The Way Ministries

Dr. Carlos Quijada: Hey everyone, and welcome to Walking the Way with Dr. Carlos Quijada. I am Dr. Quijada and this is a space where we talk about what it really looks like to follow God in the middle of everyday life, the pressures, the struggles, not just spiritually but also emotionally and physically, and how to know that we don't have to walk alone.

Today, we're going to have a conversation that might be a little uncomfortable for some people, but I believe it is going to bless your life because it's something we all deal with at some time in our lives, some more than others. Some people struggle with it more than the average. Wherever you are when it comes to this, I believe this discussion is going to be very healthy for your life.

The question I want to start off with is: if you have faith, why do you still feel anxious? Can faith and anxiety exist at the same time, or does anxiety mean something is wrong with your faith? Today we're going to talk about faith versus anxiety as we continue in this series titled Faith in Real Life.

I think that if we're honest, a lot of us have been there. I know some folks in Christian circles who say a Christian can never be anxious. They think if you're a real Christian, you should not experience any of this. But maybe you're in a place where you're praying, you believe in God, and you're trying to trust him, but at the same time, your mind is racing, your chest feels tight, and you're overthinking everything.

Then on top of that anxiety comes guilt. If I'm a believer and I'm praying and I believe in God and I still feel this way, then there's something wrong with my faith. People start questioning whether they have enough faith or if they have faith at all. You might ask yourself, "Do I not trust God? Shouldn't I be stronger than this? Maybe I'm not enough of a Christian."

That is a very heavy place to be. It's hard when we understand the way we live out our belief in God is not what we're seeing in our own lives. There comes guilt, shame, and all those things. Instead of helping us, it makes us even more anxious. Instead of looking for help, they try to hide it because there's that fear of being judged.

I've been there myself, not just when it comes to anxiety, but sometimes we go through seasons where we feel we're just not measuring up. We might be dealing with feelings of sadness, excessive worry, or maybe you even think of yourself as a failure—a failure as a parent, a child, or at work. All these things bring an array of emotions that cause your heart to start racing and you have trouble sleeping at night.

I come across this a lot in men who have reached a certain age but don't make enough to provide for their families. They say, "Carlos, I can't sleep. I feel that I should be in a better place. I should have this amount of money coming in every month and be able to provide a house for my family," but they're not there. In the case of some women who have children, their kids' behavior is questionable. They keep getting calls from school or their kids are growing up and becoming rebellious.

Then these moms and some dads start questioning if they are being a good enough parent. That brings that sensation of anxiety and worry. How am I going to overcome this? Instead of asking for help, there's that expectation we place on ourselves. We feel we should be able to tolerate this or carry this weight on our own because otherwise, we're not good enough Christians.

Some of us are not just battling anxiety, we're battling shame about having anxiety. If that is you right now, or maybe it's been in the past, or maybe you know somebody you're trying to help, I want to share some truth on what the Bible says about that. Many of us who have been in this walk for some time are familiar with scriptures that talk about anxiety.

In Philippians chapter four, it says, "Do not be anxious about anything." People use that as a way to say, "You see? I'm not supposed to be anxious. So if I'm anxious, then something is wrong with me." They think they might need to be delivered or they need to convert. There are all these thoughts that come to mind that just don't help.

This scripture is inspired by God. All scripture, as Paul told Timothy, is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, correcting, and rebuking for just guiding us in the right place so that we can be individuals that are perfect in every way and effective in our calling from God. What is God trying to tell us when he says, "Do not be anxious for nothing"?

It's not that there's something wrong with you. If Paul understood that these believers should not be anxious—that somebody who's in Christ can't be experiencing these things—then why would he say this to a group of believers? This is an indication that even if you are a believer, a person of faith, there can be moments in which you go through periods of time in which anxiety might set in.

Anxiety is an emotion, just as happiness is. Sometimes we feel happy, sometimes we feel sad, and sometimes we feel angry and upset. All of these are emotions that are in our soul and they play a role. If we're going into the scientific sense of it, there are some things that activate in our bodies when we're feeling anxious. Our hearts start racing and we just get more vigilant or hyper-vigilant.

It serves the purpose of protecting us from danger. If we're facing some dangerous situations, we need our body to react quickly. It's what some have called the fight-or-flight reaction. But when we are in a state where we think we're in danger, that something bad is going to happen, or that we're not going to measure up, then that becomes an anxiety that can be concerning to some people.

It can be very extreme. It could paralyze you or immobilize your ability to do things. You probably get anxious when you're in front of people, when you're in a closed space, or when you're starting a new journey. Some people get anxious when they're about to make a commitment, or maybe you made a commitment already and now you're second-guessing yourself.

When God tells us, "Be anxious for nothing," it's not a condemnation. It's an invitation from God. God is telling us to bring that anxiety to him because we don't have to carry it alone. Yes, in this world, there's a lot of danger out there and there are a lot of risks. Oftentimes we need to take risks. I pray that if you're thinking about taking a risk, it's an informed risk.

We need to also balance and have wisdom in the things that we do. But there are times that taking risk is necessary, and it can cause that anxiety to set in. It's not about the anxiety; it's about who you put your trust in the middle of anxiety. When we talk about faith and walking in faith and believing in God, it doesn't mean you don't feel fear. It means who you choose to trust even when you're feeling afraid.

When we go through the Bible, we run into different characters, like in the famous David and Goliath story. The Bible depicts this young man who is determined to face Goliath and he was full of much courage. Humanly speaking, it's fearful not knowing what's going to happen, but yet he was able to trust God even in the not knowing.

