Greetings in Christ,
‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you. Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares for you.’ 1 Peter 5.6-7
Anxiety is a dark beast that stalks many, if not all of us. It is the rare person who is free from that lurking dread that is anxiety. Most can cope with the fears that it brings as it seeks to draw us into despair and unbelief. They are able to live their lives and keep the effects of anxiety at bay.
There are many of our brothers and sisters in Christ for whom anxiety is the daily background of their lives. It is not what they want and would send away if they could. But it will not leave them nor will it give them peace of heart and mind. Theirs is a struggle that few of us can imagine nor understand. It is a struggle that often isolates the person in a personal hell, making the simplest daily task a challenge to accomplish
We have made great progress in helping people carrying the burden of anxiety, but we can always do more. We may not have the expertise that allows us to diagnose and treat anxiety and its related disorders, but we can all become more compassionate toward one another. We can help one another remember that not only are we members of a common humanity, but we are all beloved children of God. We can encourage one another to cast all our anxieties on God as the writers of the psalms often do. In so doing, we are helping those who struggle with anxiety to voice before God and others the pain they know in their lives.
We will not all be fully healed in this life. Our perfect healing of anxiety and all other diseases of body, mind and spirit will come when our Lord’s Kingdom comes in its fullness. Until then we can help one another by listening with Christ like love, helping one another to lay all our anxieties on the Lord, for he does indeed care for us.