“That one character brings the gift of a non-anxious presence.”

A thought by John Ortberg from his book, The Me I Want to Be (p. 115). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Now, what does a non-anxious presence mean?  Thanks for asking!

John explains, “A non-anxious presence works like this: A group of people at home or work face a problem and as one person after another hits the panic button, pretty soon everyone is anxious. They repeat each others’ worries and ratchet them up another few degrees. It is contagious.

“Then they notice someone among them who isn’t afraid, someone fully aware of the problem but calm and able to plan with quiet confidence. That spirit begins to spread. Everyone begins to calm down. That one character brings the gift of a non-anxious presence. It brings the assurance that people’s well-being is not at risk.

“Jesus was once napping in a boat with his friends when a storm came. They woke him up, terrified, and Jesus looked out at the storm and said, ‘Peace, be still.’ (Mark 4:39 KJV) And it was.”

John goes on, “Jesus was a non-anxious presence. He carried peace with him. He did not say, ‘If you follow me, you will never have problems,’ for Jesus himself faced big problems. He was always getting into trouble and eventually got killed.

“Peace doesn’t come from finding a lake with no storms. It comes from having Jesus in the boat.

“God does not want us to live in worry or fear. He wants us to live with bold confidence in his power. ‘For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.’ (2 Timothy 1:7) In the Bible, we see a pattern in which God rarely sends people into situations where their comfort level is high. Rather He promises to be with them in their fear. It is God’s presence — not comfortable circumstances — that brings people to the best version of themselves.”

Is that what you want too?

Yes, yes!