The SECRET to Stop WORRY & ANXIETY

Wise Disciple

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Well, today's question is entirely appropriate for right now. The question is, how can I stop worrying about the election?

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As I said, I'm going to approach this from a different angle. We live in the age of distraction in the 21st century.

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I think you could easily make the case that there are two driving factors that fuel these distractions.

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On the one hand, technology is one of those things. And what I mean by technology is screens, devices that we immerse ourselves in, that we constantly use and we rarely ever tear ourselves away from.

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I'm talking about the very thing that you're probably watching this video on or listening to the podcast on. So technology is one of those things.

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On the other hand, busyness has become an American pastime. And so finding ways to keep busy is also a fundamental driver that leads to our perennial distraction right now in the 21st century.

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Well, if you put those two things together, it creates the perfect storm. You have a dangerous cocktail that provides an appearance of productivity, but actually produces shallow living.

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And even more than that, it creates anxiety in people. I saw this when I was a public high school teacher in the classroom, because more and more each year we're discovering that teenagers struggle with anxiety at higher and higher levels.

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But the data shows us why that is the case. And it's not just teenagers, by the way, that have this problem. Frequent multitasking is associated with depression, social anxiety, and trouble reading human emotions.

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In other words, our culture of busyness, which is often expressed through multitasking, is making us anxious.

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What makes things even worse than that is that when we multitask, our brains trick us into thinking that we're really good at it, that we're actually doing a really great job, when in actuality we're not.

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People suck at multitasking and the frequent juggling of activities, and all of that leads to anxiety.

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Combine that with the use of the internet and social media, on devices. There's a great book, by the way, out there.

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It's called The Shallows. It's written by Nicholas Carr, and it showcases what the internet is doing to our brains.

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Not only is it producing more anxiety and depression in us because of the constant distractions and the constant stimuli, it also is making us less effective, less reflective, less able to problem solve, and just overall dumber.

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The question is, what does the Bible have to say about all of this? Well, the first thing to remember is that God implemented a day of Sabbath for his people.

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Why? Because he knew that people need rest. A lot of us have what we call days off in this age of distraction, but we never give our minds rest.

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No, we keep our minds constantly running at top speed all of the time, and we're so addicted to it that the moment a lull presents itself in the day, what do we reach for?

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We reach for the device. We reach for the screens, so we can be distracted by new things and never let our minds rest.

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That leads to anxiety, friends. Here's another question. What did Jesus do when he was here on earth?

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Well, not only did he rest, he practiced solitude. Now, solitude is simply the act of being alone.

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Jesus did this. In Luke 5, verse 16, it says that he would often slip away into the wilderness and pray.

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When we track Jesus as he took moments of solitude, we find that he did it consistently throughout his ministry.

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He took valuable alone time before calling his disciples, after performing miracles, after teaching the crowds, in moments of grief and distress.

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Solitude was something that Jesus constantly sought after. Solitude is my answer to the question, how can

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I stop worrying about the election? Be like Jesus and go away and practice solitude, real solitude, and spend time with the

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Father. Like I said, a lot of pastors and leaders will tell you that you need to be in the Bible more, you need to pray more, etc.

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Presumably, the more you do that, you realize God is in control and you are not, so you can let those things go.

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Those are all good things, as I said. The problem is, how many of you are in the Bible more? You are praying, but your minds are wandering right back to your distractions, even with the

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Bible open, even with your eyes closed in prayer. It's because you lack solitude.

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You need to give yourself moments of total solitude, where there is no phone, there is no device around, there are no people trying to get your attention, there is no television on, there is no 24 -hour news cycle running, there is no one around, where you can be in silence and be with God, where you can put the sole focus on God and spend time with God.

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Look, friends, the Bible has been making the case for solitude for thousands of years. Go into the wilderness, reflect on who you are and your relationship to the living

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God, and wrestle with what that means in terms of how you should live. This has been a spiritual discipline for a very long time and for good reason.

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As Christians, solitude can provide us great opportunities to reflect and to meditate on God, on His Word, to pray.

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It can give us a clear view of the goals of the Christian life. And guess what happens when you practice solitude in the way that I'm suggesting?

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You relax. You de -stress. You become less anxious and less worried.

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All these things that I've been sharing with you comes from taking the time necessary to return again and again to solitude.

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I really encourage you to do it, and that's what you need. It's what I need. It's what the world needs.

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Thanks very much again for the question. I truly hope that you find solitude, especially right now in the age of distraction.