Most of us have heard of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This is a debilitating mental disorder that afflicts many. However, most people in fact survive experiences of trauma in their lives without the development of any mental disorders. And many attribute much personal growth to these experiences.
For me, this links to the idea of stress vs. anxiety. In order for change to occur, there must be stress. Depite the negative connotations given to this term in our society today, stress is not a negative. It is a force, a factor, that necessitates change. I would go further and suggest that stress is absolutely necessary in our lives. In every different area of our lives, the intentional application of stress is necessary in order for growth to occur. This is true in education, exercise, health, relationships, and also in our spiritual development. The idea of spiritual disciplines is precisely this: we practice something different, out of the ordinary, something intentionally uncomfortable, in order to push forward our growth.
However, anxiety is negative. Anxiety, as I see it, is the pre-determination of a negative outcome. Anxiety is one's disposition to expect the worst in any particular situation. As we know, the Lord Jesus taught us not to worry about anything (see Matthew 5:25-34), and the apostle St. Paul as well taught us not to be anxious (see Philippians 4:4-7). If we indeed live by faith in Christ, then we can accept each difficult situation as a growth scenario. This, I believe, is what St. Paul meant when he affirmed that "all things work together for good for those who love God" (Romans 8:28). God uses the stress of our lives to produce deep growth which bears fruit of an eternal variety, if we are willing participants in the process.
Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength. C.H. Spurgeon
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