Uproot Stress & Anxiety from the Source
For a lot of us, digging beneath our anxiety means addressing our pride through the releasing of control.
We need to let go and let God in as many areas as possible. But that’s not the only shadow lurking beneath the giant of anxiety. There are a handful of other common roots that tend to trip us up and produce the fruit of anxiety in our lives.
If it’s not already clear, I am not a doctor of any kind and would be a fool to try to prescribe a simple Band-Aid of spiritual-sounding mumbo-jumbo to someone suffering the paralyzing effects of panic, anxiety, or depression. Although it’s not my place to prescribe, I can describe what God did for me and what I believe He can do for you.
I am downstream from many of you reading this today, calling from the other side of this valley—“You will get through this.” I realize you may have fought this fight for years, but God doesn’t want you to lose hope.
For me, it was important to come to the point where I began to realize my “anxiety” wasn’t a thing in and of itself. Rather, my anxiety was a symptom of something else. I discovered that it seemed to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. For example, I heard myself making comments such as, “I can’t make it to work today because my anxiety is acting up again.” Or, “I feel like my anxiety is rising up, I better go lie down.”
I was acting like anxiety was a cause rather than a symptom.
That’s incredibly frustrating because anxiety is a nebulous enemy. You can’t touch it or see it or even describe it well. Try sometime and you’ll quickly see how words don’t seem to capture the full experience. At least you can see when your wrist is swollen from a broken bone or see the rash on your face from an allergic reaction. But anxiety, in all its forms, is vague, murky, invisible, and hard to pin to the wall.
People Pleasing
That’s why going back and digging beneath this giant is so vital to our battle of putting an “X” through anxiety. If my anxiety is a symptom rather than a cause, then there are root tensions that are producing these anxious emotions within me. In some cases, it was something deep down within my heart. Other times it was something right on the surface of life. Most often what was causing me to be anxious wasn’t a thing, but a person. Someone was doing or saying something that unsettled me or was outside of my desired outcome.
I realized most of what was keeping me up at night was connected to people and relationships. I was spending hours trying to manage results, replay conversations, control scenarios, or protect myself and those around me.
You might say, “Louie, that sounds like you’re just trying to lead your people. How do you not fall into that trap, especially if you’re responsible for the people around or under you?”
It’s a fine line because many of us have been entrusted by God to lead others and to care for, shepherd, and guide them toward a life of godliness and wholeness. But ultimately, you and I can’t center our souls around the desire to please people. It’s never led to a life of fulfillment and, more often than not, it leads down the path toward anxiety and stress.
Being a leader isn’t about pleasing people. It’s about seeking God’s glory and then allowing the overflow of that pursuit to pour into your people. That’s what Jesus means in John 5:44 (ESV) when He says, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”
I know firsthand that if you’re trying to control the world or the people around you, you’re spending a lot of time staring at the ceiling at night.
But Jesus offers a better way.
Whenever the giant of anxiety is pressing in on my heart and mind, I often return to 1 Peter 5, particularly verses 6-11. Jesus invites you and me to cast all our anxiety on Him, not just because He’s the best one to carry it but because He cares about us. How stunning. The God of the universe cares for you and for me, so much so that He tells us to give Him everything that’s bothering us.
In the original Greek language, the word used for anxiety in this verse means “to divide or to pull apart.” That’s what happens to our hearts when we are anxious about something. We’re pulled to pieces, and there’s no peace when your heart is busy being pulled to pieces. That’s why Jesus offers to carry this weight for us if only we surrender it to Him.
Take a moment and excavate below the surface of your anxiety, remembering that anxiety is not a “thing” in and of itself. Dig down a little deeper and ask these critical questions:
What (or who) is pulling at my peace of mind?
What situation or fear or potential outcome is making me feel like I need to manage or control things?
Once you can name it, you are on the road to freedom; because when you can identify it, you can specifically cast it on Jesus in a meaningful way. You can transfer the weight and concern to His care, knowing He cares about you.
