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You might start each day at the bottom of anxiety’s steep slope, but you aren’t abandoned. You’re with your heavenly Father.
Are you an anxious Christian? Your anxiety—that worry-hound chewing at your gut, that obsessive thought keeping you awake at night, that doom-spiral that makes you pick your skin or panic—is no surprise to God. The fact that the Bible addresses anxiety so often shows that God knew his beloved children would struggle with it.
Maybe you’ve figured out a way to keep your anxiety on a leash—you pray, exercise, journal, get counseling, take meds—but you’ve come to the exhausting realization that what’s on the end of your leash is not going to vaporize. Maybe you think if you just believe harder, you can make it go away. But guess what? Faith may not cure every earthly problem. However, faith does connect you to your heavenly Father. His faithfulness tips the scale, not yours.
Picture a dad backpacking with his little girl. As the terrain steepens, her excitement wanes. She protests. She falters. She refuses to take one more step. She isn’t built for the kind of effort it takes to carry baggage and climb a mountain. Her dad knows this. He doesn’t tell her to try harder. He doesn’t threaten to leave her behind. He reaches down and takes her pack. Holds her hand. Points out the wild beauty around her; turns her around to marvel at how far she’s climbed. What does his child learn?
Her father is compassionate. Her weakness doesn’t disappoint him. He wants her to make it, to share the experience, to be in his company. The father’s faithfulness gets the child up the mountain.
Your Savior demonstrated his faithfulness on Mount Calvary. He did what you could not—he climbed that terrible mountain carrying the burden and penalty of your sin. He did it so you could be with him forever. You might start each day at the bottom of anxiety’s steep slope, but you aren’t abandoned. You’re with your Abba, your heavenly Father. And he encourages you to add one more tool to your anxiety arsenal: praise.
Your steps might be heavy, but you’re surrounded by the wild beauty of his promises. Praise God! You can’t yet see the summit, but you can turn and see how far he’s brought you. Praise God! When anxiety threatens to unravel you, name your blessings. And praise God who daily bears your burdens so that you can make it to tomorrow, to next year, to your heavenly home.
“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens” (Psalm 68:19).
Author: Sarah Habben
Volume 111, Number 09
Issue: September 2024
