The Apostle Paul provides one more way to deal with our anxiety. When an eternal perspective and the affirming words of others aren’t enough to get us through the canyon of stress and anxiety, Paul offers us a counterintuitive avenue to help us face the future.
This avenue is simply this… Stay in Your Lane!
Paul reminded himself and everyone who reads the Word that he was insufficient. On his own, he did not have the power and strength to overcome his weaknesses. On our own, we don’t have the power and strength to overcome our weaknesses, either.
Consider what he says in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.
And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, token me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this, I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul’s thorn in the flesh certainly discouraged and dragged him down. In fact, he was so bothered by what was happening to him that he literally begged God to take it away from him. Notice, he didn’t ask God to help him deal with the thorn in a way that would glorify God. Instead, he just wanted it to GO AWAY.
Too often, when we face our adversary, anxiety, we try to “guts” it out on our own. We put our heads down and press into the storm. We slog along, getting more and more deeply mired in the mess that comes from our stress and anxiety.
We forget that when we are weak, God is strong! But God’s strength is only available to us if we give Him our control. God is a perfect gentleman. He won’t wrestle the reins of control out of our hands. He waits patiently for us to invite Him into our anxiety and to allow Him to show Himself strong on our behalf.
Interestingly, Paul never clearly indicates what constituted his “thorn in the flesh.” Some scholars believe it may have been his eyesight or another physical ailment. But guess what… It may have been his struggle with worry and anxiety for his beloved young believers.
Whatever Paul’s thorn in the flesh, God was big enough to handle it for him. When Paul was willing to humble himself, admit his insufficiency, and recognize his need for God’s strength, he found the help and hope he needed in the moment.
When we try to handle our anxiety on our own, we are handicapped. We lose the opportunity to be strengthened by God. And, perhaps most importantly, we rob God of the glory He will receive as we, and others, watch Him do what He does best… Care for us!
Sometimes, God cares for us by taking away the anxiety. But other times, the anxiety is still present, but God begins to show us how that anxiety is conforming us to the image of His son.
Either way, God is bigger than our anxiety!
Will you “humble yourself under the mighty hand of God?” (1 Peter 5:6) We can trust that when we hand control to Him, God will give us all that we need to deal with our anxious thoughts!
Megan Scheibner 