But people pleasing isn’t the only root that leads to anxiety bubbling up in our lives. Maybe for you, it’s not trying to impress those around you as much as it is trying to hold on to the past and prepare for the future. Maybe you’ve fallen into the trap of what I call the “Stress Sandwich”—living for yesterday or tomorrow but missing the goodness of God today.
The Stress Sandwich
What is the stress sandwich and how do you know if it’s at the root of your anxiety? Think of it like this. You have two slices of bread. One slice represents all the regret of what didn’t go right or you wish were different about yesterday. The other slice is all the worry you have about all the different scenarios that may happen tomorrow. Between those two pieces you put today—that’s called a stress sandwich, and, sadly, that’s what most of us are eating for lunch every day.
We’re chewing on the regrets of yesterday. We’re mulling over all the what-ifs of tomorrow. And in the process, we completely lose the value of today. When I think of the stress sandwich, I think specifically of these two Scriptures:
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34 NIV).
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:13-15 NIV).
Each day has enough trouble of its own. You might be feeling some of that trouble today, but this truth should give our hearts joy! As hard as you may try, you cannot go back to yesterday and redo what happened or what was said or what wasn’t done. And you have very little control over tomorrow. Tomorrow’s schedule may be listed on your phone’s calendar and you may have a plan, but it hasn’t actually arrived.
So, what do you have? You have right now. And what happens when we focus on the right now instead of on the past or the future? We begin to experience new opportunities to rejoice in the Lord.
That’s what the psalmist meant when he wrote in Psalm 118:24 (ESV):
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
If you’re feeling the giant of anxiety pressing in, you might want to take a look at your spiritual diet and ask, “Am I eating a stress sandwich, fixating on yesterday or tomorrow? Or am rejoicing in today—the day that the Lord has made?”
We’ve learned now that anxiety can stem from the roots of control, people pleasing, and worrying about the past or the future. But there’s one more big root that many of us allow to grow deep in our hearts that produces anxiety. It goes by a lot of names, things like alarm, angst, concern, or unease, but if we’re going to put an “X” through anxiety, we need to call it by what it is—fear.
Trust Conquers Fear
We are all prone to fear. Hardwired into our DNA is something called the “fight or flight response.” In the hunter versus hunted lifestyle of our ancestors, fear was a strategic tool that just might have helped keep you alive.
But today, instead of the occasional bursts of fear that offer instinctual protection, many of us live ruled by fear. We fear nearly everything and everyone, and when that type of living sinks into your soul, anxiety is the natural byproduct.
The great news for those of us who follow Jesus is that we have the ultimate antidote to fear. When we put our faith in Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit, who counteracts our innate tendency to fear with power, love, and self-control (see 2 Timothy 1:7).
The Holy Spirit prompts and empowers us to live a life of trust and not terror. That’s what ultimately uproots fear and, with it, anxiety from our hearts. Do you believe God is able? Do you believe He loves you and cares about you? Do you trust Him to work in and through the circumstances you are facing to do what’s best for you?
If fear is battling to take over your heart, if anxiety is rising within you, dwell on the cross. Think about what Jesus has done to ensure you can be alive with Him. Relief may not be immediate, because digging up deeply rooted things often takes some time and intentionality. But take heart that as you wait—God is at work, both in you and through you.
He is and always will be in full control, so you can sur- render your need to be in charge over to Him.
He is and always will be for you, so you can find your affirmation in Him and not in the people around you.
He is and always will be present with you, so you can release your past and submit your tomorrows to Him.
He is and always will be the resurrected Savior, so you can overcome fear by the power of His cross.
You can get to the bedrock of your anxiety, and from a place of surrender, you can look up to your Good Shepherd. He is there with open arms, ready to help you put an “X” through all the roots that lead you to be anxious.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV).
Breaking Free
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him (Psalm 28:7 NIV).
