I was talking with a friend the other day who has developed some strange patterns of anxiety over the past several years. Health concerns - not that the pain and discomfort isn't real, but she is often very stressed and anxiety ridden - is it cancer? heart disease? They send her into a frenzy of "healthy activity" until she feels better. The unexpected causes huge amounts of worry until she's put into place all contingency plans. We've always joked over her habit of reading the last pages of a book before she's finished. But now she'll often skip forward several pages or a chapter or two to find out what is going to happen and then go back and continue reading. She says she just can't relax and enjoy the story until she knows what is going to happen.
I know we all have times of worry and stress over situations. Last night I asked her why she thought she experienced such anxiety and eventually suggested that perhaps people (myself included) experience undue anxiety because we have failed to believe that God is working all things to our ultimate good and His glory. I often harbor little sins that cause me to fear and keep me from doing what I am supposed to do. She insisted that she believes God is sovereign and became very angry. I explained that yes, we can mentally assent to God's will, but often we fail to truly believe what God has promised. Unfortunately, the conversation became to stressful on her and we ended it at that point.
I'm not sure what I'm asking here, but perhaps someone has some good council for me. Maybe she just needs some time to process the issue, but I am hoping that I have not misspoken.
I know we all have times of worry and stress over situations. Last night I asked her why she thought she experienced such anxiety and eventually suggested that perhaps people (myself included) experience undue anxiety because we have failed to believe that God is working all things to our ultimate good and His glory. I often harbor little sins that cause me to fear and keep me from doing what I am supposed to do. She insisted that she believes God is sovereign and became very angry. I explained that yes, we can mentally assent to God's will, but often we fail to truly believe what God has promised. Unfortunately, the conversation became to stressful on her and we ended it at that point.
I'm not sure what I'm asking here, but perhaps someone has some good council for me. Maybe she just needs some time to process the issue, but I am hoping that I have not misspoken.
