Matthew 6:25-34, Philippians 4:6-9, I Peter 5:7
These are anxious times, aren’t they? College students wonder if they will find a job when they graduate. Older workers facing retirement wonder if they’ve planned well enough. Then, too, the older you get the more you wonder what that annual check-up will reveal. Parents are anxious as they send their children off to school—will they be bullied, will they give in to temptation to use drugs, will some disturbed person get past the security?
Anxiety is part of our lives from the very beginning. Children seem to be born with some anxieties. Why is an infant startled by a loud noise, even when it has no reason to know this may signal problems? As Wallace Kennedy said, “That a child comes into the world with instinctive anxieties has been noticed from antiquity.”[1]
Anxiety may keep us from doing what needs to be done. Anxiety may send us into frantic activity or freeze us like a bizarre sculpture on the village green. It may keep us so busy with the trivial that we cannot focus on the truly important. “Worry,” a synonym for anxiety, has been defined as “a small trickle of fear that meanders through the mind until it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.”
Anxiety distorts our priorities. Jesus clearly understood this. We do have a legitimate interest in food, clothing, and shelter but when these pursuits become so paramount they crowd our all other pursuits, even the pursuit of a relationship with God, they become illegitimate.
Anxiety seems to be universal human condition. No culture escapes. Individuals in the so-called primitive tribes have been diagnosed with anxiety, suffering from the same conditions as the residents of expensive townhouses in the best neighborhoods of the world’s largest cities.
What causes this condition?
Simply put. It isn’t entirely clear. Among the causes suggested for anxiety are threat, conflict, fear, unmet needs, physiological conditions, and individual differences in personalities. It may be there is an element of truth in each suggestion.
But perhaps the cause is not as important as the cure. How do we deal with anxiety?
As we attempt to answer that question, I want to stress that there is good news for the anxious. To find that good news we turn to the Bible.
Keep in mind that the Bible spends less time speaking about the causes of anxiety than it does in dealing with how to confront its power in our lives.
As we look at what Jesus, Paul, and Peter said about anxiety we can begin to put together a means of escaping its grip. They don’t offer a step by step, clinical treatment for anxiety, but they do offer us some clues about how we may go about handling this powerful, pervasive, and persistent condition.
I
Handling Anxiety Involves
Thinking In a New Way about Ourselves
To some degree, anxiety emerges when we think the wrong way about ourselves. We imagine that we must be able to deal with every emergency or problem on our own, without help from anyone, even help from God.
Psychologist Gary Collins sees this at the root of much anxiety. He writes,
“Anxiety as fret and worry comes when we turn from God, shift the burdens of life on to ourselves and assume, at least by our attitudes and actions, that we alone are responsible for handling problems. Instead of acknowledging God’s sovereignty and power, or seeking his kingdom and righteousness first, many of us…slip into sinful self-reliance and preoccupation with our own life pressures.” [2]
With this in mind Jesus told the crowd assembled before him, “Put away anxious thoughts...” and then asks, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” The truth is, of course, anxiety is far more likely to shorten our lives. Dr. Charles Mayo has said that anxiety “…affects the circulation, the heart, the glands, the whole nervous system, and profoundly affects the health.” Jesus was pointing to the absolute futility of anxiety and worry.
We need to be reminded that there are limits to what we can do. We need to be reminded that the wise person relies upon God. The men and women who helped compose the great Wisdom Literature of Israel, the material which comprises so much of the Book of Proverbs, wanted their young students to learn this lesson. In clear language they said,
“…trust the Lord completely, don’t ever trust yourself. In everything you do, put God first and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success. Don’t be conceited, sure of your own wisdom.”[3]
There are some circumstances over which we have no control and no amount of anxiety will change the situation. No amount of anxiety will set a Prodigal child on the pathway home. No amount of anxiety will soften the heart of a cold spouse. It’s at this point we realize another important truth about handling anxiety.
II
Handling Anxiety Involves
Thinking In a New Way about God
While the Bible nowhere lists a step by step cure for anxiety, it’s a safe bet to assume that step one would be “Trust God.”
This factor is implicit in all three of the passages I read.
Look at what Paul says: “The God of peace will be with you.” Paul seems to be saying that it is God’s character to bestow peace. With that description he presents a principle. The principle is simple to understand, the God of peace bestows the peace of God. He does not want us to be wrung out by anxiety and worry. His great purpose in sending his Son was to make peace possible--peace with God, peace with our fellow humans, peace within ourselves.
Greek scholar Joseph Thayer describes the nature of this peace. Peace is "...a conception peculiar to Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot." Such peace is the gift of God to his people.
Consider how this amplifies what Jesus and Peter say.
Jesus says, The God of Peace knows... God is not ignorant of our needs. He knows what we need because he has made us. God knows the diagnosis before the physician orders the first test. God knows the layoff is coming before the keenest stock analyst.
Peter says, The God of Peace cares. God is not indifferent to the situations which might cause us stress.
Why is this understanding of God’s character so important? It tells us that God is interested in our spiritual and mental condition. It tells us that he does not want us to live in a state of constant anxiety. This ought to encourage us to do just what Peter said and “Cast our cares upon the Lord...”
Again, Paul says, The God of Peace is with you… Paul wrote those words from prison. His earthly future was uncertain, he might be allowed to live or he might be executed. For a variety of reasons, his friends were leaving him—most to do ministry elsewhere. Though they may have left for good reasons, that didn’t mean Paul wouldn’t be lonely. Yet, Paul knew he wasn’t alone. The God of peace was with him. He had been with him in other prison cells, on dusty roads, in shipwrecks, in times of sickness, in times of danger. He wanted the Philippians to know that this God of Peace would be with them too.
