Hope in the Night (A 30-Day Reflection of the Word of God)

Seventeenth Night: Does Anxiety Creates Division of the Mind?

"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
- Matthew 6:34

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Reflection:

This is a challenge that many of us refused to accept: Avoid anxiety. Why? Because the world will say, it is normal. Because ourselves will say, it cannot be possible. But God says, "Do not be anxious."

Is it a request? No. It is a command.

Why should we avoid anxiety? There are many reasons.

First and foremost, anxiety goes against Scripture. For us, Christians, we have God as the giver of our standards. We have the Holy Spirit as our guide. We have Jesus Christ as our example. The Bible served as our manual in living in this world. Jesus mentioned not just once or twice but three times in one passage, "Do not be anxious... do not be anxious... do not be anxious." (Matthew 6:25-36)

For us who are believers, we affirm that we believe in God and His Son, Jesus; that He loves us unconditionally and has made promises to meet our needs; and that He's a God who keeps His Word. So if all of this is true, then living a life filled with anxiety doesn't fit who we are as a child of God. And we must deal with anxiety because it will breed all sorts of discouragement and defeat in our lives.

Second, anxiety will have a negative effect on every area of our lives. Many can testify how anxiety ruined their everyday lives. There are countless ways anxiety has a negative effect on our lives. Understanding these will help us to better understand the stresses of our life and will allow us to help others overcome theirs.

Anxiety divides your mind. Anxiety is a distraction. Its aim is to pull you in many different directions so that you will lose concentrate in one path. And whatever divides your mind diverts your attention from important matters and clouds your focus. It slows your productivity, whatever you're doing. If your mind is divided and preoccupied with things that made you anxious, you can't give your full attention and energy to what you should be focusing on.

Being anxious affects your personal relationship with other people. Take my experience, for example. When I was still anxiety-ridden, I unloaded those things in my life that I was anxious about and I never really dealt with them. My ongoing anxiety affected my relationship with everyone around me, never really attaching myself for fear that they might say something behind my back. I was too anxious of what they will say, how they will look at me and what they will think of me. To the point of isolating myself from even my closest friends.

This destructive emotion can also lead us to unwise decisions. An anxious person tends to jump ahead. They think things like this: "If I don't do it now, I may miss it"; "If I don't marry him now, I'm going to miss out." People make unwise decisions because they're anxious about an uncertain future and missing out on opportunities that may not come again. And there are always consequences when living in this way.

Yes, it has consequences. Ruined friendships or relationships, regrets, uneasiness, awkwardness between friends, and sometimes trust issues.

It also steals your peace and joy. You can't have joy and be full of anxiety. You can't have peace and be full of anxiety. As mentioned before to have peace means to be "bound together," whereas anxiety means to be "pulled apart." So you can either have one or the other - but you can't experience both.

Anxiety is a terrible waste of time and energy. When you're frustrated, anxious, and uncertain about things, you can't do your best. You won't feel your best. And this will lead to consequences you really and truly don't want in your life.

God doesn't want us living our lives filled with anxiety. And whenever I think of all the times that I wasted just in being anxious about almost everything and just sit in there in fear, I always regret it.

Time was so precious. Time will be lost when we constrain ourselves in fear and anxiety. It divides our mind, it divides our attention, it slows down our productivity, it affects our personal relationships, it leads us to unwise decisions, and it steals our joy and peace. I do believe that no one would want these things because neither do I. I don't want these things in my life, ever again.

And I promise, you don't want it in yours. Not especially in this time where pandemic can easily bring us down if we don't have something to cling on. So, don't be scared of your future. Don't be too anxious of what's happening tomorrow. Don't fear for God is in control.

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Prayer:

Dear God, I believe in You. I believe that You will deliver us from all these sufferings and one day, we will be with You. Without fear. Without the horror this world has. Without pain and doubts. And I pray that while I am still in this world, You will give me peace and joy. I pray that I will learn to dispel the anxious thoughts in me. So help me, God. In the Name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.