sucks life out of a person. Anxiety brings death and destruction to the human body and soul. 

For disciples of Jesus, persistent anxiety which is not responded to in a healthy way will severely decrease a disciple’s ability to follow Jesus.

What is anxiety? 

What is the root cause of anxiety? 

What is the right response to anxiety for a disciple of Jesus?

Let’s examine these questions together. 

Anxiety is a feeling of unease or dread about a potential future event. The cause of anxiety is the belief that something personally harmful is imminent. 

Feelings are a natural part of being human which help us understand the beliefs and desires of the mind and heart. 

Having beliefs and desires is a natural part of being human. However, not all beliefs and desires are created equal. Some are good, and some are bad.

Disciples of Jesus are called (commanded) by our Master Shepherd, Jesus, to have right beliefs and right desires. 

Because anxiety is a feeling, and because feelings are “signposts” which point to underlying beliefs and desires, we should ask ourselves: What beliefs and desires underlie the feeling of anxiety? An important secondary question: Is it possible to reduce or eliminate anxiety through an examination and correction of bad beliefs and bad desires? 

For example, in a previous job of mine, I often felt anxious on Sunday evenings as I was getting closer to going to work on Monday morning. My job was challenging and difficult for me, so the closeness to a new week of work caused the feeling of anxiety to rise within me. My belief about my Monday morning was that it would be challenging and difficult. This belief was not arbitrary but was based on my prior experience with many challenging and difficult weeks of work, so it was a belief that was grounded in reality. My desire for my Monday morning was that I would avoid being too drained by the challenge and the difficulty of the new week of work. My desire was to enjoy my work but not to be overwhelmed by it.

Jesus spoke about anxiety, and so did his servants Peter and Paul. Interestingly, all three of them gave simple (albeit not easy!) instructions about how to respond to anxiety. Two of them (Jesus and Paul) even boldly commanded their disciples not to be anxious, as though anxiety were a choice instead of an involuntary response! This tells me that they believed that anxiety could be managed or even avoided. 

In our next two posts, we will have a look at their teaching about anxiety. First we will look at the teaching of Jesus; then we will look at the teachings of Peter and Paul.

Questions to consider and discuss:

How often do you feel anxious?

What are the 2 or 3 primary events or situations in your daily life which you feel anxious about?

What beliefs about those events or situations give rise to your anxiety?

What desires about those events or situations give rise to your anxiety?

What is your normal, default response to anxiety?