"I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him; in [God’s] word is my hope." Psalm 130:4
Life is precarious. We live in anxious times. Amongst the many roles I carried out in active ministry was the role of comforter. I don’t know that I was always very good at it, but I tended to keep a fairly level head in place as others were losing theirs.
Comfort doesn’t mean easy (as in, “my easy chair is quite comfortable”), but conveys a sense of strength or sufficiency. I sleep in comfort because I have food in my belly and a roof over my head. Whenever I take a trip, I’ve got my cell-phone in my pocket and a paper map in the glove box. Not only can I read a map, by the way, I can refold it properly (and while driving, if need be – but don’t tell anyone).
I don’t know what exactly causes anxiety. I am sure it is a vestigial trait left over from our days of dodging sabretooth tigers and dive-bombing pterodactyls. It’s how we survived as a species. We didn’t survive by being anxious, but by being alert to our surroundings. Anxiety is simply alertness that’s gone bonkers, that’s running amuck.
We all face anxiety from time to time. I got a text message the other day reminding me a certain bill was due the next day. I experienced a startle reflex; adrenaline squirted into my bloodstream; my heartbeat increased, as did my respiration and blood pressure. I was filled with a sudden sense of dread, for I am NEVER (all caps) late paying my bills. So I opened up my bank app and confirmed I had, indeed, paid the bill when I had gotten it weeks earlier. My bill-pay system is set up to remind me of upcoming bills, and doesn’t have a built-in feature to cancel notifications when the silly thing has been paid.
The point is, I could have gotten bogged down in the pond of despond, or gone into full-blown feces-tossing monkey mode (as happens on occasion – what good is it being descended from apes if we can’t act like it every now and then?). I could have, but I didn’t.
No, while being alert and experiencing anxiety have their place, the question before us is: What to do?
Anxiety short-circuits the brain, so I find it most helpful to address anxiety by grounding myself in reality. We have five senses, so if I find my heart up in my throat over some issue (real or imagined), I set it (that feeling, emotion) aside and put my senses to work. I may pick up my coffee mug (touch) and look at it (sight). Which mug am I using? Where did I get it? How was the coffee this morning (taste). Inhale (smell). Can I hear the coffee sloshing around the mug (hearing)? Those few moments of distraction are generally all I need to settle the monkey brain.
The second thing I do to reduce anxiety is to address what’s causing it. If it’s the news, turn it off. Burying one’s head in the sand creates its own issues, but if talking heads and “Breaking News” is breaking you, then turn it off. The only thing one needs from the media are Amber Alerts and Tsunami Warnings. Everything else is noise.
Third, do what you can, not what you can’t. When our roof sprung a leak the other day, we did not sit passively and do nothing. We called a roofer. We unplugged the microwave through which the water was dripping, and sopped up the water as it dripped. We waited for the roofer, and when they arrived, we rejoiced. They found the leak and patched it in under five minutes!
The psalmist calls out to God in an anxious time (Psalm 130): “Out of the depths I have called to you, O Lord …” but they don’t stay there. Instead, they wait. They don’t sit on their thumbs. They’re not passive. They make amends. They clean house. They prepare their hearts and homes for the One who will make things right.
Jesus says, “Why worry? God cares for birds and lilies. How much more does God care for y’all.” Like Jose the roofer, God’s got us covered here in this, our valley. That’s comforting to know.
Keith Axberg writes on matters concerning life and faith. Author of: Who the Blazes is Jesus? Good News for a Vulgar World (available through Amazon in Print and e-book)
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