When God called him to go to a land he would later receive as his inheritance, Abraham obeyed and left his home, even though he did not know where he was going … and lived in tents as a stranger, even in the promised land, because he was looking forward to a secure city built and designed by God (Hebrews 11:8-10).
When we are young it is pretty normal to live life more in the future than in the present. Everything is something to look forward to: our next birthday, Christmas, family or summer vacation, the end-of school year picnic (one of my personal favorites), a career as an all-star pitcher. Apart from the occasional fears (despite my early baseball fantasies, my knees knocked whenever I approached the batter’s box), such prospective thinking is positive and as much a product of frontal lobe development (lack thereof) as anything else.
Jon Wilson
November 2, 2018 6:31 pmThank you for this, Paul. I am going to take up the assignment: Where do I suffer from GAD and SAD? The answer is probably “Let me count the ways,” but it will certainly be a good exercise to name them (and disclaim them!).
pjbeckman
November 2, 2018 6:46 pmYes, it’s a good thing I only gave myself a week to consider the topic, after which time I will have barely begun to scratch the surface.
Mike Gladieux
November 5, 2018 10:45 amPaul, this is on-target. I can see that both my wife and I are often subject to anxiety in various forms. I think we need to identify the specific areas from which it originates. I also think there is a component of spiritual attack in this–anxiety stirred up just to make us feel uncomfortable and to inflict us with the vague notion that “something is wrong.” It is an attack against faith, and also against hope. It robs us of simple joy. This allows us to pray against it in a more pointed way.
pjbeckman
November 5, 2018 11:54 amMike, that’s a great point. Anxiety is often very vague and clearly demonic – and so easy to be subject to. It seems like a small step from “did God really?” to “will God really?” or even “can God really?” And then too often the vague becomes specific, and we don’t trust the Lord for very much at all.