It is a breach in our mind's strength; that breach becomes the gatekeeper to all sorts of breakdowns and maladies in our thinking.
When I worked in middle schools, teachers often complained that some student behavior would improve if parents changed. Most likely. But I would always point out that if parents were going to change, they already would have. Why complain about what is? Let's move toward what to do about the behavior at hand.
Similarly, anxiety would perhaps improve minus a given circumstance or operation. If we can't change the circumstance or operation, can we change our anxiety toward it?
Can we really tackle the anxiety without changing the circumstances that seem to be at the root of it?
Drugs coat it--anesthetize it--which may be required to find enough hope to start our march against it. I want to know if we can dissect it, break it into smaller pieces that can be eliminated, creating a mind force that eventually closes the breach and leaves us with tools to guard the walls of our mind.
Can we truly lessen anxiety? Can we impact it with some God-tools that are available to all of us at any given moment?
I think anxiety is a virtual war against the strength and freedom of our mind. Since we are "only creatures" made by God (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain), we need to tap into the power that made us. No war is well fought without the wisdom and tactical strategy of the leadership.
So let's move toward what to do about anxiety, consulting the leadership to help us win the war:
Lord, you made our minds, I suspect, to be strong and free, with ample tools to stand against anxiety. We have a breach in the walls of our minds and anxiety threatens to overtake us. We are willing to learn and then fight. Show us how.Tomorrow: Buzzword prayers.
Comments are welcome at feedyourstrength@gmail.com.
