BUT FIRST, LET’S TALK ABOUT THE ANXIETY
I’m anxious. Yes, the very words I’m typing feel a little too heavy. I know Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything…” But here I am, my mind juggling my next words, lingering doubts, and the ever-looming question as to whether I’m doing this whole life thing right. It’s almost ironic, isn’t it? Yet this is where I’m starting. I could dodge the truth and pretend I’ve got the hang of this, but that won’t help anyone (not even me in the least.)
So let’s talk ANXIETY.
To put it in the words of psychologist Robert L. Leahy, anxiety is “the fear of fear”(a meta-fear.) But under most societal lenses we’ve grown accustomed to, anxiety is something else entirely. It’s viewed as a weakness, a flaw in character, even a failure of will or faith. Worse still, those who dare to speak their inner unease are often labeled as fragile, over-sensitive, or dramatic, and told to “get over it” or “just breathe” as though a deep inhale can exorcise a storm.
But Scripture, in its raw honesty, paints a different picture.
Consider Elijah, fresh off one of the most spectacular victories in his prophetic ministry. He calls down fire from heaven and slays prophets of Baal. But when Jezebel threatens his life, 1st King 19:2 NIV “So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” Elijah collapses under the weight of fear, asking God to take his life, 1st King 19:4 “while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” A prophet of such faith, yet in his moment of fear, God doesn’t rebuke him. Instead, He sends an angel to provide rest, food, and encouragement. 1st King 19:5-7 NIV “5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. 7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” If even the great Elijah, after such triumph, could fall to despair and fear, what does that say about our own anxiety?
Or take Jesus, kneeling in the Garden of Gethsemane. His soul overwhelmed to the point of anguish, praying earnestly, sweating drops of blood. Luke 22:44 “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” Jesus, fully divine yet fully human, expresses the depth of His anxiety before His Father. And God doesn’t withdraw from Him in that moment. He stays close.
Anxiety, then, isn’t proof of faithlessness. If anything, it’s the raw space where faith begins. Not in bravado, but in honesty. Where the ache is real, but so is the hand that holds us through it.
Which brings us back to Philippians 4:6-7, this time not as a divine scolding, rather a divine invitation. Philippians 4:6-7 NIV “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” When Paul says, “Do not be anxious…,” maybe he isn’t saying, never feel it, but, don’t carry it alone. Because notice what comes next: “but in every situation…” Not just the Sunday-best confessions. Not just the filtered prayers. Every situation. The questions you’re too tired to form. Every lingering doubt. Even that question I keep circling back to- am I doing this life thing right? God doesn’t demand we come “figured out,” He asks us to come honest. And then comes the promise, “And the peace of God…” Transcends understanding. In other words, this peace doesn’t need everything to make sense. It doesn’t wait for all the questions to be answered. It doesn’t even require our anxiety to vanish. It shows up anyway.
So how do we find this peace?
We start small: With honest, real prayers that don’t dress up our distress. With stillness, silence between our loud thoughts. With scripture, not as a checklist, but as a lifeline. Letting verses like Psalms 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God,” speak louder than our fears. We find it in community. In friends who remind us we’re not burdens. In worship, where the anxiety doesn’t necessarily disappear but gets redefined in the presence of a bigger God. We find it in letting go, again and again.
I used to think that peace meant perfection, that I’d only feel it once everything around and inside me was fixed. Now I know, it’s the presence of God within the chaos.
So yes, I’m anxious…and maybe you are too. But we’re also heard. Held. And beginning to know peace.
Norys Ndachule
Year 1 MBChB