Jesus Had Anxiety Too
Wednesday March 9, 2022
Created by Lauren Cubberley
Luke 21:34–22:6 (NIV)
34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
37 Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, 38 and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.
22 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, 2 and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. 4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.
Devotion
Anxiety: a “favorite” word to many. Our world seems to be consumed more than ever with anxiety, myself included. Anxiety means different things to different people, but according to the American Psychological Association, “anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure.” Most people experience some form of anxiety, whether it’s situational anxiety or a generalized anxiety disorder. Luke admits this saying, “For it will come on those who live on the face of the whole earth.”
When I think of Jesus, I think of a cool, calm, collected dude who was spreading the good news and helping people with hardly any worry in his life. But, there’s no way that could have been the case. Jesus was spreading the good news and helping people, so he had to have felt some pressure that he has been the one called to do these things. Not only that, but God tells Jesus that he will die, but oh, I’m not going to tell you when and how you will die. How can that not be anxiety inducing?! Now, I’m not saying Jesus had it worse than us so we need to get over our anxiety. In fact, I’m saying quite the opposite. Jesus experienced anxiety just as we do. It is not something we should work to hide and not let people in. But, we can be on the “watch” for our anxiety. We can seek people to talk to and find ways to de-stress. However, we can also acknowledge that sometimes the anxiety is so overwhelming that we just need to sit (or sleep) in it. No matter how we cope with anxiety, we can know that God is with us, for Jesus dealt with it too.
Prayer
Incarnate God, you took on our bodily life. Remind us, through this Lenten journey, of the gift of your presence, even amidst the difficulties of life. Amen.
