Anxiety is on our radar a lot these days. It is a very real and rising reality of our time. But for the Christian, just as with the emotions of fear and anger, the eyes of disdain can easily look down upon anxiety. We aren’t supposed to experience this stuff. It means something is wrong with us.
“No, no! Jesus didn’t experience anxiety!” we might say. I think this is a reaction to quickly judging emotions as bad and untrustworthy. Consider Christ’s prayer in the garden, as he neared death. We read quite disturbing words from Luke: “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground”.
I'm no etymologist, but words fascinate me. Kardia, in many of its uses, has captivated my attention for a long time. As a Bible student, kardia appears multiple times as the Greek word for heart.
Not the organ that pumps blood through your body. Kardia is the figurative core of your being. It is the seat and center of human life, emotion, volitional will. It is the "causative source of one's psychological life in its various aspects." All that to say, your heart is a huge deal and deserves attention and care!
