Thoughts On Anxiety

Dear Friends,

Recent studies have shown that 32.3% of the U.S. population (110,618,560 people) report dealing with anxiety/stress/worry symptoms (*2023 Household Pulse Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau). That’s down about 10% from November of 2020 when 42.6% of the population (147,260,958 people) reported symptoms. Yet it’s still very high – with the highest percentage of those being between 18-24 years old.

Therefore, today, I wanted to pass along some “thoughts” (20 to be exact) that speak to the issues of anxiety/stress/worry. If you happen to be one of the people who wrestles with any of these, I hope you find this selection helpful. Enjoy.

“Anxiety is contemplating your future apart from seeing the hand of a loving and sovereign God directing and guiding it.”

“Though there is much to be puzzled about, there is nothing to be worried about.”
C. S. Lewis

“We fly off the handle because we flew away from anything having a handle to hold on to a long time ago.”
Garret Keizer

“Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength – carrying two days at once. It’s lunging into tomorrow today. Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength. 'Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself' (Matthew 6:34).”
Corrie ten Boom

“We must try to take life moment by moment. The actual present is usually pretty tolerable, I think, if only we refrain from adding to its burden that of the past and the future.”
C. S. Lewis

“Prayer is often worrying in God’s direction, and when we’re finished, we’re more upset and anxious than before.”
Tim Keller

“Worry is like a rocking chair—it gives you something to do, but it won’t get you anywhere.”
Jodi Picoult

“As to the “state of the world,” if we have time enough to hope and fear about it, we certainly have time to pray about it.”
C. S. Lewis

Written on a gravestone: “Here lies a Worrier… Died a Thousand Deaths… Buried but Once”

“Good Morning! This is God. I will be handling all of your problems today. I will not need your help! Relax and have a great day.”

“Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action.”
Anonymous

“Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered in anything short of God and His will for us.”
Billy Graham

“Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but wanting to control it.”

“Where faith begins, anxiety ends; where anxiety begins, faith ends.”
George Müller

“Worry reveals our allegiances. Fear and worry are not mere emotions; they are expressions of what we hold dear. They reveal the loyalties of our hearts. If we know Christ and have affirmed our allegiance to Him, worry is a sign that we are trying to have it both ways. We certainly don't want to renounce our allegiance to Jesus, but we want to protect what we feel is our own. We are not so sure that the Lord can be trusted with some of these things, so we look for help elsewhere. And if there is no obvious alternate source of help, we worry.”
Ed Welch

“If I am too worried about what may or may not happen tomorrow, I cannot concentrate on what is happening today.”
Madeline L’Engle

“Anxiety is a conversation you have with yourself about things you cannot change. Prayer is a conversation with God about things He can change.”
Rusty Hutson

“We as Christians can often bring anxiety upon ourselves by putting higher expectations on ourselves than God puts on us. We often bury ourselves in worry when we mistakenly think we must produce the righteousness Jesus credits to us as a gift, by grace, through faith. We create stress in ourselves by trying to live up to unrealistic or excessively high expectations of perfection not called for in the Bible. Perfectionism and stress are inseparable partners.”

“Living with anxiety is like being followed by a voice that knows all your insecurities and uses them against you. It gets louder and louder until it’s the loudest voice in your head and the only one you can hear.”

“Anxiety is like a toddler. It never stops talking, tells you you’re wrong about everything, and wakes you up at 3 a.m.”
Anonymous

Blessings on Your Day, Pastor Jeff