Worry is about focus. As people of faith, we can choose how we see the world—either through a lens that holds our own needs and concerns as most important or through one that holds God’s deep and abiding concern for all of creation as most important. When our worldview is focused on our own ability to get what we need, fear and anxiety naturally rise. We are acutely aware that we are both saint and sinner, unable to hold all the pieces together. If we are the source of all that we need, we fall desperately short. And what we think is most important often gets a little out of whack. When we are able to shift—even if it is only for a few moments a day—to a worldview in which God is most significant, God is the source of all that we need, and we remember that God wants for us a life that truly is life, the anxiety levels seem to settle. When we can put our hearts where God’s heart is our souls are soothed.
This message is adapted from “Faith Reflections: I am freaking out! How your faith can combat anxiety” written by Brooke Petersen that first appeared in the November 2010 issue of Café magazine.