What If?

“I set the Lord continually before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
Psalm 16:8

A few years ago, the hashtag, #thisiswhatanxietyfeelslike went viral. Thousands around the globe joined the conversation, sharing details of their own battles with anxiety. 

If you could add your voice to the discussion, what would you say?

What does anxiety feel like to you?

Here are a few descriptions that resonate with me, “Anxiety is a meteor shower of what-ifs sent from Marvel comics the Watcher Himself.”  

What if my health begins to fail?

What if we can’t save our marriage?

What if I can’t pay my bills?

What if my friends reject me?

On and on the ‘what-ifs’ go, raining down like a cosmic storm of falling stars.  

These “storms” in our minds often cause our bodies to shake. Our voices quiver. Our hands tremble. Our hearts start to race and we can even feel paralyzed with panic and fear. All of these and more can be signs of what is referred to as a “panic attack.” 

One of the best ways to diminish the power of anxiety is found in the Bible.

In today’s verse, King David reveals the one thing that effectively quieted his shaking soul: his close, intimate relationship with the Lord.  

David’s relationship with the Lord was central to every area of his life and integral to his identity. Earlier in the Psalm, he declares, “apart from You I have no good thing,” rightfully recognizing the Lord as the ultimate source of every blessing (16:2). Clearly, David cherished the Giver more than His gifts and experienced deep, abiding joy in His presence (16:11).      

Perhaps if David could articulate how his relationship with God helped him cope with anxiety he would say:  

“Intimacy with Him diminishes anxiety in me.”

Don’t misunderstand, King David’s intimacy with the Lord did not prevent him from ever feeling anxious, but it did help rob anxiety of its power. Maintaining a close walk with God was a way to combat his fear, ease his worried spirit, and keep anxiety at bay.  

Practically speaking, whenever he felt anxiety creeping in, David would “set the Lord continually before him.”  David made an intentional choice to frequently put the Lord in the foreground of his life, staying in constant communion with Him. No matter his situation or activity, he deliberately set his focus on the Lord.  

As a result, David, a man after God’s own heart, felt God’s nearness and remained unshakable in the face of anxiety.  

In this age of anxiety, where so many things cause my soul to shake, I need what David had. This means I must prioritize my relationship with the Lord above all else. 

I truly believe one reason anxiety is so prevalent is that on the whole, we’ve turned away from God and are attempting to live life without Him. As CS Lewis astutely observes: 

“God cannot give us peace apart from Himself because it is not there.”

The good news is that intimacy with God is not strictly reserved for Bible characters like David, as if it’s an exclusive club for the spiritually elite. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, ‘anxiety-diminishing’ intimacy with God is available to us all. (Read Peter’s powerful proclamation at Pentecost – citing Psalm 16 – beginning in Acts 2:25.) 

So, what can we do?

When the “meteors” of anxiety begin to rain down on our minds, we too can “set the Lord continually at our right hand before us” and watch the storm begin to fade away.

Let Us Pray -

Lord and Savior, sometimes a man's insides feel like a battle zone, where missiles are falling too close to home. Other times we are caught in an endless storm, with thoughts flying out of control. Confusion reigns, and defeat creeps in to steal our joy. A man needs peace—the deep-down-in-your-heart kind that stays with us day and night. Calm our anxious surroundings, Lord; all the attacking "if-onlys" and "what-ifs" and "what abouts" and "did you dos" and "why this and why thats," make them stop filling us with needless worry.

We know that trust is a big part of experiencing Your kind of peace and that fear has no place in our lives. Most of the things we worry about or dread don't even happen. So right now we are declaring our trust in you. We release the reins of my life again and ask you to take control Lord. We may need to pray this same prayer daily, for we recognize that we are tired of the frenzy of life that leaves our schedule and our thoughts without any margin. We need more of you, Lord, and less of us and them. We surrender and admit: we can't control people, plans, places, or even all our circumstances, but we can yield those things to you, and focus on your goodness.

Thank you today for every good gift You're about to give us, every blessing You'll send, all the forgiveness we do not deserve, and, yes, for every trial You have allowed into our lives. You bring good out of every circumstance so long as we let go and believe You. We know that when we pray each morning and give thanks instead of worrying, You have promised that we can experience the kind of peace that surpasses all understanding. That's Your kind of peace Lord. And it's the kind we men crave.

Whenever we're stressed, anxious, or afraid, help us remember to run to You. You're the only one that can calm our fears and end our fretful behavior. Whether it's a trivial or heavy matter, we know You will not only give us peace; Lord, you will be our peace. And when we draw close to you—in prayer, in reading your Word, in helping another, in taking our mind off ourselves— oh yeah... you'll be right there, up close and personal. Hallelujah!!! Jesus Christ, Lord and King and Prince of Peace we Love You!

Amen Jesus! Amen! Amen!