What You See Depends on Where You Look [Day 4]
By Sam Lundberg
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? … So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
(Matthew 6:25-27,34 NLT)
In a hyper-connected society like ours, it is easy to feel anxious. 24/7 news access, minute-by-minute updates, and constant speculation sprawled across our social media feeds can make it feel like all the bad and dangerous things across the world are sitting in our living rooms with us.
A few years ago, I went through a period of anxiety and panic that had me fighting waves of adrenaline in places like classrooms and movie theaters, and catastrophizing ordinary noises like lawn mowers and big trucks. It felt like fear had picked the lock on my brain and taken up residence. Ironically, I was in graduate school for counseling at the time, and we spent long hours reviewing the sources and symptoms of the very panic I was experiencing. I will never forget when my professor spoke this set of words: “There is no anxiety in the present.”
It profoundly changed my thinking to realize that worry and anxiety always deal with the “far away” or the “not yet”; they are the anticipation of, and not the tangible experience of, something we want to avoid. When Jesus asks, “Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”, He illuminates the futility of spending our brain space in that faraway place, and encourages us to instead bring our focus to the present.
In the world of counseling, we call this mindfulness: the practice of bringing your attention and awareness to the right here, right now. I think it’s no coincidence that the very thing Jesus asks us to do (“Look at the birds in the air…”) is that very practice of mindfulness, which has been shown to decrease anxiety and improve mental wellness. Jesus challenges us to put aside our concerns for the future and pay attention to the good gifts around us in the present.
So here is a challenge for you: go for a walk around your neighborhood (government-recommended and social distancing-approved!). As an added challenge, don’t bring your phone. As an act of your will—focus is a muscle that requires exercising—put aside your worries and move your attention to the birds of the air, the flowers in full, vibrant April bloom, and the breeze on your skin. Consider what you can see, hear, smell, and feel right where you are. Thank God for these gifts and others present in your life today.
Prayer
Father, You are a good and faithful God, and You take care of Your children. Thank You for Your provision in my life. Would You help me to turn from my worries about the far away and not yet, and strengthen my focus on the goodness of right here, right now? Thank You, and in Jesus’ name, amen.
