Compassion Over Criticism: Viewing Your Anxiety Through a New Lens

By: Alyssa Chandler and Chrissie Steyn

We are Wonderhunt, and we aim to help you notice the deep and hidden things of God. Sometimes, those things are actually parts of us God wants us to consider… like anxiety.

If you experience anxiety (many people do!), two things can be true: God doesn’t want you to feel desperate about your anxiousness. And yet, maybe you still do anyway.

Maybe you’re following Him with all your heart, and yet you’re still struggling. Maybe you want to be free from anxiety, and at the same time you can’t simply will it away.

So often, we talk about anxiety like it’s something bad. Something to be avoided. Something we shouldn’t be experiencing, that we should rid our lives of at all costs. But maybe the truth is more nuanced than that.

Throughout this Plan, we’re going to challenge you to choose compassion over criticism. What if instead of judging our anxiety, we were curious about it? What if we asked questions about where it was coming from? What if we believed that God knew what he was doing when He created our bodies, our nervous systems, and when He made us, it was good?

At the same time, we’ve experienced anxiety firsthand and we know how it can feel. All consuming. Debilitating. Watch our original film, White Knuckle, and see if you relate.

Does any of that ring a bell? Have you ever felt like anxiety has a hold on your life? Maybe you’ve been in the ring, fighting to hold on, just like the bull rider. Maybe you’ve even been there for a long time and it feels like nothing will ever change.

A biblical figure who knows how this feels is Hagar. She was pregnant and alone. She was running from abuse. And she found herself in the wilderness scared and rejected and likely very anxious. In all of her pain is where God met her, not with criticism, but with presence and love. He called her by name, asked her story (despite, of course, already knowing it), and spoke a blessing over her life. Read Hagar’s words: “You are the God who sees me.” (Genesis 16:13). God wasn’t dismissive of her fear, He was receptive. He was big enough to handle it. Maybe your anxiety, just like Hagar’s, needs to be seen and felt before it’s soothed.

We want to encourage you over the next few days to view your anxiety differently. To notice it through a new lens. To wonder where it might have come from, and to acknowledge that the Holy Spirit lives inside you.

Join us tomorrow for day two to explore why anxiety sometimes seems to have a grip on us, and how we can respond in a God-honoring way.

Reflection: What comes up for you when you consider the possibility that your anxiety might be trying to be helpful, even if it is disrupting your present sense of peace?

Prayer: God, would you help us to become aware of our anxiety through Your eyes? Would You remind us that we are good, that You made our bodies to worship You? Help us to love ourselves–every part of ourselves–the way You do. We trust You, and we love You. In Your name we pray, amen.

Note: As you journey through this plan, be assured that we partnered with a licensed mental health professional, Chrissie Steyn, to provide informed, compassionate, and evidence-based support. Be aware that this plan is not a substitute for professional mental health care.