And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. Matthew 7:25 ESV
You cannot build a non-anxious life without letting go of your drive to control. But letting go without having a Source of security will leave you lost and prey to every emotion or any destructive force that wants to control you. Fear is the main reason we cling so tightly to control. But the second part of true trust and belief is building on the Rock. The Rock is Jesus Christ. He told a story to illustrate the difference in life when a person builds their life on Him. He said it’s the difference between having a solid foundation or building only on sand. He said the winds and rains, the storms and floods come to every house, but only those built on the Rock, who believe and trust in Him, would stand.
Many of us try to find other rocks for security, for the control we cannot possibly find on our own. We will try to have a non-anxious life by building a solid career and strong financial base. Or we will build on knowledge and education so nothing will knock us off balance. We work on our health, physique, and numbers, hoping our health will save us. Probably the best of the inferior choices is building on our family. We strive to build relationships that can give us ultimate security. But none of those work. They can’t handle the weight of the responsibility any more than we can. The floods, clouds, and storms crumble them all.
True trust and belief is giving up personal control and building a non-anxious life of faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The terrifying truth otherwise is that we control extraordinarily little of this life, and then comes death. We don’t control when we start life and we can’t control when it’s over, no matter our reputation, finances, career, family, or health habits.
That paragraph is certain to raise your anxiety instead of helping it if you have not given up control and begun building on the Rock. More people are on anxiety medication than ever before in history. More people are in professional counseling than ever before in history. More technology, knowledge, money, and options are available to people than ever before. Yet we are more and more dissatisfied, anxious, depressed, and insecure.
Choosing to believe and build on the Rock of Jesus Christ is what I and millions of people have done and are doing to build a life of peace and confidence. Does it mean the winds don’t blow and the storms don’t come? No. It does mean that the Rock holds us steady and when the storm is over, we are still standing. The truth is, letting go of my control and choosing to put my faith and build my life on the Rock that is Jesus is where anxiety is defeated.
- The courage to let go and the wisdom to fully trust – it’s your choice. The choice is to begin and then to daily keep choosing in the same direction.