Try adding a cubit to your stature
Question: Although I am a Christian, I seem to be a perpetual worrier. How can I best deal with these worries?
Answer: There are many different kinds of worry and care in daily living. Quite frankly it is best to face up to them so that, in recognizing them, we may take them to Christ. If God is to deal with our worries, however, it is important for us to see what particular factors may have caused us to worry. Otherwise we may search for solutions in the wrong quarter.
The moral factor
Some cares come upon us simply because we are out of touch with God, and are determined to live life of our own batteries. Clearly, in such a case, the gospel itself is our obvious remedy, with promises of forgiveness and renewing of life through the power of Christ’s death, resurrection and gift of the Spirit.
The circumstantial factor
Someone may grow up in an unhappy home, being subject to emotional instability later on. Or there are the teenage traumas which have more to do with growing up than with specifically spiritual issues.
The intellectual factor
Some people assume, when worries or doubts strike of them, that they are guilty of spiritual backsliding. Why should that be so? Doubt is a part of our spiritual maturing; frequently it is a result of the further education which is available to us today. Facing doubts is a real means of strengthening spiritual life.
The physical factor
If you are not on tip physically, you may well be below your best emotionally – and we should not be surprised if this is so. People often worry when they find they cannot pray in hospitals. But they should not worry, for concentration is at a low web and energy is in the short supply. In such a case, sluggishness in the prayer life is more to do with the physical than the spiritual realm.
At the onset of mental conflict or worry, can we recognize that there may be well different diagnoses for these experiences? All too often we Christians assume that all depression has a spiritual root and must be treated accordingly. But this is not so.
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