The Audience of One: Abandoning Anxiety and Embracing Acceptance

In the times that we live in, our lives are on display more than ever before. As social media has skyrocketed and phone cams capture endless snapshots and videos of all sorts of life’s minutia, we are constantly analyzed and critiqued. Not only does it feel unpleasant to be on the receiving end of it, but it can also limit our view of our neighbor and cause us anxiety.

We may not realize it, but we diminish others and ourselves when we compare them to what we see filtered through the lens of an application. The everlasting remains, though; despite what we do in the eyes of people, God sees us first.

That doesn’t have to incite anxiety, but rather encourage us to recognize that we are fully seen, known, and loved by the God who breathed into us (Genesis 2:7). He formed and shaped us with His Hands, creating a masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10).

We don’t always notice it, but we often place our value in what we do as opposed to who we are. This can amplify anxiety’s role in our lives, forcing us to submit to fear, worry, and stress, performing to human standards.

It is not God’s design or desire for us to conform to the world’s mold, but rather for us to present ourselves back to the God who made us and live abundantly with Him (Romans 12:1-2).

Before Jesus completed a miracle, He was approved. When His cousin John recognized Him as the Lamb of God, the Father spoke through the Heavens at Jesus’ baptism. The unfolding of this account serves as a powerful example and encouragement to us.

No matter the actions that we seek to perform, we are first beloved. Before we are anything or do anything else, we are accepted as sons and daughters simply because we responded in love and faith to the Father’s invitation into the family of God.

Sometimes, our focus needs to be re-calibrated. The images and incitement of social media and society often demand that we are not good enough if we don’t meet a certain standard. In an age where everyone is an expert or famed sensation, it seems that failure is ridiculed and serves as an opportunity to ban or cancel others.

The world doesn’t allow us to practice, to be human, to err, and then to grow in grace after we learn a new lesson. The love of God, as shown through our Savior Jesus, reveals a dramatically different picture.

Embrace forgiveness

While we all sin and make mistakes along our path, we can embrace the forgiveness of God to help us see from a fresh perspective (Romans 3:23). He will not abandon us, even when we sin. Jesus is our champion, going ahead of us as our victor, yet coming alongside us, in the person of the Holy Spirit, to cheer us through difficulty and challenge.

Of course, the enemy wants us to look at God through a distorted view and encourage us to rely on ourselves to fix our hearts. When we partner with our accuser, he influences our thoughts to reduce our esteem and lower our perception of our identity through negative scripts and limiting beliefs.

When we berate ourselves with words that misalign with the Father’s Heart, we elevate our anxiety levels and we do not produce the fruit that God wants to see in our lives. Self-loathing acts as a false repentance.

It looks to achieve the works of righteousness by punishment and not by the faith that comes from God. Self-deprecation works outside of repentance and peace in its attempts to render a heart that pleases God. God is not abusive or manipulative. He is not interested in leveraging pain against us for His pleasure.

In truth, it grieves His Heart when we reject the simplicity of salvation, healing, and deliverance. Jesus was the only sacrifice who offered Himself as both worthy and willing (Revelation 13:8). When we try to advance repentance or our worth by a standard other than Christ, we trivialize His suffering and the glory that is due His Name.

Instead of trying to save ourselves, God wants partnership and relationship with us, just as He wanted with Adam and Eve. Fellowship with us, born out of love, is what rejoices His Heart.

The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. – Zephaniah 3:17, NIV

Embrace acceptance to overcome anxiety

Scripture declares that a righteous person falls many times. It isn’t the fall that defines them, but the person’s resilience is demonstrated in getting up again with God (Proverbs 24:16). With new strength, and with fresh perspective, we can embrace so-called failures as opportunities to thrive and enhance how we approach our lives and relationships.

When we realize that the grace of God is vibrant within us, we transform. We recognize that it is not human approval, acceptance, or accolades that grant us worth but rather being loved by the Father who created us for His own pleasure and glory.

…to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved. – Ephesians 1:6, NASB2020

Embrace identity

The enemy wants to persuade us that we are unworthy or not good enough to receive God’s love. However, it is the Father who sets our values. This challenge presents an ongoing opportunity for us to continue to surrender our lives to the Lord, even as He became a living Sacrifice for us.

In doing so, we submit our minds to changing shape or being transformed (Romans 12:2). While we don’t change overnight, we do continue to grow in grace, responding to the Lord’s shaping from one dimension of glory to the next.

He is the potter who forms us as malleable clay (Jeremiah 18:1-11). When we receive His correction, His adjustments, and yes, even sometimes His reconstruction, we yield to the One who sees and knows the potential in us that we are not yet able to see.

He makes us durable through the fire of circumstance and trials in our lives. Remaining in a place of humility, gratitude, and willingness to follow Him enables us to beautify, even in what seems like it would break us. That is a place where we offer glory to God, even in the most challenging circumstances.

Embrace authority

Our identity and worth do not rest on our anxious pursuits. It is not found in the mental wrestling matches that we engage in as we break out into hives, sweats, vomiting, skin-picking, or hair-pulling that may occur when we are triggered. Anxiety does not sit in the place of God to determine our worth according to how well we perform or meet a standard.

While the enemy wants us to believe this about God and ourselves, it is a lie that only serves to limit our capacity to live fully and abundantly in Christ. We have the power of choice and the authority of God to partner with our Lord and accept what He says as true when He esteems us as the apple of His eye.

Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings. – Psalms 17:8, NASB2020

Embrace grace to avoid anxiety

We welcome the relief that grace and forgiveness produce in our lives. The burdens of performance and perfection are removed from us. Jesus became the Perfect Sacrifice for us and our sin. Outside of Him, there is no other way to the Father (John 14:6). He is the only path Home.

Yet, it often seems too good to be true. We default to a works mindset that says we have to constantly strive and toil to abide in God’s grace. That’s just it; it’s God’s grace. It is His gift to give to whomever, wherever, and however He chooses. He has established that it comes through faith and not through our self-loathing, shame, or punishment.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV

As we consider our experience with performance anxiety, we do not have to remain constantly tormented. We are already accepted by a Father who loves us and has crafted us with precision and intention. His creativity is what makes us unique.

Our lives reflect His brilliance and the differences among us reflect facets of His eternal nature. While we have wrestled with the stress and worry of doing well in front of others, we can find support to address and annihilate those fears.

Next steps to overcome aniety

Pause at this moment to search our site. You will find a counselor whose empathy will encourage you to heal in a therapeutic process. It is possible to heal, grow, and change, even though experiences with anxiety threaten to debilitate us. However, remember that you are living, seated in heavenly places in Christ. He esteems you with acceptance and you are already met with approval and applause from an audience of One.