Overcoming Anxiety – Part 2: Exposing the Roots

 

As I began seeking God in relation to my struggle with anxiety recently, I moved up Goliath Must Fall by Louie Giglio on my reading list and it wrecked me in the best way.

When Louie is addressing the giant of anxiety, he describes it as an overarching struggle caused by specific circumstances or people. He explains that to actually address and overcome anxiety we must deal with the root and call out the specific things that are making us anxious.

“Once we identify the culprit and admit that our unrest is tied to this person or circumstance, we can off-load those cares to God. We can figuratively place them into our heavenly Father’s hands and we can trust them to his sovereign care. We don’t minimize the situation; we maximize our view of the only One we can totally trust.” -Louie Giglio

I’m quite familiar with the Psalms; my struggle with anxiety has resulted in me digging into them with a fierceness over the years, clinging to the same hope and joy that the psalmists found as they worshiped the one, true God.

However, after I began calling out my specific worries and getting to the root of my anxiety, I had a revelation. David’s conversations with God are a framework for us.

In my church experience, David has been considered a complainer, quite whiny and needy. However, he is also revered for praising God and being called a “man after [God’s] own heart”(Acts 13:22) by God Himself. God’s heart is that we would have a relationship with Him. Isn’t that what David was doing, having a relationship with God in every moment laid out in his psalms?

David often called out exactly what was troubling him, particularly when he was in battle. It wasn’t just whining as it often appears. Was David needy? Sure. But aren’t we all? Weren’t we designed to need our Savior daily? Yes, we needed Him to die for us and endure the wrath of God for us to bring us salvation and reconciliation with God, but we also need interaction with Him every day. And is it really whining if you’re talking to God and pouring your heart out about the thing affecting your life? David wasn’t really complaining to his peers. He was having conversations with God. And, God was always working on his heart in those conversations, building his faith and helping him to remember. He always turned David’s concerns into praise.

Calling out specific anxieties and worries exposes them. Bringing them into the light weakens the hold they have on you. And handing them over to God shifts our focus from our problems to the One who is able. These “complaining”-to-praise conversations are a framework for us, an example to call out specifically what is troubling us to God and release it to Him. And as we fix our eyes on Him, He will turn our worry into worship, just like He did for David.

“The antidote to fear is faith, and the soundtrack of faith is worship.” – Louie Giglio

 

You can find Overcoming Anxiety parts 1 and 3 here.