Recently I offered some advice to someone who is going through a very difficult time in their life and is suffering terribly from anxiety and depression. Anyone who has read my book Miracle on Luckie Street knows that, while I’m no psychologist, I’m well qualified to offer some advice on this subject. Make no mistake, I’ve faced more than my fair share of adversity, anxiety and depression to a suicidal state, and yet I overcame it to the point that I literally NEVER worry.
If you suffer from anxiety don’t feel like the Lone Ranger; anxiety and depression affect a huge segment of our population.
- Anxiety Disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S. affecting 40 million of the adult U.S. population in a given year.
- More Americans suffer from depression than coronary heart disease, cancer and AIDS combined.
- Major Depressive Disorder is the leading cause of disability in the U.S.
Knowing that others also suffer is rarely much of a comfort, but I do think it’s important to realize that life is akin to a ping pong game for all human beings. One minute we are soaring through the air like a free bird and the next we are crashing back down; only to be slammed in the head with a sand paper laced paddle; but then we get to soar again; (a metaphoric way of saying life is comprised of ups and downs)
Job is one of the oldest books of the Bible and it relates the story of a good man having many terrible things happen to him through no fault of his own. (Yes this saga has been unfolding for eons, ever since the fall of man and Cain and Able.)
God allowed satan to test Job, but stipulated that he could not take his life. Satan afflicted him with nearly everything in his arsenal and soon he was suffering unimaginable horror. Job’s friends all speculated as to why so many terrible maladies afflicted Job. To a reason all were rejected by God who was speaking to him from a whirlwind. Job asked God for an answer as to why He was allowing him to be subjected to such tribulation, but none was forthcoming. In the end Job refused to curse God and accepted his fate and subsequently his health, wealth, and well being were restored far beyond their original measure.
In order to completely overcome anxiety and find peace in our lives we must first fully surrender to God. It begins with the realization that we are the “created”, and not the “Creator”. God does not have to explain His actions to us; we have to explain our actions to Him.
God has given us His Holy Bible and it is entirely sufficient for our needs. If it were not so, He would have given us more information. It could be the size of the Universe and still not explain all of the mysteries surrounding Him and His incomprehensible intellect. And even if a Bible existed that could explain Him, our little peanut brains couldn’t grasp it because we were created lower than God. To get a feel for this, try explaining how to drive your car to your pet dog; give him your car keys, and then send him to the store for some milk, and be sure to tell him to charge it to Master Card and not American Express.
In order to find serenity we must accept the things in life that we cannot change. We must have complete faith in God and our acceptance of the ping pong nature of life on this planet is one of those things.
I expect bad things – even tragic things – to occasionally happen in my life. I don’t like it when it happens. I grieve when someone I love suffers or dies, and I feel pain when I’m personally afflicted. I don’t like for someone to steal from me, or lie to me, or to lose any battle. But I’m never caught off guard, because I fully expect that I will experience both pain and pleasure in this world. I hunker down and I grit my teeth and I suffer through the pain, and I’m thankful to God when I experience pleasure. Through it all I keep my faith and resolve to never quit, because I have faith that soon enough I’ll be soaring again.
Like Job I don’t curse God. I accept whatever is served up and try to learn the lessons that God wants me to learn from every experience. Some day in heaven maybe God will make known to us His logic for ping pong. Perhaps what God didn’t tell Job was that his example would be providing encouragement to people for thousands of years to come, or maybe He did it for some other reason. We cannot know for sure in this life, but we can accept it by faith.
I don’t suffer anxiety or depression because I fully put my trust in God and have unswerving faith in my future as a believer in Jesus Christ, especially as it relates to eternity. In short I focus on the finish line and the glory of crossing it and not the bone crushing tackles and bloody nose that it requires to get there.
I truly believe with every ounce of my fiber that the Bible is entirely accurate especially in the verse below. If you suffer from anxiety, focus on the finish line.
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.