Learn How to Calm Anxiety from the Distressed, Drowning Disciples
Learn How to Calm Anxiety from the Distressed, Drowning Disciples
My family and I are in the process of following God’s leading into a change which will require additional income. As I step out in faith to write and coach, a part of me thinks going back to the security of an old job and paycheck sounds the most rational. There is another part that knows God is calling me to something different. This tension between my parts has periodically caused me some sleepless nights with WAVES of options to consider.
The tension seems to shout with an anxious loud voice to FIGURE IT OUT ASAP!
Am I the only one who feels the need to “Figure Everything Out”? Anyone else desperately trying to hold all the balls in the air?
How about thoughts like, “There’s got to be a way…if I walk through these scenarios again, I’ll figure it out.”
We go round and round, trying to herd the concerns of life into a nice safe container, called Security or Control and hoping it comes with a Guarantee.
Do you desire something (i.e. weight loss, figuring out your “purpose”, stopping a bad habit or starting a new one) and feel tension as you desperately want “it” yet can’t seem to Figure It Out/Make it Happen. When we allow the desire to surface it can create overwhelming waves of anxiety and pressure.
Kind of like drowning in our own anxious thoughts…
The Bible talks about casting all our anxious thoughts on Him. At times, those verses can feel like a life preserver out in the middle of the ocean. I can float awhile holding on to them, but I don’t get anywhere, thus repeating cycles without transformation.
As I try harder to cast my anxieties on Him without success, I add another layer of pressure for not doing it right!
God has given us another place to look for his guidance. Lets look at Luke 8 and Mark 4, where we find the disciples in an overwhelming drowning dilemma themselves.
These skilled fishermen were crossing the lake via their boat when a violent storm developed with fierce winds and waves. Jesus was napping (another blog post for another day), but what got my attention was the conversation that took place. The disciples woke Jesus with these anxious words, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” “Teacher, don’t you CARE that we’re going to drown?”
When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be Still!” Suddenly the storm stopped, and all was calm. Jesus asked the disciples a couple of questions. Here they are from different Bible translations:
Why are you afraid?
Do you still have no faith?
How is it that you have no faith?
Why can’t you trust me?
Haven’t you learned to trust yet?
The word “Faith” here is the same Greek word used in Matthew 17 when Jesus talked about nothing being impossible for us, if we had FAITH, even as small as a mustard seed.
The Blue Letter Bible defines this use of the word “Faith” as genitive of the object in which trust is placed.
Per English Language Teachers, they describe “genitive” as an expression of the relationship between nouns (faith and what you’re placing it in).
In other words…
What IS the object of your faith?
What are you trusting in if it’s not God?
And what is your relationship with that object?
For me, sometimes my faith is in “knowing and having a sense of control”.
The follow up question then is - What’s my relationship to “knowing and having a sense of control?”
If I’m honest, I desire the security I have when I know and have a sense of control, even if it is - a false sense of security.
Yet over and over in Scripture, God tells us HE is our strong tower, He is our Rock, He is trustworthy.
So back to the question Jesus asks, “Why can’t you trust me?” Jesus likes to go straight to the heart of the matter, doesn’t he?
For me, I have some parts of my heart that learned early on to find solutions that would protect me. (Much like Adam & Eve with fig leaves…)
I’m not sure those parts actually know Jesus. They kind of jump into action without thinking.
Compassionately, I sense Jesus turning toward these protective parts with love and offering his hand with an easier way. “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
So rather than just grabbing the lifeline and saying the verses “Cast all your cares on Jesus and Be anxious for nothing” we too can practically apply what Jesus was teaching the disciples as follows:
1. Wake up Jesus and call out to Him, ”I’m drowning in my anxious thoughts!”
2. Let Him see you (NOTE: you don’t have to have it all together to let him see you)
3. Then listen for Jesus’ compassionate question…like one of these:
Why are you afraid?
Why can’t you trust me?
Haven’t you learned to trust yet?
Let those parts of your heart answer Him honestly. Let him see you, make eye contact in your soul. Then take his hand and let him gently guide you to the Next Right Thing in peace.
Jesus gave Peter the experience in the boat BEFORE he penned these words in 1 Peter 5:7-9 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he CARES for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, STANDING FIRM IN THE FAITH...”
Peter experienced Jesus’ care over and over; therefore he was able to stand firm in FAITH because each experience led him to know Jesus more and more.
May our protective parts come to learn that Jesus is trustworthy, and he does CARE for us. When those protective parts have faith, we can love him with even more of our Heart, Mind and Soul.
The eternal goal is ALL our Heart, Mind and Soul a.k.a. sanctification.
I have to be intentional about listening for God’s peaceful voice. So I put together a resource to help me listen for the Good Shepherd’s voice (based on Psalm 23) and would love to share it with you.
Living in such a noisy world, it can be hard to discern His still small voice. This resource is a practical way of mentally unloading and learning more about our Shepherd so that we let Him lead. To download a free copy, click HERE.
Thank you so much for taking your precious time to read my words. May they be a blessing to you this month.
If you have a friend that you think would appreciate these words, please feel free to share it with them.
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Here are some additional posts from fellow Hope*Writers using the prompt word “CALM”:
Calm in the Midst of a Storm by Sharla Hallett
https://sharlahallett.com/calm-in-the-midst-of-a-storm/
Shift from Stressed to Calm by Ashley Olivine
https://ashleyolivine.com/stressed-to-calm/
Simple Is Better – Yearning for Calm When It Keeps Running Away by Dianne Vielhuber