Written by Sue Sanders
John Ortberg states: “The Spirit is a non-anxious presence” (115). “Jesus was a non-anxious presence” (115). I do not need to worry or fret because God is in control.
According to John Ortberg, a non-anxious presence is one who carries peace with him and manages to keep calm and peaceful no matter what life tosses his or her way. This individual’s presence is restful and peaceful and literally affects the atmosphere changing the climate for good. On the other hand, an anxious presence charges the atmosphere with negativity and discouragement. Life tosses us so many challenges that rob our peace and keep us focused on our problems, our lack, and our fears. I often jump to conclusions; I do not keep calm and tend to see the negative instead of the positive. I do not like being a worrier and have to constantly fight against it. An anxious-presence influences others to be negative and fearful along with him. The atmosphere becomes charged with negative rays that plunge a person down into despondency.
My husband used an illustration in his children’s sermon. He would hold up a sheet of paper that had a small dot in the middle. “What do you see?” he asked. Most of the children cried out, “There is a dot in the middle of the paper!” They focused on the small blemish rather than the larger sheet of paper. Is that not what we tend to do?
He illustrated the difference between an optimist and a pessimist by displaying a glass partially filled with water. A pessimist calls the glass half empty while an optimist calls the same glass half full.
Mark Twain said: My life has been filled with calamities, some of which actually happened.
It’s possible to make this same choice to let go of worry and gradually move past it altogether. You can rewire your brain to quiet the worry circuit. Dale Carnegie suggests a phrase in How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, which according to him, will help destroy ninety nine percent of our worries: By the law of averages, it won’t happen. Carnegie declared that he himself worried and fretted about everything, but as the years went by, he gradually discovered that ninety-nine per cent of the things he worried about never happened.
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati found that eight-five percent (yes – 85%) of what we worry about never happens. Moreover, the study found that 79% of us handle the 15% that does happen in ways that surprise us with our ability to turn the situation around.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, John 14:27).
“Do not be anxious about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Carnegie, Dale. How To Stop Worrying And Start Living (Revised Ed). S.l.: World’s Work, 1984. Print.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, Good News Publishers, 2001. BibleGateway. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.
Ortberg, John. The Me I Want to Be: Becoming God’s Best Version of You. Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 2010. Print.
Hearts United Women's Ministry 