Breaking the Stranglehold
How would you respond if someone seized you by the throat and tried to choke you? Panic? Anger? Both would be valid responses. However, I doubt I would simply allow that person to strangle me without taking measures to break the chokehold and save myself. Though I would never allow another person to choke me out, I often allow the evil one to seize me in the stranglehold of worry and seem powerless to break free.
That word picture may sound extreme, but the English root word for worry means “to seize by the throat” or “to strangle”. The dictionary definition of worry describes it as a mental state of unease caused by dwelling upon one’s problems. As I focus my attention on my struggles, they become imposingly large. The evil one is quick to jump in, shifting my focus solely upon my problems, distorting them into imposingly menacing specters. Those imposing specters then rise to seize me by the throat. By shifting my focus, the evil one has distorted my problems to larger than life, and my strong and tender Savior becomes an afterthought.
Much to my chagrin, worry reveals my lack of trust in God. When worry looms large and clutches me in its stranglehold, that is an indicator that I have allowed my problems to dominate my mind while the power and wisdom of God are seemingly reduced. Scripture is quick to point me toward two practices that break the stranglehold of worry. A familiar Scripture is found in Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Many of us have known this Scripture since we were young and can easily quote it. However, it challenges me in two ways. First, it challenges me not to lean upon my own understanding. My own understanding states what makes the most sense to me. Instead, God is asking me to cast all my weight upon the sterling nature of His character, His sovereign wisdom and strength. He is asking me to trust that He is working all things out for my ultimate good and His glory.
His ways will not make sense to me, because He is not like me. He is doing His deep and holy work in and through me even in my darkest days. He is working out His plans for this world and His people even as the storms of life howl about me.
A second scripture commonly cited in these discussions is found in Philippians 4:6-7:
“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplications with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
This Scripture points us to a second practice that combats worry: prayer. In this Scripture, we are encouraged to exchange our anxious stewing for prayer-- specifically about that situation causing our angst. The prayer template used by many of the psalmists has proved helpful for me. Like the psalmist, I tell God all about my situation. Though He already knows, I tell Him how I feel about it, and how I think things ought to play out. Then I remind myself Who He is, and of His mighty exploits on behalf of His people in former days. Then, I ask Him to act according to His time and in His way, surrendering my will to His. As my heart balks, argues, and wrestles through surrender to His ways, I ask Him to change my heart and release my fears into His sovereign care. I let a hymn of praise rise from my soul to His ears, as I unload my burden at His feet—and leave it there in His capable Hands. I often do not like or understand what He is doing, but I have found I can release my worries at His feet and relax into the everlasting arms of my blessed Savior. Even in my confusion, I can rest there and declare in faith along with the psalmist:
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. . . “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Psalm 46:1-2, 10-11)