Many of us have experienced anxious moments in our lives. Unexpected events that slam into our day without warning and send us into a spin. Most of us can manage to survive the day and wake up the next morning ready to tackle another hit.
What about those of us who take hit after hit after hit, with no end in sight? What about those who relive the emotions of that day over and over? What about those of us who experienced trauma and see those images every time we close our eyes?
What about those of us who are Christ-Followers? We go to church. We read our Bible. We see the words on the page. We hear the sermons every Sunday morning. We listen to songs on the radio of hope, help, and restoration, YET our bodies still feel like they are being ripped apart.
If you are battling aniexty, you’ve likely tried to share your feelings, only to have Scripture and attempted encouragement thrown back at you. If you grew up in the church like I did, you’ve heard “Fear Not.” countless times. You’ve been told to pray more. Someone may have quoted Philippians 4:6-7 at you like it was the remedy.
Eventually, you stop talking about it.
It feels easier than trying to explain something others don’t understand.
You begin to wonder if your faith isn’t strong enough. Maybe something is wrong with you. Maybe if you really trusted God, you wouldn’t feel this way.
Many Christians carry this quiet shame, believing anxiety is something they should be able to pray away.
That shame is a lie!
Anxiety is not a sign that your faith is weak, it’s a sign that something in your body needs care.
The tightening neck muscles.
The pain in your chest.
The tingling hands.
The spinning room.
The lightheadedness that makes your body feel like it might crash to the floor.
The terrifying feeling that you can’t catch your breath, no matter how hard you try.
You don’t feel panicked, but you’re told it’s a panic attack.
You try to explain the thoughts in your head and the way your body feels. Sometimes, you don’t even feel overwhelmed mentally, yet your body reacts anyway. Your body is experiencing symptoms even when your mind can’t fully explain why.
You are not alone!
Matthew 26 tells us about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, just hours before He was crucified. Let’s break this down.
Matthew 26:36–37 (NKJV)
“Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, ‘Sit here while I go and pray over there.’ And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.”
This wasn’t simple sadness.
This was agony.
Jesus was in a battle.
Matthew 26:38 (NKJV)
“My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.”
Jesus was so emotionally and physically distressed that He believed the weight of it could kill Him. He knew what He was about to do, yet it still caused deep anguish. He was fully God, but also fully human, with flesh, blood, bones, and nerve endings. He knew betrayal was coming. He knew the beating, the nails, the humiliation, and the weight of all our sin were ahead of Him.
Don’t miss this though…His agony was not primarily about the nails or the physical pain…
…He was agonizing over “the cup”.
Jesus mentions “the cup” to his disciples, and they didn’t understand what it meant. “The cup” that Jesus took on was the full weight of sin, OUR SIN, and the wrath of God on our behalf. It was worse than physical death. It meant separation from the Father.
So, back to the Garden.. what did Jesus do?
He prayed… and heaven was silent.
He prayed again… silence.
He prayed a third time… and the answer was no.
Matthew 26:39, 42, 44 (NKJV)
“O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Here’s the part that I don’t want you to miss: Jesus prayed a faithful prayer, with complete trust, and the feeling did not go away.
If you have ever prayed for your aniexty to go away and it didn’t, you weren’t doing it wrong, and your faith isn’t weak! Prayer wasn’t meant to stop the feeling. Prayer is meant to be the action to help grow your faith in the midst of aniexty.
We are called to be Christ-followers, so let’s see what Jesus did when He was in the midst of aniexty.
1. He named it out loud!
“My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.” He didn’t pretend to be ok. He didn’t keep it inside. He spoke it out loud.
Application: Say it.
I’m scared.
My chest hurts.
The room is spinning.
2. He told the Father exactly what He wanted.
“O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me…”
Jesus didn’t vent to his disciples or friends. He went straight to the Father. He told Him exactly what He wanted.
Application: Tell God what you want.
I want this to stop.
I want this weight lifted.
I want to sleep through the night.
3. Jesus surrendered to God’s will.
“Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Jesus named what he wanted and then opened His hands to the Father’s will.
Application: Surrender.
Lord, I want this to end, but I trust Your timing and Your plan. I know You love me, and I trust You.
4. Obedience.
Jesus stood up and walked back to His disciples. Within minutes, He knew the betrayal from Judas would come, and it would all begin, but He still got up! The anguish didn’t leave Jesus, but it didn’t rule Him.
Application: Obey.
Get up.
Go about your day doing what the Lord puts in front of you for the next hour… and the next… and the next.
We have to take these steps in order to surrender our aniexty. We have to reach the point where we can say, “I trust God even though this hurts more than I can bear.”
It isn’t about whether the feeling is still there. It’s about where we place our trust when it is. When we try to control what comes next or fear the unknown more than we surrender it to God, anxiety begins to rule us.
When we trust God to do far more than we ever could imagine, anxiety begins to lose its grip, and we may be able to take in those deep breaths again.
A loving reminder: If you are struggling with anxiety, please know this, seeking professional help is not a failure of faith!
Anxiety involves the body and nervous system, not just the mind or spirit. God created our bodies with complexity, and He often uses doctors, counselors, and medication as part of His care.
Prayer and treatment are not opposites. They work together.
Cowles Farm 