The absolute end of anxiety

A conversation between a cynic and MS- Master of Science 

 

MS: I want to talk about doing away with anxiety.

 

Cynic:  Are you crazy? There’s nothing to warrant that whatsoever. This is still the ‘age of anxiety’.   People are popping more pills than ever before.

 

 MS: Let me quote you a line in a famous book. ‘Be anxious for absolutely nothing, but in everything, in the minutest of detail, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which is beyond human comprehension will guard your heart ….’

 

Cynic: You mean to tell me some book says we don’t have to worry about a thing! Have you any idea how much there is to worry about?

 

MS: I didn’t say there weren’t problems even profound challenges facing you, just that there is another way to approach life without getting frantic.

 

 MS: God is asking us to share with him all our worries and cares because this is what he wants! Complain, rant and rave if necessary – he wants to know exactly how you feel.

 

Cynic: He’d probably strike me down if I let fly with what I really want to say to him.

 

MS: It sounds like you think God can’t handle your honesty. Why don’t you tell him your story; tell him the lot, just as if he doesn’t know. Include all the details that bother you – he wants to fully understand your situation and how you feel about it. What’s more, he wants you to take off the mask you hide behind and show him what’s underneath. You can be completely real and honest, you don’t need to hold anything back from him because he will not judge or reject you in any way. He is utterly trustworthy.

 

Cynic: I’d probably be in trouble for blasphemy if I let fly with what I really think about life!

 

MS: When God says ‘in everything make your requests known’, the sense is that nothing is too small or unimportant for him because he cares about every detail of your life, even the seemingly trivial and unimportant.  He cares about these details because you matter to him.

 

MS: He desires relationship with you. You matter to him and he cares about what matters to you.

 

Cynic: how can you prove that?

 

Cynic: Isn’t God more concerned with his honour and reputation?

 

MS: God is safe! He is safe because he is LOVE.  It isn’t just that he has love – rather love is who he is, it is his very essence. Everything he does is love and that love is something we can humanly understand and relate to – it’s his kindness, his gentleness, his fidelity, his trustworthiness.

 

Cynic: Wait a minute! That’s just words!

 

MS: God is love and made a decision as God to be born as a human. He, the very one who got life and the cosmos started, became a human being for the sake of union with us, for heaven’s sake!  He joined himself forever to mankind so that he could share his life with us, know experientially what it is like to be us, and rescue us from our lostness and darkness.  

 

MS: the name of this man born to a woman but not fathered by human sperm is Jesus.

 

Cynic:  he may have been a prophet.

 

MS: Yet he spoke of knowing his Father, of being one with his father; of being resolutely set on suffering and of his impending death being absolutely necessary to his sending his Spirit to be with us forever, to not leave us orphaned; a trilogy of love relationships implicit in his words, forcing us to the necessary conclusion that God is not a solitary but a relational being in his very essence.

 

Cynic: This is a crazy God, not a respectable God! He would have to be besotted to behave in such a way. God doesn’t die! God gets his way – he’s in charge!

 

MS: Yes he gets his way – God is not defeated by death and because he died as a man, it means death does not have the final say on the destiny and purpose of our life either!

 

Cynic: I can’t respect a god who is so weak that he dies at the hands of men!

 

MS: do you prefer a god who is a displeased judge, watching you from a distance – or maybe one who is impersonal energy?  The God who says ‘I am’ wants us to be present to him just as he is present to us, as close as the very air that we breathe, inviting us to share the smallest details of our lives wanting to be part of our lives! 

 

Cynic: I’ve heard people pray. They become someone else, putting on a different voice, using words they would never use with their family or friends.

 

MS: That behaviour is what drives religion. Religion arises when you believe you have to make yourself acceptable to God in some way; when you believe you have to obtain his favour whether by pious behaviour, long prayers or sacrifices. Religion is at work when you put on a mask to approach God, when you disguise your feelings or hide your real self with its faults.

 

Cynic: what’s different about you’re saying?

 

MS: If God is Love, then he is person and personal.  Relationship is not compatible with religion. Love has only one desire – union with the beloved. He is calling you to talk to him, to share yourself, your fears and worries, your concerns, hopes and desires. His desire is to share himself with you, to bring you into the safety and security of his love.

 

MS: What gives Love pleasure?  If you are a lover then you know it is the pleasure of the beloved.  So he calls us to be anxious for absolutely nothing. There is a boldness and confidence in this command. We talk things over with him; we tell him our fears, many times if necessary. We ask and we receive from him whatever it is we need to walk through our difficulties. Our requests are heard because he is love.

 

And ‘the peace of God, which is beyond human comprehension, guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus’…..  Philippians chapter 4: 6.  

 

 To hear more visit www.zoechs.org/webinars or search for Malcolm Smith, Unconditional Love, on YouTube.