Anxiety
Do not be anxious
about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus. (Philippians
4:6-7)
Anxiety. It's a
low-grade fear. An edginess; a dread. It's not so much a storm as the certainty
that one is coming. Any minute now. You can't relax – can’t let your guard
down. You don't sleep well. You don't laugh often. You don't enjoy the sun. You
don't whistle as you walk. And when others do, you give them a look. That
"Are you kidding me?" kind of look. You may even give them a word.
"Haven't you read the news and heard the reports and seen the studies?
Airplanes fall out of the sky. Bull markets go bear. Terrorists terrorize. Good
people turn bad. The other shoe’s gonna drop. It's just a matter of time.”
Anxiety is a
meteor shower of “what-if’s.” What if I don't close the sale? What if we don't
get the bonus? What if we can't afford braces for the kids? What if my kids
have crooked teeth? What if crooked teeth keep them from having friends, a
career, or even a spouse? What if they end up homeless and hungry, holding a
cardboard sign that reads "My parents couldn't afford braces for me"?
Anxiety is trepidation. It's a suspicion; an
apprehension. You're part Chicken Little
and part Eeyore. The sky is falling,
and it's falling disproportionately on you. As a result, you’re anxious. A
free-floating sense of dread hovers over you; a nebulous hunch about things
that just might happen sometime in the future.
Anxiety and fear are cousins, but not twins. Fear sees a
threat. Anxiety imagines one. Fear screams, “Get out!” Anxiety ponders, “What
if?” Fear results in fight or flight. Anxiety creates doom and gloom. Fear is
the pulse that pounds when you see a coiled rattlesnake in your front yard.
Anxiety is the voice that tells you, “Never, ever, for the rest of your life,
walk barefooted through the grass. There might be a snake . . . somewhere.” The
word anxious defines itself. It’s a
hybrid of angst and xious. Angst is a sense of unease; Xious
is the sound I make on the tenth step of a flight of stairs when my heart beats
fast and I run low on oxygen. I can be heard sounding like the second syllable
of anxious, which makes me wonder if
anxious people aren't just that: people who are out of breath because of the
angst of life.
Anxiety takes
our breath, for sure. And if only that were all it took. It also takes our
sleep. Our energy. Our well-being. "Do not fret," wrote the psalmist,
"it only causes harm." (Ps. 37:8) Harm to our necks, jaws, backs and
bowels. Anxiety can twist us into emotional pretzels. It can make our eyes
twitch, blood pressure rise, heads ache, and armpits sweat. To see the
consequences of anxiety, all you have to do is read half the ailments in a
medical textbook. Anxiety ain’t fun. Chances are that you, or someone you know,
struggle with anxiety. According to the National
Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders are reaching epidemic
proportions. In a given year nearly fifty million Americans will feel the
effects of a panic attack, phobia or other anxiety disorder. Our chests
tighten. We feel dizzy and light-headed. We fear crowds and avoid people.
Anxiety disorders in the United States are the number one mental health problem among women, and are second only to alcohol
and drug abuse among men.
The United
States is now the most anxious nation in the world. The land of the Stars and
Stripes has become the country of stress and strife. Stress-related ailments
cost our nation $300 billion every year in medical bills and lost productivity,
while our usage of sedative drugs keeps skyrocketing. In the last seven years,
Americans more than doubled their spending on anti-anxiety medications like Xanax and Valium, from $900 million to $2.1 billion. Despite the meds, people
of each generation in the 20th century are three times more likely
to experience depression than people of the preceding generation.
How can that be?
Our cars are safer than ever. We regulate food and water and electricity.
Though gangs still prowl our streets, most Americans don’t live under the
danger of imminent attack. Yet if worry were an Olympic event, we'd win the
gold medal. Ironically, citizens in other countries enjoy more tranquility.
They experience one-fifth the anxiety levels of Americans, despite having fewer
of life’s necessities. What's more, when these less-anxious developing-world
citizens immigrate to the United States, they tend to get just as anxious as
Americans. Must be something in the water.
