Midweek: There's Freedom from Anxiety in Minding Your Own Business

Luci yanked hard on her leash, almost pulling me into the busy street. A driver tapped his brakes, unsure that she wouldn't. The dogs on a nearby corner were barking and Luci was jumping and twirling wildly. Days of her anxiety on our walks had me frustrated and sore; nothing the trainer had suggested was working. That's when I decided to go back to basics, a bag full of treats. 

When Luci had first begun training, I was lured by the hope of simply speaking a command --even at the most stressful of times --and having her obey. I longed for a day in which my pockets and backpacks would not be littered with crumbs from her treats. Alas, it was not to be --at least, not for the time being. Instead, I began feeding her treats each day we passed the corner yard. Slowly, she progressed! Eventually, she could walk past (on the opposite side of the street, of course --I'm not crazy) with barely a glance. And to this day, the same holds true. The discipline of distraction has left its imprint. In areas of our neighborhood where I didn't train her in the same manner, every noise, every scampering rabbit, every suspected threat is an opportunity for one of her full-blown panic attacks. In Luci's case, anxiety hasn't taken a holiday, but the promise of a crumbly treat proved just enough of a distraction that, even today, those dogs that once upset her to the point of mania she encounters again and again without incident. As she began to associate that corner with something positive, a disinterest in the negative developed.     

The Bible is clear that gratitude is a great way to crowd out anxiety, a positive that develops in us a disinterest in the negative. Scripture is clear, too, in the causes: sin causes anxiety, resisting the work of the Holy Spirit --even through trials and difficulty --can be the cause of anxiety, and being a busybody can provoke anxiety as well. Apparently, this was something of an issue in Thessalonica; Paul writes on two occasions that those in the church should strive to live quietly and each individual mind his or her own business (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:11, 12). Being a busybody, he says, causes problems in our relationship with others, causes disorder, and can leave us without the very things we need. But is anxiety the same as being a busybody?

Well, anxiety and a quiet life are unable to coexist much in the same way gratitude and anxiety cannot. Stewing over, worrying about, or fearing outcomes --even if we do those things quietly --are not what is meant by living a quiet life. Psalm 46:10 tells us, Be still and know that He is God. It is through stillness and quiet, placing our focus on God, living as He directs that we begin to truly know Him. When our attention is on the things around us or we fret over how those things may impact us, we cannot see His power, His sovereignty, His purpose, or His loving care. We cannot know Him, and our life is instead directed by the noise and turmoil of circumstances. When we're giving attention to matters we cannot control, we are not doing what we are called to do --Be still and know, Pray and give thanks (Philippians 4:6, 7), Do all things to God's glory (1 Corinthians 10:31), Love God and love others (Mark 12:30, 31). We cannot concentrate on our work when we're fixated on circumstances beyond our influence or authority. Quite frankly, anxiety and tension should be the result of overstepping our commission! The behavior of others, sickness, death, trials and troubles that come with being residents of the physical world --those things always were and always will be more than we are equipped to remedy in full. They are, quite literally, not in our job description. And if we are taking them on, we are not only unable to do our own work, but we are standing in God's way, trying to steal His glory, and assuming problems, the weight of which will crush us. 

As we walk, Luci's job it is to walk with me and follow my direction. She is free to look around, sniff the air, listen, get some exercise, enjoy every place I lead her. She is not free, however, to concern herself over squirrels being squirrels or dogs barking from the confines of their own yard; and when she does, chaos results. Because she has overstepped; she is not minding her own business. As we walk with Jesus, it is our job to walk with Him and follow His direction. We are free to bring Him glory, to do bold and courageous things, to be salt and light to a decaying and dark world, to rightly enjoy every thing He has created and righteously bless every one He has placed in our path, to pray confidently and serve selflessly, to mind our own business and be free of anxiety.