Creeping, crawling anxiety presents as an issue for no apparent reason, rearing its ugly head at both opportune and inopportune times, indiscriminately.
It suggests we have less control over ourselves and our circumstances than we'd readily desire or settle for; it seems provocative in nature - like, "Now I'm here, what are you going to do with me?"
The ball seems to be in our court but we can't see where the ball is.
Anxiety has its genesis like a cancer, invisibly, below the conscious awareness, well before it manifests itself through the avenue of a physical, physiological, or psychological ailment - then we've got a battle on our hands; to tame an already prowling tiger.
ACCEPTING THE PROVOCATION
Provocations that we accept, and therefore resolve to deal with, cannot harm us, long-term. And though they are uncomfortable, as anxiety is, visceral provocations are not devoid of value - for they compel, from within us, the search for a solution, for the arrangement of peace, and for the hope that fuels faith to achieve all this. Provocations force us to develop resilience.
Beneath and beyond all sufficiency is the power of God sponsoring our combat at the head of provocation; the peace of the Spirit sustaining us through the journey that is goading provocation.
Such a peace avails an as-pleasant-as-possible acceptance of the visceral provocation upsetting the inner workings of our souls. We can be calm within the storm.
APPRECIATING THE CHRONIC ONSET OF ANXIETY
Like the onset of ergonomic illness and injury, anxiety is often picked up - consciously, via mindfulness of symptoms - later than earlier.
There are things that precipitate it we can't possibly be aware of. We are unfair on ourselves, therefore, to expect a quick fix or for quick fixes to work. Delayed onset of symptoms begets delayed recovery. We need to employ the discipline of patience.
This means for bouts of anxiousness we are best patiently enduring the moments, not fretting (as best we can) for quick resolution. We come back, then, to the resilience to search, to the adeptness of gradual and momentary problem-solving, and to the arrangements for peace and hope that might be achieved.
The insidiousness - the slow, covert onset - with anxiety requires us to be patient; to be gentle with ourselves; to experience the peace of Christ that transcends understanding - and purely because of the knowledge: God has overcome all these things... and we, in his name and power, can too.
***
The onset of anxiety is usually insidious and it is therefore provocative. We are best patiently bearing with such provocation as fighting anxiety is likely to lead to more anxiety. Acceptance is our resilient key; it provides hope for calm problem-solving and arrangements for peace within our control. Finally, in God's power we overcome.
© 2012 S. J. Wickham.
Steve Wickham is a Registered Safety Practitioner (BSc, FSIA, RSP[Australia]) and a qualified, unordained Christian minister (GradDipBib&Min). His blogs are at: http://epitemnein-epitomic.blogspot.com/ and http://inspiringbetterlife.blogspot.com/
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