The above painting is by Rembrandt: The Storm on the Sea of Galilee. Imagine the anxiety of the disciples!
This Creation’s Corner is part two of Veronica Frans’ article previously published in BioLogos – see link to the Biologos article in Creation’s Corner #58 (Part 1) below. If you missed reading part 1 describing Veronica’s work as a scientist and the impact she has felt from climate anxiety, it is available for you to enjoy at: https://trinitylutheranfreeland.org/creations-corner-58-finding-peace-in-the-midst-of-climate-anxiety-part-1/.
Now to Veronica part 2:
As a big God, I focused on him showing me how he is working in big ways now, or on trying to figure out how he would do so in the future. As a sovereign God, I focused on whether any proof of him providing was good enough. As a victorious Savior, I focused on what others needed to do or believe to bring the new heaven and new Earth here today. All these thoughts included God, but they were not about God alone. Thus is the life of the anxious mind. It’s also the walk of a disciple. We are admonished to “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7).
In considering my own feelings, I reflected on a few moments in the New Testament where people expressed their emotions around Jesus: Peter sinking after taking a few steps on water (Matthew 14:22-33); the disciples battling a storm (Mark 4:35-41); the Pharisees surrounding an adulterous woman (John 8:1-11); Peter trying to protect Jesus from his death (Matthew 16:21-25); Jesus’ parents after they lost him for three days (Luke 2:41-52); and Martha as she hosted Jesus and his disciples while Mary didn’t help (Luke 10:38-42).
In all these circumstances, I noticed that Jesus didn’t dismiss or ignore their feelings. Instead, he saw their emotional expressions as opportunities for profound teaching as illustrated in the painting by Gustave Brion, Jesus and Peter on the Water, 1863:
- He asked sinking Peter to find the source of his doubts.
- He asked his fearful disciples why they still lacked faith.
- He offered the emotionally-dysregulated Pharisees to consider their own faults.
- He revealed to overprotective Peter that his concerns for Jesus were not of God.
- He assured the confused Mary and Joseph that they always could find him with the Father.
- He told Martha that despite the hustle and bustle, a pause at his feet was the better choice.
From these examples, I see that Jesus is not only our Comforter, but also our Teacher. Yes, he wants to be with us in our worries, anger, doubts, and angst. But while he is with us in those moments, he also wants to offer us a chance for change.
Finding rest in Jesus’ teaching
In these stories, I noticed that Jesus redirected the anxious and dysregulated to somewhere deeper or higher. Somewhere deeper because he wants us to guard our hearts and minds (Proverbs 4: 23; Philippians 4:7) to experience a peace that differs from what the world could give (John 14:27). And somewhere higher because his ways are always higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9) and he wants us to spend time with him as God.
In my own story, I picture Jesus asking me to find the sources of my doubts. I picture him imploring me to internally discover why my faith is lacking when I’ve seen him move in amazing ways before. I picture him reminding me of the ways that I’m not perfect while I’m stuck in “shoulda, coulda, woulda” scenarios about others and the world. I picture him telling me to discern my concerns and how they relate to his sovereign plans and glory. I picture him offering me opportunities to find him in my anxieties, sit with him, and rest. Finally, I picture Jesus, my Great Teacher, desperately desiring to transform me in ways that relieve me from my running mind.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NLT).
As we come to Jesus, he wants to teach us, and in His teaching we will find rest. He desires that we have peace in our hearts. But having a peaceful spirit in the face of climate change does not mean that we don’t care. After all, such peace does not come from not caring or worrying. It comes from caring and seeking God.
We can find peace when we worry and cast those concerns to him. We hold onto it by staying informed and running to him for comfort and understanding when we feel overwhelmed.
After all, God gifted us with tender hearts (Ephesians 4:32). He prefers a heart of flesh over a heart of stone! But he also encourages us to not get caught up in the patterns of this world (Romans 12:12).
Climate anxiety traps us with its persistent and difficult to control nature. So let us find ways to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, which is what Jesus taught in the stories above.
In the face of climate change and whatever climate anxiety brings, it is my hope that Christ our Great Teacher will lead us to a climatic change within. As Christians, finding peace is the first thing we can do for our planet. I believe this because everything we do flows from the heart (Proverbs 4:23). To me, this “everything” includes how we steward God’s creation and live within it as it groans (Romans 8:19-22). Peace will help us discover and do our part gracefully, gradually, and sustainably—no matter how big or small.
Note from the author: Sometimes, when we are in a dark place and it’s hard to find any sense of control, Jesus can use others to help. If you’re struggling in any way, I encourage you to reach out to friends, family, church leaders, therapists, counselors, or other professional helpers. The Suicide Prevention Line is also a free and available 24/7 resource at 988 (US and Canada).
Thank you Veronica!
Our Prayer: Again Lord, we pray that at those times in our lives when the magnitude of the problems we face seem overwhelming, we ask for your peace. Give us the wisdom to focus on those things that we can change and give to you those things that are beyond our control.
Thanks for caring!
–Joe Sheldon
Direct comments to Joe Sheldon at jksheldon43@gmail.com
Veronica is an ecologist whose research has taken her around the world to study human impacts on wildlife. She is a Stanford Science Fellow and National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stanford University. Her work has been featured in news such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, CNN, and many others. She is a member of the American Scientific Affiliation and Vice President of Christian Women in Science. Veronica is one of BioLogos’ newest Voices in the Speakers Bureau.
