Anxiety plagued me for many years. It’s not that I don’t still struggle with it at times, but it doesn’t control me; it doesn’t move me. The key is to never let your anxiety become bigger than your faith. When I feel anxiety coming on, I surrender it to Jesus. I know, easier said than done, right? I get it, but the moment I do that and unattach myself from it, I can feel that burden being lifted off of me. Anxiety is simply attachment to things going a particular way and resistance to what is or what is unknown. When we surrender our anxiety, our circumstances to God, we release ourselves from that resistance. “God, You are sovereign; God You are good; God, I trust you; God, let Your will be done.”—this is what surrender looks like.

Anxiety is important because it protects us. For one, it protects us in a physical sense. People have lost their lives doing foolish things for lack of anxiety, and everyone needs a healthy level of it. Secondly, anxiety protects us in a spiritual sense as it pushes us to lean on God. One of the most dangerous things we can do is deceive ourselves into thinking we don’t need God to carry our burdens.

What happens when you try to carry a load too heavy for what you can or should be carrying? The first person that bumps into you is going to cause you to drop that load. When we try to carry burdens too large for us, we become vulnerable and easily moveable.

Freedom from anxiety doesn’t equate to the elimination of anxiety but rather the value we attribute to it. Freedom from anxiety simply means never letting your worries become bigger than your faith in God’s promises. Freedom from anxiety means surrendering it to the One that wants to bear that load with you.

Living “unbothered” has a certain “je ne sais quoi” nowadays. Why does everyone want to be perceived as being “unbothered”? To be unbothered is to be calm, cool, collected; stable and powerful. If you can’t bother me, you can’t get to me, and if you can’t get to me, I am safe. Right? Well not exactly. We are going to be bothered at times no matter how hard we try to convince ourselves (and others) otherwise. To let things bother us without being moved by them, this is power; this is true freedom.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved. (Psalm 46:5)

I love this verse. These are the only words I’ve allowed myself to put in ink in my Bible and for good reason. These words are so simple yet so very powerful. We may be pushed, angered, abused, ridiculed, abandoned; we may be stripped of everything we ever had, but when we chase God with all of our hearts, we will not be moved. This is His promise.

So what exactly does it mean to not be “moved”?

The immovable one is firmly planted in place. The immovable one has integrity. The immovable one is steadfast in their faith and actions. The immovable one is obedient to God despite his or her emotions and/or anxiety. To be immovable has nothing to do with being untouchable. God doesn’t promise we won’t be touched, provoked, or even hurt; He promises we shall not be moved. He promises we will not die spiritually as His spirit never abandons us (regardless of who does).

Be angry and sin not. (Ephesians 4:26)

To be immovable is not to cease having emotions. Notice how this verse reveals that anger is not a sin? Jesus Himself had emotions. He was afraid and anxious about His crucifixion. He even pleaded with God for there to be another way. Jesus was angry (righteously) when people in the temple were found worshipping other gods. Jesus had emotions, strong ones, but we all know He never sinned. Jesus was bothered at times, but He was never moved. In fact, He was immovable to the point of a brutal death, refusing to sin or back down from what His Father had commanded.

We have many reasons to be grateful for Jesus, but today I’m grateful for His life giving character which we have as a standard to shape our own. I thank Him for showing me my emotions aren’t sinful but rather how I react to them. I thank Him for teaching me to be immovable.