Eco-anxiety

Eco-anxiety, the 'chronic fear of environmental doom' (American Psychiatric Association, 2017) is a term that seems to be popping up more and more.

Bushfires, droughts, floods, fish with plastic in their bellies – in the last few years, we’ve become more and more aware of the mess that the planet is in.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed and wonder if we’re all doomed. Or else, to bury our heads in the sand because we have no idea what to do about it anyway.

But, what if our approach instead was to follow the psalmist and cry for mercy from the God of faithfulness and righteousness (verse 1)? What if, as in verse 5, we remembered all that God has done, meditating on his works, including his creation? The earth belongs to him, he holds it in his hands and our first step should be to acknowledge that.

We need to pray to the all-powerful God who can rescue us, but we need to make sure we don’t stop there because each of us has a part to play. While we need some powerful people to make big decisions about the world’s impact on the climate, we also need millions of individuals making small, everyday decisions about their impact on the climate.

Continue to pray and take action for climate justice. 

Answer us quickly, Lord. We put our trust in you.

We’re sorry for the harm we have done to your earth. Thank you that you are still faithful and righteous.

Guide the political leaders as they make decisions about the climate, but help us remember that it is our responsibility too. Teach us what we can do and help us to do it.

Amen.

Today's contribution is adapted from an original contribution by Pip Florit. Pip was a Mission Support Officer for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland at the time of writing. She lives in Belfast with her husband, Ismael and is blogging about her journey learning about the climate, sustainability and plastic-free alternatives. Follow her @onelesstoothbrush on Instagram.