This brings us to a crucial stage in dealing with anxiety.
III
Handling Anxiety Involves
Acting in Response to Our New Ways of Thinking.
Thinking in new ways about ourselves and about God should demonstrate itself in our actions and behavior.
1) As we respond to our new way of thinking we will place priority on our relationship with God.
Jesus concluded his discussion of anxiety with a challenge. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness...“
The psalmist understood the link between a healthy relationship with God and peace. Listen to his prayer in Psalm 139:23-24.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious
thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way
everlasting.
If peace will not come to us, perhaps we need to examine the state of our relationship with God.
2) As we respond to our new way of thinking we will begin to practice comprehensive prayer. (Philippians 4:6)
The word Paul uses for anxiety suggests agitation. Elsewhere it is used for a fretful concern, especially about the future. Such anxiety is the antithesis of peace.
The antidote for this anxiety is prayer. J A Bengel: “Anxiety and prayer are more opposed to each other than fire and water.”
It is the nature of prayer to acknowledge our need for God. Peace rooted self-reliance will be shaken when you have to face your weaknesses. Prayer declares your reliance upon God.
I used the term “comprehensive prayer” because it is suggested by the language Paul uses in discussing how we are to pray. He tells us, “..in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God.“ The words “everything” and “requests” suggest definite and specific petitions of all possible kinds.
Such comprehensive prayer would allow you to pray to God for insights into the cause of your anxiety and for wisdom in dealing with it. One writer called prayer “an important weapon in [the] fight against anxiety.”
Comprehensive prayer involves bringing your specific needs to God regardless of how trivial they may seem to others. It is as appropriate for you to pray for your child’s well-being on the school bus as it is to pray for your child’s well being on the battlefield.
When we begin to practice such prayer, we will begin to experience relief from anxiety.
3) As we respond to our new way to thinking we will begin to strive for a disciplined thought-life. (Philippians 4:8-9)
Someone has said, “The Devil would have us continually crossing streams that do not exist..” Paul understood that runaway thoughts can erode our peace. Such thoughts can give birth to anxiety in our lives. Knowing this, Paul challenges us to discipline our thinking.
He gives us several focal points for our thinking. I won’t discuss them in detail. Instead, let me simply reread them in an expanded paraphrase.
“Finally, fellow saints,
focus your thinking on whatever is true, don’t embrace rumor or the wild imaginings of fearful minds;
focus your thinking on whatever is noble, emulate the behavior of those who live with integrity so you won’t have to fret over your wasted opportunities;
focus your thinking on whatever is right, for if you live by God’s standards you will have no cause for unease;
focus your thinking on whatever is pure, for in this way you will always know the peace of being ready to stand in God’s presence;
focus your thinking on whatever is lovely, don’t be engrossed in the negative side of life for that will keep you from doing whatever good you can;
focus your thinking on whatever is admirable, for that will allow you to live with fewer regrets;
in fact, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things--even if it means shutting your ears to the negative people around you.
And the God of peace will be with you.”[4]
Over the years I’ve become convinced that many people who suffer from anxiety could be helped if they would only discipline their thinking.
CONCLUSION
Well, we dodged the bullet again. Once again, the date-setters were wrong and the world didn’t end this past Friday. I hope you weren’t too anxious about it. But the funny thing is, even it had been the end of the world as we know it (with apologies to REM) we Christians should have felt fine. There was no need to be anxious, after all, we know the God of Peace.
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As I conclude, I want to spend a few moments talking about the greatest cause for anxiety, our estrangement from God. While the Bible doesn’t address the various skinds of anxiety, it does suggest all anxiety can be traced to our broken relationship with God.
Remember what happened in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve rebelled against God. They felt ashamed so they tried to cover themselves with leaves off the trees in the garden. They felt afraid so they hid from the God who had been their companion. They felt threatened so they tried to cast blame on others. Anxiety appeared for the first time in human history.
As a consequence all humanity has suffered anxiety. The experience of humanity mirrors the experience of the first man and woman.
“Since men and women are created to have a relationship with God, they are insufficient in themselves. They are in a dependent relationship, unable to stand alone, even with the support of others. Therefore, if we try to live without dependence on God we will be anxious. part from God, there is nothing to give us assurance that there is any ultimate good for us around the corner.”[5]
To resolve this situation God sent Jesus Christ with the “gospel of peace.”
When we place our trust in him we experience peace, peace at the depth of our being.
Paul spoke of this when he described the results of Christ’s work in the life of the believer in Romans 5:1-2: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”
The death of Jesus Christ made it possible for us to have a new relationship with God, the cause for our Great Anxiety has been dealt with.
If you have never placed your trust in Christ, if you have never allowed him to bring you into a right relationship with God, you cannot know the peace of God which counters our greatest anxiety.
If you trust Christ...
he will counter the anxiety caused your sense of guilt,
he will counter the anxiety caused by your lack of purpose,
he will counter the anxiety caused by your feeling unlovely,
he will counter the anxiety caused by your fear of death.
Will you trust him?
[1] Quoted in Lloyd M. Perry and Charles M. Sell, Speaking to Life’s Problems: A Sourcebook for Preaching and Teaching, Chicago: Moody Bible Institute, 1983, p. 77.
[2] Gary Collins, Christian Counseling: A Comprehensive Guide, Dallas: Word Publishing, 1988, p. 79.
[4] This paraphrase is based upon notes from an exposition of Philippians presented to the Worthington Baptist Church in 1999.
