3 Things to Do When God Says "Do Not Be Anxious," Yet You're Still Anxious

Who else can thank 2020 for raising their anxiety? According to a study done by the APA in Oct. 2020, 62% of Americans felt more anxious than they did the year before. Over the three years prior to this, the percentages ranged between 32% to 39%. That's quite the increase!

As a counselor over the last five years, I was already educating clients on anxiety more than any other diagnosis. It's hard to imagine it getting worse. Christians struggle with their experience of fear or anxiety and what the Bible says about it. God commands us to not fear, Jesus leaves us with peace, Paul inspirationally instructs us to not be anxious about anything, and yet how are we still feeling anxious? Sometimes it's easy to deny worry or fear and to just say "no." However, most times we attempt to say "no" to our fears and still feel worrisome. This just leaves us feeling anxious AND guilty for not being able to be obedient to God's commands.

So what do we do? Do we resign to being anxious and disobedient? Do we beat down our anxiety with guilt and shame? Here are three ways to normalize and consider anxiety as a Christian:

1. Read the Bible like a love letter rather than a commandment center.

God's Word is a guide to get as close as possible to His ultimate design and will for our lives amidst the sin condition. His ultimate vision was beautiful, full of love and goodness. When He instructs us, it is a gift to become closer to Him and His perfect plan for us. When we try, but struggle to follow commands like, "do not be anxious about anything," remember that God is sad with us and for us, rather than disappointed at us.

Don't get me wrong, God's Word is full of justice and hard truth. I don't want you to water down the Bible by only looking at His grace. But let's be honest: if you're reading this, you love Jesus, and you suffer with anxiety, you are way harder on yourself about your anxiety than God is. It's important to focus on God's grace towards the difficult areas in your life because my guess is you've been focused on His judgment.

2. Think of the external factors to your anxiety that may be out of your control.

If anxiety is not of the Lord, you can bet that Satan will want to use it as a spiritual warfare tactic. He most definitely likes you to focus on fighting your anxiety and your problems rather than Satan and his poison. Try fighting spiritual warfare rather than yourself! How? Ephesians 6:10-18 is a great place to start.

Another external factor is genetics. Anxiety can be passed down through the generations and while Jesus is all about breaking generational chains, it's helpful to know that having anxiety is not always your fault or something you did wrong! The truth is, you were born into a sin-filled world that has natural disasters, disease, and heartbreak. Sickness doesn't always mean sinfulness and God will use your pain for His purpose!

3. Remember that God's strength is made perfect in your weakness.

We don't know what Paul was struggling with when he said,

"Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."2 Corinthians 3:10

The thorn in your flesh may be anxiety. But your thorn is not there to make you feel guilty, but to make you feel stronger in Christ! Not just your weakness with anxiety but also your weakness in being able to overcome anxiety. Your inability to overcome anxiety is where Christ's power rests.

So what now?

• Bring your worries to God, don't just resign to be ridden with them. Do not just label yourself as "anxious" without seeking the Lord but do not condemn yourself when you still feel anxious after doing so.

• Focus on God's truth and his love-saturated instructions towards anxiety. You will not find better fear-busters in the world than God's Word and His son. But remember that these instructions are gifts laced with grace.

• Know what you're actually fighting-yourself, Satan, genetics, your trust in the Lord. If you don't know what you're fighting, you want be able to defeat it.

• Rest in God's grace when thorns pierce your side and focus on God's power rather than your weakness.