Faithful or Anxious

Rev. Katherine Sherrill, M.A., LCHMCA, MT-BC 

All of us have had that sinking feeling, those racing thoughts, and creeping sense of dread. Anxiety, especially in the last year, has been a companion to many of us. In the counseling space, I see anxiety in clients almost daily. It is a privilege to partner with people who want to find a sense of peace and sanctuary among the chaos. As a pastoral counselor, many of my clients are searching and using their faith as part of their journey.

The truth is many of those I see across me believe that they can either be faithful or anxious. If they are anxious, they are not trusting God. If they are faithful, then anxiety would be a distant feeling. This thought invites us to explore God, anxiety, and faith.  

My journey with understanding anxiety and helping people with it didn’t start when I was training to be a counselor but in my own experience in church. I am not the best at memorizing verses, I will admit, but I can name Philippians 4:6 which says, “Be anxious for nothing”. I didn’t memorize this verse because I have it up on the wall in my office but because it was said to me over and over by well-intentioned leaders. I clearly remember in 6th grade sharing in a small group one day about a project I was worried about and Philippians 4:6 was quoted to me. It wasn't ill-intended but my young mind, which to this day is still learning to live more and more deeply into the Christian life, heard “Stop it, stop being anxious there is no point. Stop it because it is not ok”. What happened is that instead of not being anxious, I just never mentioned it again in the youth group. I took that verse as God and anxiety couldn’t exist together. 

I have sat across many people who truly believe if they worry or if they get anxious that they have failed as a Christian. If you do a quick google search about Christianity and Anxiety—every book, every article repeats Philippians 4:6. By only naming this one verse, we do the opposite of the author’s intention. The rest of Philippians 4:6 reads- “but in every situation in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Instead of encouraging people to take anxiety to God and to fall into spiritual disciplines, people hide their anxiety for fear of being judged.  

I invite clients to shift from faithful OR anxious to faithful AND anxious. We can be both. I am often drawn to a phrase used throughout the Gospels when the people experience the power of Christ. They are fearful AND amazed. Isn’t that such an apt way to describe our day-to-day life. It is comforting and warm and amazing and scary to imagine about what could be next. I work with every day to help grow our insight to both/and. We are all anxious and we are all searching for the hope of what comes next.