The Key to Overcoming Anxiety

Have you ever been caught up in a cycle of anxiety? Maybe that describes you today. Life feels overwhelming. Even at night, your mind is occupied. You feel exhausted, depleted, and utterly alone.

In Luke 10, Jesus visited the home of sisters Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus. The three siblings were among His closest friends and supporters. While Jesus taught, Martha hurried about the home, caring for the needs of others. Mary, her sister, sat listening to Jesus. Luke describes Martha as “distracted.” Martha complained: “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” (v. 40).

Imagine, what would happen if Jesus visited your home. What an incredible opportunity that would be. Yet, Martha was missing this moment. When we are consumed by worry, we are robbed of being present at important moments. You can be sitting at church on Sunday morning and have a hard time focusing. Your mind is in and out of the doors a million times.

While Martha thinks the problem is her sister, Jesus points out the reality: “You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

What is that one thing Jesus was speaking about? As God’s creation, we are composed of body, soul, and spirit (1 Thess. 5:23). The physical part we can see in the mirror. The soul is our personality, our thinking, and our will. But our spirit connects us to God. God wants you, the totality of you, to sit in a place that hears Him. Psalm 62:5 says our soul will find “rest in God.” Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” When you find a quiet place to be present with God in a position of surrender, you will find the peace you are seeking.

Spending time with the Almighty helps us release our illusion of control. What a comfort it is to realize that He is God, and we are not. First Peter 5 encourages us to humble ourselves before God, to cast all our anxiety on Him. Like Mary, when we take time to sit at the feet of Jesus, we put our life into a God-story perspective. If you are struggling today, sit and rest in the presence of the Almighty.