Month: October 2025

The Root of Anxiety

About two-and-a-half years ago, my wife Terry and I decided to start a couple of raised bed vegetable gardens. A piece of cake, right? Wrong. I was told we would have to dig at least one-and-a-half feet below the surface first. Besides the soil being kind of hard, there were roots. All kinds of roots. Thank God it was the spring season! We live in southeast Texas. Enough said! I had no idea there were so many roots until I started digging. The deeper I dug, the bigger the roots. 

I couldn’t just pull those big ones up, they had to be cut.

 

“We’ll take her from here…”

I felt like I had a pretty good handle on this anxiety thing until July 14, 2020. My wife, Becky, had been infected with Covid-19 about a week earlier. The lockdowns had begun. The fear and anxiety in the atmosphere was tangible. Becky’s immune system had been compromised due to eighteen years of immunosuppressive drugs after a successful liver transplant. More about that some other time. After being sick for a week her breathing became very difficult. I drove her to the hospital where I was met by security telling me I could go no further. “We’ll take her from here,” they said. As I kissed her goodbye, I watched a nurse roll her away in a wheelchair. She had been admitted to the hospital many times before. Every single time I was there with her, holding her hand, praying for her, advocating on her behalf. This time, everything was out of control. 

A feeling came over me that is hard to describe. It was a mixture of worry, fear, anger, and helplessness. 

It was anxiety on steroids. 

 

I come from a long line of worriers. 

“Well, you know, Kevin, anxiety runs in our family.” That response came from a relative after I had made a remark about worrying too much. My response to her was, “Yes, I know it runs in our family, but let’s stop it from running! If Jesus said, ‘Don’t worry (Matt. 6:25)’ and ‘Be anxious for nothing,’ then there must be a way to stop it.” 

There can be generational sins that are prevalent in a family — fear, anxiety, addiction, rejection, suicide, sexual trauma, and the list goes on. We can’t change what our parents and grandparents did or neglected to do, but thank God we can learn how to overcome these things through his grace! Thank God that Jesus Christ defeated the powers of darkness through His cross, blood, and resurrection! 

 

The Secret Place

There is a place we can move into where anxiety can’t reach us.

 

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”” (Psalms‬ ‭91‬:‭1‬-‭2‬)

 

Where do you go for refuge? 

Maybe you’re asking, “Is there a shelter I can run into when things become chaotic and the walls are closing in on me?”

 

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.” (‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭10)

 

Next time, we’ll look at what it means to run into that strong tower.

 

Kevin‬ 

 

“Be anxious for nothing…” (Philippians 4:6)

Its the year 2020, we were anxious for nothing. Suddenly, the world stopped.  A wave of death had been unleashed, much of it caused by forced isolation. Fear and anxiety were at peak levels. I lost my wife, my sons lost their mother, and my granddaughter lost her “Honey.” I was in the middle of my own personal mind renewal project while these things took place. In much of my future writing, you will hear about my journey and what I’ve been learning along the way.

I would be negligent if I only quoted “Be anxious for nothing” and left out the whole passage.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” ‭‭(Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬-‭9)‬ ‭‬‬

So much of what I’ve been learning these past ten years or so can be found in that section of scripture. It is important that we take our time looking at it line by line. 

He is near.

According to the Apostle Paul, I can choose whether or not to be anxious. That is some good news! What do you do when you feel your anxiety level increasing? Do you medicate? Watch funny goat videos? Isolate yourself? Or bury the anxious thought while you look to your favorite social media influencer for advice?

“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad.” (‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12‬:‭25)‬

That sounds encouraging, but where can I go to get a good word?

Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.” (Philippians 4:4-5)

The Lord is near. I know that some interpret that to mean the Lord is coming soon. I believe it means exactly what it says…the Lord is near.

 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” ‭‭(Psalms‬ ‭46‬:‭1‬)

He is very present. He is near.

We can experience His nearness, His presence. Something began to shift in my soul when I began the practice of coming to Jesus first thing every morning. Upon waking, I fill my cup with coffee and sit down with Him. No news, no social media, just us. When I first began this practice, I had to learn how to be loved by Him. To be His Beloved.

As I began to learn how to be loved I learned how to be still. When I am still, I can hear the words that come from the mouth of The Word Himself! He is good and He is love.

Next time, we will dive deeper into what it means to “be anxious for nothing.”

The Lord is near.

 

Kevin