Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 NIV
Do you know anyone who seems so confident, assured, and capable, you are certain they never experience the pit in the stomach, the niggling worry, the tossing and turning at night, the tension headache or whatever your signal is that anxiety has descended on you once again?
The key word there is seems. Humans, every single one of us, experience anxiety at times. Sometimes it is brief and healthy, moving us to appropriate action. Sometimes it is chronic, overwhelming, and decidedly unhealthy.
Heroes of biblical proportions suffered and suffer anxiety. Just think of a few.
Moses was called and appointed by God to lead people who had known nothing but slavery out of Egypt to the promised land. Instead of gratitude, Moses got a steady diet of criticism, grumbling, and rebellion from the many people. As a leader, he was often anxious and overwhelmed. One time he had so much anxiety, he told God he might as well die (Numbers 11:13-15).
David started out as a shepherd who was so looked down upon by his family that his dad didn’t even willingly bring him forward when the prophet Samuel was looking to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king. Talk about anxiety rooted in childhood! But it was God’s plan for David to be king, and he soon found out that even kings experience anxiety. The Psalms are full of David crying out to God in the middle of sleepless nights and days on the run from enemies, once including his own much-loved son. His anxiety peaked in tears and agony. Read Psalm 6, 13, 142, 143 for just a taste of his experiences.
Elijah was a powerful prophet whose miraculous faith and validation by God completely defeated 450 prophets of Baal in a command performance contest arranged by the wicked royal couple Ahab and Jezebel. But shortly after God showed up with great power, Elijah’s anxiety overtook him. Jezebel threatened to kill him. Fear and anxiety came roaring in and he lost focus (1 Kings 19:3-4).
Paul is the powerful man of faith and encouragement who wrote over half of the New Testament. But he never penned anything but truth. He was persecuted, imprisoned, whipped, maligned, betrayed by friends. There were times his trials caused him to feel fear and anxiety. He told the Corinthians much about it (2 Corinthians 1:8, 11:24-28). In fact, he said he was so anxious in one season that he truly thought he would die.
But these heroes didn’t give in to anxiety. In struggle, God’s resources were enough to carry them through moments and even seasons of distress and anxiety. We can discover that too.
- Every one of us is human and susceptible to pressure and anxiety. But we can find power to faithfully walk through these seasons, staying on mission with God.