A lot of people struggle with anxiety because of the not knowing. We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. We don't know how we're going to pay the rent, which is due tomorrow. Or we don't know how we're going to afford buying groceries when our refrigerator is empty and we have kids we have to feed.

These are legitimate reasons to feel that way. But even if you're going through those circumstances, we have a God who's inviting us to not be anxious about anything. We don't have to carry it alone. When we read the context of it, it says to come with prayer and give thanks. The goal here is to learn how to bring our anxiety to God instead of letting it control us.

There are a lot of individuals who are feeling stuck right now because of worry. They don't know what to do. They have what some call task paralysis or all different kinds of paralysis. But you don't have to let anxiety control your life. Anxiety is a form of emotion. Some people let anger or sadness control their lives, but you don't have to.

It's about choosing to believe that there's someone greater than anything that I can worry about and I choose to trust him. I was sharing with some of my friends and spiritual family that for years I had anxiety about flying on a plane. It started with a really bad experience that I had when I was nine years old. My family and I were moving from New York to the Dominican Republic.

During that flight, the plane went through very bad turbulence. It was so bad that most people thought this was it and the plane was going to crash. It actually fell and all the carts and the flight attendants flew to the roof. It was a very scary moment. From that time for a few years, I was very scared of flying. I'm being very honest and transparent here because I know there might be some people watching this who can relate to this.

I was led to a point by God that I needed to trust in him. Even if I had to fly and there was bad weather, I had to understand that the God that I serve is above all that. He's the creator of the storms and he's the creator of the sunny days. If my life is in his hands, he knows what he's doing. It's that shift that needs to take place for us to be able to overcome those emotions.

Here are some tools that I want to share with you, so I pray that you're taking some notes. The first step is if you're feeling anxious, name it. Don't ignore it or try to suppress it. There are a lot of people who will feel this way but try to suppress it. They won't talk to anybody because they think people will judge their faith.

The more you try to suppress your anxiety, the more it's going to backfire. Have the confidence to come before God and say, "God, I can't do this. I'm feeling overwhelmed." That brings us to the second point, which is to pray honestly. It doesn't have to be a polished prayer. It doesn't have to be a King James version type of prayer.

Just be real. Tell him you are feeling overwhelmed and that you are anxious about a specific situation. Be honest and pour out your heart before him. Instead of trying to hide it, bring it to the light. The third step is to replace lies with truth. Ask yourself what you are believing right now. Put those things you're anxious about under the light and remember what God says about those situations.

If you're anxious about the lack of provision, remember what the Bible says about who your provider is. If you're anxious about the future of your children, remember God's promises when we are faithful. There's a Psalm where it says, "I was young and I have aged, and I have not been forsaken nor have I seen my descendants begging for bread."

Think about the promises of God. Replace the lies of "I am going to fail" or "these terrible things are going to happen" with the truth and hold on to those truths. There's an aspect about anxiety that is not just spiritual; there's also emotional and physical. Remember that as human beings, we have a soul, a spirit, and a body, and they're all intertwined.

There are moments in which we need to slow down our body. Our body responds to anxiety and sometimes we just need to breathe. A simple exercise of breathing or taking time to quiet down can help. Some people find it helpful to get in a room and dim the lights or stay away from things that are going to stimulate them, like looking into videos that are going to trigger those anxiety symptoms.

Just be in the stillness. God cares about your body too. Just as he cares about your spirit and your soul, he cares about your body. He created it so that it could serve a purpose on this earth. Take good care of it and take time to breathe. If you need to go get some sunlight, that can be very helpful.

Go out for a walk in the park. Sometimes listening to the birds and looking at nature are things that can help slow down your body. You're telling your body it's okay because you serve a God who's in control. He knows what he's doing. I don't know how he's going to do it, but I choose to trust him.

The fifth tool is to stay connected. Isolation makes anxiety louder. The more you are alone, the louder those thoughts that are making you anxious are going to be. Talk to someone you trust, somebody who's going to encourage your faith and be non-judgmental. Surround yourself with people who will remind you of who God is and who you are in God.

Anxiety is not proof that your faith is failing. Maybe that's the very place where your faith is being formed. It's easy to say I have faith when everything is going well and things are going the way you want them to be. But when things are getting difficult and you're in a place of not knowing, that's where our faith grows.

See these situations as opportunities for your faith to become stronger. My dear friend, I want to ask you as we close: what's been weighing on you lately? Have you been hiding it or bringing it to God? That's a question that you need to ask yourself. If you're going to get anything from this episode, it's that you can have faith and still feel anxious, but you don't have to face anxiety alone.

I pray that this conversation has blessed your life. I pray that if you're feeling anxious right now, God will help you see him through and see his hand working in your situation. If you know somebody going through this, I pray that you share this podcast with that person. If you want to share your story or how this has helped you, please leave a comment. I want to hear from you.

If you have any questions or if you need prayer, please feel free to reach out to me. I'll be more than happy to connect with you. These episodes are meant to help each of you in your walk with Christ. God bless you and thank you for tuning in. I am so excited to announce that in the next episode, we're going to be talking about when obedience to God costs you relationships.

There are times in which being obedient to God may cost you some friends. We're going to talk about that and how to deal with it. Thank you so much for tuning in. Stay tuned for updates and different guests that we're going to have in the future episodes. Don't forget that God is with you in this walk, but we also are called to respond to this companionship as we walk the way. God bless you and have an amazing week.