It is exam season! That means that along with the obviously large amounts of stress, there are girls eating 4+ tubs of ice-cream a night, boys playing video games until 3:00am trying to procrastinate just a bit longer, and parents all over wondering how much consoling will need to be done once the grades are in the system for our viewing.
Exam season forces us to lose a bit of control. No matter how hard we try, the tests are piled on a bit too thick, the presentations are a few minutes too long to be reasonable and the scale is begging us all to stop eating extra as we try to settle our anxiety. This is the reality for many of us right now. Thankfully, exam time is only two weeks and then we have a month of relief.
Many people, however, have constant stress and anxiety on a daily basis. He or she wakes up with their chest feeling a bit too heavy because they know that this day is going to be just as hard as the previous one. Though I am no Dr. Phil, I have started to believe that anxiety stems from loss of control. We lose the ability to decide for ourselves how the day is going to go, and then, we feel incredibly overwhelmed.
Control is easily had but also easily destructive. I like control. I like to wake up and know what is going to happen at 11:00, 12:00, and 3:00. I like to know that I will do well on my test, what I will make for dinner, and what will happen the following day. I like to try and play God and be all-knowing.
So when life trips me up with the unexpected phone call, or the doctors report that was not expected, I easily begin to feel loss. The problem with control is that it is not a guarantee. No matter how hard we try, the unexpected is going to happen. This is why it is crucial, for our sanity and our spiritual walk, to die to ourselves.
Surrender is ultimately the best way to fight anxiety and control battles. We must die to ourselves and give all of our fear, worry, doubts, and hesitancy to the Lord. Holding onto those feelings is a self-righteous thing to do. We think we can handle it; we think if we just "suck it up" and slap on a smile that we will survive. This is not, nor will it ever be, a healthy option. Instead, make yourself smaller and make God bigger. Give Him everything. Upon doing this, you lose the need for control because you know He has it. When you hand the Lord you concerns and trust that He will provide, no matter the scenario, life becomes a little less intimidating.
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." Galatians 2:20
Our God is not a mean God. How incredible is it that we truly do not have to worry about the bad test grade or the cancer that came back or the divorce that shook the family. We are allowed to hurt, but we are not allowed to try and control and change God's plans for our lives. Inevitably, we will lose control at some point and if we are not careful, that will cause us to be swarmed with anxiety. We must, instead, fully know and understand that His plan is good and filled with blessings far beyond our hopes and dreams. In knowing that and trusting it with your whole heart, you will feel your breaths enter your lungs a bit easier. You will wake up and grin because you can know that God is guiding your path and you just have to follow Him.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.—Matthew 16:25
