November 2023
Are you Anxious?
B. Keith Chapman, President & CEO & Gayle Foster, Faith Based Leadership Mentor
Published: November 1, 2023
In April of 2022, the Living the Mission article was titled “Are you still Anxious?”. It focused on strengthening our resolve by bolstering our faith in God. Truth is… anxiousness is a consistent battle for many people. While some pointers early last year on how to deal with anxiousness might have been helpful in the moment, this year brings another list of things we are dealing with in our personal and professional lives. Recently, I read a post written by Gayle Foster, a business leader that my wife and I have had the pleasure of hearing speak several times. It was well written and addresses the ever-present challenge of anxiousness from a unique perspective. Gayle gave me permission to share her thoughts as part of this month’s edition of Living the Mission. I hope you find her words as insightful and applicable as I did.
Gayle Foster writes:
In my study of Scripture, I have seen something repeated over and over again. We are told to “be strong and courageous.” And yet it seems that more often than not, we are consumed with worry, fear, anxiety, discouragement, and feelings of inadequacy.
I’m going to tell you why. You struggle because your eyes are on who you are and not on who He is.
Psalm 28:2a, NLT says, “The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust Him with all my heart.”
Here’s the deal. The truth is that you are inadequate. You don’t begin to have the strength to do what God has called you to do. Positive self-talk won’t help. Your inability isn’t in your imagination.
The answer isn’t in claiming or proclaiming that you are strong. The answer is actually in acknowledging that you are weak. The entire Old Testament law was given to show that it is impossible to do what God requires. And until you come to the place of realizing your utter inability, you will not let go of your feeble attempts of self-effort that discourage you time after time and reinforce those feelings of inadequacy. If you don’t realize you can’t do it, you’ll just try again, only harder. So, it’s no wonder you feel weak and inadequate because every time you try again, you fail again. It is a vicious and cruel cycle.
God won’t take over until you wave the white flag. The only way to become strong is to switch power sources. And until you come to the place of realizing your weakness, you won’t quit trying. It’s impossible to grab hold of His strength until you let go of yours. As hard as it is to believe, acknowledging your lack of ability is the beginning of being strong and courageous like the Scripture commands.
His strength is actually birthed inside of your weakness. II Corinthians 12:9b, 10b NLT says, “My power works best in weakness. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” You need to be strong. You are commanded to be strong. You can be victorious over anxiety and fear. But you have to give up in order to be strong. Learn this truth. You don’t ask God to enable you to be strong. You ask God to be your strength. There is a difference. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20b, NLT). Yes, He gives you strength, but the strength He gives you is His strength. It is then, and only then, that you can do everything through Christ, who gives you strength. (Philippians 4:13).
When you realize that the exact same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you (Ephesians 1:19-20), it will completely revolutionize your life. Go back to the verse I wrote about in the beginning. I now want to include the second part of the verse for you to see what will happen when you really grasp this truth.
Here it is: “The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust Him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.”
Your fear will be transformed into trust. Your heart will be consumed with joy instead of anxiety. And you won’t be able to help it, you will burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
Thank you, Jesus, for giving me the courage to take the next step you have for me wherever and whenever it is! You are my strength and my song!
