Practicing Peace in a World of Anxiety
How do you talk about a topic as broad as anxiety? In some form or fashion, every person reading this has most likely encountered or wrestled with some form of anxiety.
I want to be clear that the type of anxiety I’m describing could be defined as a “generalized, low-grade worry or fear of the future.”[1] One author’s definition that speaks to where we’re going today is, “imagining the future without Jesus in it.”[2]
So, this isn’t to demean or discourage those who are struggling with medically diagnosed chemical imbalance causing perpetuating anxiety.
If you’re struggling with that kind of anxiety, I hope and pray you are getting help.
I hope and pray you are taking medicine to help you cope.
I want to be sensitive and careful with the topic of anxiety.
Understand also that I am not here talking about anxiety today because it’s the trendy, go-to, fun-to-speak-about message of our time. I’m talking about anxiety because of the firm grip it has had on our society at large. The statistics that I have found have astounded me. Consider this:
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year.
People with an anxiety disorder are three to five times more likely to go to the doctor and six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than those who do not suffer from anxiety disorders.
Anxiety disorders affect 25.1%—think about that, 25%(!)—of children between 13 and 18 years old.[3]
And these are just known, diagnosed disorders—not counting the billions of cases of “low-grade” anxiety that so many of us feel.
Anxiety isn’t a problem, it’s a pandemic.
Anxiety is not a cultural, societal, or generational-based issue—it’s a humanity issue.
Anxiety does not pick on class, ethnicity, cultural background, socioeconomic status, gender, or age. My guess many of you reading these words right now have or are struggling with anxiety in some way, shape, or form.
And yet, for many of us, we have become accustomed or resigned to living with this kind of anxiety plaguing us. Somehow, we have normalized anxiety to being something you must tolerate. That if you’re not stressed, if you’re not rushed, if you’re not busy, if you’re not constantly fueled by the anxiousness of the NEXT thing to do, you’re living life wrong.
That somehow, your life is a failure.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America[4], only 36.9% of individuals suffering from anxiety receive treatment.
Think about that.
Of the 40 million people struggling with an anxiety disorder, barely a third have sought treatment. These statistics back up the fact that we have grown accustomed to living this life with the strings of anxiety attached.
It begs the question: is there hope?
Are there strategies or practices for combating the ever-gnawing presence of anxiety? Could it be that the life Jesus offers us of living a life of peace is too good to be true? Can a peace that surpasses all understanding really be obtained by an apprentice of Jesus?
Could it be that our constant indulgence in noise is setting our body’s equilibrium at a level it was never meant to run?
See, when we study the life of Jesus, we quickly recognize that He was the Master of engaging every room, every sphere and every situation he stepped into as a non-anxious presence. What if I told you that the same could be true of us—as disciples of Jesus—today? Could it be so?
I want to share with you three rhythms of Jesus’ life that I believe, if implemented and practiced consistently, can quell the constant, “low-grade” anxiety stirring within you right now.
1) Quiet
Jesus’ life is filled with instances where he retreats to the erémos or the, “quiet/desolate place.” Why would the Son of God need alone time? I think it’s because Jesus understood the healing, soothing power of quiet in a world full of noise.
2021 has ratcheted up the volume ten-fold. You can go a whole day without a moment of silence if you really try. At any point, Netflix, Spotify, Instagram, YouTube, TV, and more are waiting to be consumed or listened to. Notifications ding and ping like a constant symphonic stream throughout the day, interrupting any chance we have to string together periods of quiet.
Perhaps intentional periods of quiet are what’s stopping you from squashing the anxiety you’re feeling in your bones.
Could it be that our constant indulgence in noise is setting our body’s equilibrium at a level it was never meant to run?
Now, I’m not suggesting we ditch technology. I love cuddling up on the couch with a good Netflix show to watch as much as the next person. What I am suggesting is we turn off the car.
You don’t leave your car constantly running 24/7, right? The hum of that engine shuts off from time to time. Why? To conserve fuel and restore energy.
Our bodies are the same. They need space and time to reset and recharge. Quiet is the rhythm that gives us that. It brings us down and sets us level.
Perhaps intentional periods of quiet are what’s stopping you from squashing the anxiety you’re feeling in your bones.
2) Commune
For many, quiet isn’t enough. Continuing with the car analogy, so many of us are running on empty, just trying to make it by.
If quiet restores energy, communing with the Father refuels us. Time in His Word, in prayer, through journaling, or fasting, or simply being…all of it gives us life. We were made to commune and connect with God. His Word inspires us, His words challenge us, and His presence renews hope to live each day in peace.
If quiet restores energy, communing with the Father refuels us.
What if the low grade anxiety you’re feeling could be substituted for a steady peace and all it took was stopping at the fueling station for your soul on a routine basis?
3) Community
Life is hard. It’s even harder to live alone. I sit across from people on a weekly basis who share with me the anxiety that they’re feeling, the weight they’re carrying, the struggles they’re enduring. And when I ask, “who’s helping you carry the load?” The answer is almost always the same…
“No one.”
How tragic.
My friend, we NEED people in our lives to help shoulder the load. We were made for community. When Jesus wasn’t in quiet or communing with the Father, he was in community. We’d be wise to pattern our lives the same way.
Many people I talk to want friends, but they’re not willing to do the hard work of making friends. Friendship isn’t like Instagram. You can’t edit for 20 minutes and post a finished product. Friendship takes time. It takes energy. It takes trying and failing. It takes putting yourself out there, getting vulnerable, risking being exposed. It’s hard, but it’s SO worth it.
If you’re living life alone right now, take one intentional step this week to connect with someone else to lighten the load. Ask her to go get coffee. Ask him to go to the gym with you. Take the first step and be the initiator. Your pride is worth sacrificing for authentic relationship.
Anxiety has a foothold on so many, but it doesn’t have to have the last word. Begin to work these rhythms—quiet, commune, community—into your life, and watch as much of the low-grade anxiety pulsing within you begins to simmer.
I’m with you and for you, always.
[1] https://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad.htm
[2] Young, Sarah; Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence, page 304
[3] https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/facts-statistics
[4] https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/facts-statistics
