One Cure for Anxiety
We had a storm the other day that wiped out our internet and it’s still not back. We’ve had to “hotspot” off our phones so we can work online and it’s also affected our ability to watch television, because it’s all connected. We thought there were others in our neighborhood who experienced this, but as it turned out, their service was restored and we were the only ones still disconnected.
It was okay for a couple of days but now on day five, it’s getting a little old. My husband’s favorite line is “How are you going to entertain me tonight?” Normally, I respond with the suggestion of a televised sporting event or a movie, but now I reply with: “How about reading a book?” or “We could go to sleep early.” I wonder if this is what it was like in the old days when there was no television or internet to entertain people. What did they do?
My guess is they told stories, or read the Bible or another book by candlelight. Maybe they knit a blanket or whittled a piece of wood by moonlight. All quiet activities.
Because I can’t watch television, I’m now reading an apologetics book about Jesus, Man, Myth, Messiah: Answering History’s Greatest Question by Dr. Rice Broocks.
Before the invention of electricity, I wonder if people were more peaceful than we are as a society today because they didn’t have as much noise in their lives?
Research proves that too much loud noise can be hazardous to our health. In an article published by the National Library of Medicine, it was determined that “Strong noise annoyance was associated with a two-fold higher prevalence of depression and anxiety in the general population.”
I am prone to be anxious because it’s my natural tendency to spin a lot of plates at the same time. But sometimes it gets to be too much, and lately, I had been struggling with anxiety. I prayed that the Lord would help me overcome it because I know it is not of Him. I was even waking up feeling anxious. God’s ways are not our ways. He was creative, allowing our internet to crash, so I wouldn’t crash. For a stretch, he removed the noise from my life and today, I feel no anxiety whatsoever.
Psalm 23 says that God “leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.”
The Lord knew I needed to pull back from all the noise. After a busy day, it was important to be quiet and still, so the “peace that passes all understanding” could return.
Are you anxious? What noise do you need to take out of your life?
Do you fill your world with television, radio, people, movies, and group activities?
Do you ever intentionally create some “white space” to soothe your world and detox your life from all the noise?
If not, pray that God will show you how to pull back and be quiet before Him.
Dear Lord, I am sorry for always filling my life with noise so I cannot hear your soft, still voice. Historically, you have always taken your people to a quiet place when you need them to rest. I think of Moses, Elijah and Jesus, to name a few. Please show me where I need to remove the noise so that your peace prevails in my life. In Jesus Name I pray, AMEN.