The Root Cause of Anxiety

By Eli Lee

January 1, 2020

What is the root cause of anxiety?

The root cause of anxiety is that we feel out of control. When everything is going the way we think it should go, there is no anxiety or stress.

We humans, both men and women, have this inner desire to say how things should be done—what our mind interprets as the best way. And when things aren't going that way, we get frustrated or anxious or angry, depending on how passionate we are about being in control. So the “desire to control” is the culprit!

Do you remember what Jesus said in  John 14:27?

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

How does that fit with what I just explained above? As long as we are still in control, we’re still in charge of our life, and because we are unable to control it all, we suffer anxiety. When we take Jesus as our Lord, we surrender our life and control to Him, and we have faith that He will work things out according to His great wisdom and purpose, even if we can't make sense of it.

With that decision to hand over control to Jesus and trust Him with it, we experience the peace talked about in Philippians 4:7: The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  But without faith and trust in Him, we will never hand over the reins.

Unfortunately, even after being born again by the Spirit of God and receiving that peace, there are still times when we struggle with anxiety. But it's always because of the same problem of trying to control a situation ourselves instead of surrendering it to God.

Because we still live in this wretched tent of a body that desires control, it needs to be surrendered continually so we can live our lives in that inexpressible peace of Christ.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor and don't claim to be. I am very aware that there are medical conditions that are said to cause anxiety. My take on all the above is that there are weaknesses (sicknesses) in some that greatly magnify the inability to deal with stress, but the root of the problem remains the same. 

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