ANXIETY, WORRY, AND TENSION
Background
The term anxiety covers a wide range of problems resulting from unfounded fears. Someone has said that the anxious person and the worrier are so preoccupied about what may happen in the future that they forget to cope with the present. It is characteristic of such a person to worry about anything. They build "mountains out of mole hills," as insignificant matters assume great importance in their lives. They are anxious about imagined shortcomings, the future, their health, their families, and their work. They are often unable to pinpoint the reasons for their anxieties and fears.
Many anxious people suffer physical difficulties such as nervousness, sleeplessness, headaches, difficulty in breathing, or excessive sweating. Inability to find relief from the anxiety can lead to more serious consequences, such as a "nervous breakdown." Obviously, such people need our sympathy, our prayers, and whatever help we can offer.
Billy Graham comments: "Mankind has always been beset by worry, and the pressures of modern life have aggravated the problem. . . . Many of you are filled with a thousand anxieties. Bring them to Jesus Christ by faith. . . . I am learning in my own life, day by day, to keep my mind centered on Christ; the worries and anxieties and concerns of the world pass, and nothing but 'perfect peace' is left in the human heart."
Helping Strategy
1. Offer encouragement. The Lord can help! "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance" (Psalm 42:5). A genuine, healthy fear of God conquers all other fears!
2. Help the inquirer discover the reason for his or her anxiety. Try to offer more than just a temporary relief. As much as possible, seek to get at "root causes." Avoid probing too deeply, however. Limited time for discussion, and the possibility that the person's anxieties are based on traumatic experiences of the past, should limit your questions only to those which will help open the door for presenting Christ as Savior and sustainer. Your questions might include: