fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. – Is 41:10
We live in a world that often times fills us with fear and anxiety. The reasons are plentiful: Family. Finances. Work. Health. The moral deterioration of society. The list could go on…and on…and on.
Consider the following taken from Forbes:
“Every year, millions of Americans struggle with symptoms of anxiety and anxiety disorders. The most common mental illness in the U.S., anxiety is a significant issue that deserves attention as it has an impact on everything from workplace performance to personal relationships. It can feel isolating, go hand-in-hand with depression and even impact your physical health.
- Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in the U.S. and affect over 40 million adults, or 19.1% of the population[1].
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is the most common anxiety disorder in the U.S. with 6.8 million adults affected[1].
- Young people are more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety than older adults, with nearly 50% of those between the ages of 18 and 24 reporting depressive disorder or anxiety symptoms[2] .
- Women are more than twice as likely than men to experience an anxiety disorder[3] .
A disconcerting aspect of the article mentioned above is the disproportionate percentage of Americans which struggle with anxiety over the rest of the world’s population. The article points to the amount of information we consume as the suspected cause. I however, side with the late philosopher and poet, Christopher George Wallace, who said, “I don’t know what they want from me. It’s like the more money we come across, The more problems we see.”
This philosophical thought is also theological. God warned the Israelites of the same. “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Deut. 8.11-14).
The process goes something like this:
See thing – Want Thing – Buy thing – Make thing a source for personal happiness and fulfillment – Take eyes off of God for fulfillment, peace, and joy Thing breaks – Enter Anxiety.
Or…
See someone else with thing that you don’t have or that is better than yours – Envy the joy they have and you don’t – Envy the life they have and not the life God wishes to give you – Become dissatisfied – Fear and anxiety increase.
This is one of the main reasons we observe a sharp increase the prevalence of anxiety among our younger population. The abundance and perfection they observe on social media does not match their life. In turn, they feel the need to measure up to the perceived world of social media and know that they cannot.*
At a great risk of oversimplifying the issue,
The cure to fear and anxiety isn’t a better you, but it is found in knowing a BIGGER God!
The antidote to fear isn’t found within ourselves. Look back at Isaiah 41.10. We are told 2 times by the Lord not to fear. And the reason we’re told this is because of who He is, not because of who we are.
Here are three anchors of God’s strength in times where you might feel fear on anxiety.
1. I AM WITH YOU. In Psalm 139 (esp. verses 1-16) we see God’s intimate knowledge of who we are. He knows everything about us. Our strengths. Our weaknesses. Our thoughts. He knows what we’re going to say before we ever open our mouths. He knows every day of our lives. He made us for His glory. In the midst of God knowing us, the Psalmist writes, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” His answer is NOWHERE! God is always with us. In Psalm 23.4, David says that God is with us even “in the valley of death”. In our darkest days, God is there. Before we are born, God is there. When we breath our final breath, God is there.
2. I AM YOUR GOD. Or, we might could say it this way. We belong to Him. Romans 8 screams into our fear. “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!” “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (8.14;31). Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10.27-30).
3. I AM YOUR STRENGTH. This truth is emphasized three different times within this single verse. It’s almost like God knows that our first tendency in fear is to find relief within, when, in reality, we need to look to Him. God says, “I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you…” The emphasis in Hebrew focuses upon the determination of God to help His children in their time of need. God is there with us in our time of need, moving and working as if His reputation dependent upon it. Rest in his strength. Cling to it.
RESOURCES:
https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/anxiety-statistics/#:~:text=Anxiety%20disorders%20are%20the%20most,with%206.8%20million%20adults%20affected. Accessed Aug. 27, 2024.
* I wrote another article that investigates this subject further. You can find it here.