An Anxious Generation

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. - Philippians 4:6

As a parent and teacher of school-aged children, I have observed far too much anxiety among young people.  Some are overachievers who feel like their world will end if they make less than an A+ on any given assignment. Such a student falls apart inside when he misses his free-throw attempt during the one game his dad attended that season.  Perfectionists are driven by unrealistic standards that they either establish for themselves or allow others to set for them.

Image Source:  http://www.desperatehousecows.com/2010/07/anxiety-attacks/

Others feel anxious because they doubt their own God given abilities. Perhaps a teacher, parent, or other authority has labeled them with a diagnostic term that makes them feel like they will never measure up, so they give up on themselves before realizing how much potential is trapped inside.  Some may feel despair after being bullied by a peer whose own feelings of self-worth were so low that they cut down others to make themselves appear better than they believed themselves to be.
Bullying, helicopter parenting, excessive standardized testing, expectations of affluent society, and broken homes have all been blamed for the increasing rates of anxiety and depression among students, but what is the remedy?  Only God’s truth can deflect the daily ambush of lies hurled by a culture largely ruled by the enemy of our souls. We must pray for the truth to go out and to land in good soil. (Matthew 13)

I often pray for opportunities to lovingly speak these same truths which freed me into the hearts of these hurting students but struggle to help them see what a beautiful treasure they are, not because of what they accomplish, but because of who God says they are.  Their identity is found in the One who created them wonderfully in His image for a divine purpose, and He is actively working in their hearts and lives. Their value is too vast to measure, but the price was the incomprehensible suffering of Christ on the cross. “Open their hearts,” I pray, “and let them receive Your truth.”

Many students know they were created to glorify God, but they wrongly think they have to meet an impossible standard to be accepted in His sight.  They miss the entire point of Christ’s atonement. We can’t attain his standard of perfect holiness, but we can let Christ’s righteousness cover us (Isaiah 61:10). Then He can present us blameless (Colossians 1:22) before the throne of grace. God is glorified when we give our best for Him, regardless of how we measure up by our own standards or by those of others. Teachers, parents, and church family may go to great lengths to communicate these truths, but those voices are often drowned out by a culture screaming a contrary message.

Our life class has been discussing how sin flows out of a desire for autonomy. Our flesh wants to set our own standards, make our own d  We will never find peace or freedom from anxiety by looking within. We must look outside of ourselves to the One who made us, knows us better than we know ourselves, and offers us an escape from the destructive, worrisome path we have paved for ourselves.  Instead of striving for first place or to be greater than, we must worship Him who is greatest.  Those who humbly bow before Him, casting all their anxieties before Him, will be raised anew in freedom. As we look to the interests of others instead of our own, our worries wither. (Philippians 2: 4, 21)

"Finishing well in life is not so much about being the best or the greatest at something but rather, embracing lowliness of heart, laying down one's life."  Beverly Lewis, The Prodigal