So, what’s the
cause? Change, for one thing. Researchers speculate that the Western world's
environment and social order have changed more in the last thirty years than
they have in the previous three hundred. Think about what’s changed. Technology,
for one. The existence of the Internet. Increased warnings about global
warming, nuclear war and terrorist attacks. Changes and new threats are
imported into our lives every few seconds thanks to smart phones, TV’s, and
computer screens. In our grandparents' generation, news of an earthquake in
Nepal would reach around the world some days later. In our parents' day the
nightly news communicated the catastrophe. Now it’s a matter of minutes. We've
barely processed one crisis, when we hear of another. And
then there’s the onslaught of personal challenges. You or someone you know is
facing foreclosure, fighting cancer, slugging through a divorce or battling an addiction.
You or someone you know is bankrupt, broke or going out of business.
One would think that Christians would be exempt from worry.
But we’re not. We have been taught that the Christian life is a life of peace,
and when we don't have peace, we assume the problem lies within us. Not only do
we feel anxious, but we also feel guilty about our anxiety. The result is a
downward spiral of worry, guilt, worry, guilt. It's enough to cause a person to
get anxious. It's enough to make us wonder if the apostle Paul was out of touch
with reality when he wrote, "Be anxious for nothing." (Phil. 4:6)
"Be anxious for less," would have been a sufficient challenge. Or,
"Be anxious only on Thursdays," or, "Be anxious only in seasons
of severe affliction." But Paul doesn't seem to offer any leeway here. Be
anxious for nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Is that what he meant? Well, not
exactly.
He wrote the phrase in the present active tense, which
implies an ongoing state. It's the life of perpetual
anxiety that Paul wanted to address. The presence of anxiety is
unavoidable, but the prison of anxiety is optional. Anxiety is not a sin; it’s an
emotion. So don't be anxious about feeling anxious. Anxiety can, however, lead
to sinful behavior. When we numb our fears with six-packs or food binges, when
we spew anger like Mt. Vesuvius, when we peddle our fears to anyone who will
buy them, we are sinning. If toxic anxiety leads you to abandon your spouse,
neglect your kids, break covenants or break hearts, take heed because Jesus
gave this word: "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with ...
the anxieties of life." (Luke 21:34)
Is your heart weighed down with worry? Here are some signals:
Are you laughing less than you once did? Do you see problems in every promise?
Would those who know you best describe you as increasingly negative and
critical? Do you assume that something bad is going to happen? Do you dilute
and downplay good news with doses of your own version of reality? Many days
would you rather stay in bed than get up? Do you magnify the negative and
dismiss the positive? Given the chance, would you avoid any interaction with
humanity for the rest of your life? If you answered yes to most of these questions,
I have a scripture for you: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say,
rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be
anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are
noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there
is anything praiseworthy – mediate on these things.” (Philippians 4:4-8)
Five verses with four admonitions that lead to one
wonderful promise: "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds." (v. 7) So, celebrate God's goodness –
“Rejoice in the Lord always." (v. 4) Ask God for help – “Let your requests
be made known to God." (v. 6) Leave your concerns with him – “With thanksgiving
. . ." (v. 6) Meditate on good things – “Think about the things that are
good and worthy of praise." (v. 8) Celebrate. Ask. Leave. Mediate. The
first letter of each spells, “Calm.”
Could you use some calm? If so, you aren't alone. The Bible
is Kindle's most highlighted book.
And Philippians 4:6-7 is the most highlighted passage. So, take heart –
apparently we could all use a word of comfort. And God is right there ready
to give it. With God as your helper, you’ll sleep better tonight and smile more
tomorrow. You'll re-frame the way you face your fears. You'll learn how to talk
yourself off the ledge, view bad news through the lens of sovereignty, discern
the lies of Satan, and tell yourself the truth. You’ll discover a life that is
characterized by calm, and will develop tools for facing the onslaughts of
anxiety.
It will require
some work on your part. I don't want to leave the impression that anxiety can
be waved away with a simple pep talk. In fact, for some of you God's healing might
include the help of therapy and/or medication. If that’s the case, don’t for a
moment think that you’re a second-class citizen of heaven. Ask God to lead you
to a qualified counselor or physician who will provide the treatment you need. But
this much is sure: It’s not God's will that you lead a life of perpetual
anxiety. It’s not his will that you face every day with dread and trepidation.
He made you for more than a life of breath-stealing angst, and mind-splitting
worry. He has a new chapter for your life. And he’s ready to write it. The
question is, are you ready to turn the page?
Grace,
Randy
Anxiety - Audio/Visual
