Worried About Being Anxious

Even before I became a fully ordained pastor, the Nebraska United Methodist Church made significant efforts to start us young clergy out on the right foot.  A common saying among those who underwent the family systems and self-awareness trainings came out whispering the same mantra "it's all about the non-anxious presence...".

Keeping a non-anxious presence is a powerful teaching and a powerful practice.  Paul writes in Philippians 4:6-7 on the subject not to be anxious about anything, but instead, to bring all of our worries and requests to God through our prayers and petitions and simply be thankful.  The result of this, Paul says, is that the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep our hearts and minds safe, firmly rooted in Jesus.

I chuckle.  Are not worry and anxiety two of our greatest and sometimes sneakiest adversaries?  Worry and anxiety steal us of joy in the moment, they rob us of sleep, they bring disharmony into relationships, and the frequently provoke fruitless reactions.  Additionally, while substance addictions and theft (just to name two) clearly have negative results, worry and anxiety present themselves to be far less harmful.  For example, many of us can confess to muttering the following:  I know it's not good for me to worry, but I just can't help feeling anxious about it.  But rarely do we say to ourselves or others, if you keep worrying like that the police WILL find you and they WILL take you away.  While we know our fretting and getting worked up won't help anything, we seldom have genuine concern for the destructive work our worrying is doing underneath.

So in ministry and in life, I strive to live into the opposite of worry and anxiety and instead live into Paul's words.  The result is often comical though.  Over the weekend Sarah and I learned of some accounting mistakes that threw our counts way off, our pet may have some life-shortening health issues, and several of our family friends have had health emergencies.  To top it off, we've run a little late to some meetings and have felt rushed in general.  What came of our responses was my outward attempt not to feel anxious that left me appearing numb and careless while my insides twisted, and Sarah's outward expressions of all that she was experiencing, giving her a slightly frenzied appearance.

Suffice to say, we both know well that mastery over the practice of giving it to God does not come over night or even over the course of years and trainings.  And while we are taught not to carry all our own burdens, we also must be open enough to life that our hearts still hurt and share concern for those who struggle.

Here's to life and the ongoing lessons for Christian living!


More to come!

Jason <><