Anxious about Anxiety

 

Anxious about Anxiety

Anxious about Anxiety - Audio/Visual (@25:20) 

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’s like a toddler. It never stops talking, tells you you’re wrong about everything and wakes you up at 3:00 a.m. It's a low-grade fear. An edginess; a dread. It's not so much a storm as the certainty that one’s 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 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. It begs the question: If you’re anxious about “what-if’s,” what if you stopped being anxious?

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 walk barefoot 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 isn’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 over forty 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 use 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 this generation 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, and now gas stoves, no less. 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. Perhaps they read Proverbs 17:1 – “Better a dry crust eaten in peace than a house filled with feasting – and conflict (read: anxiety).” What's more, when these less-anxious developing-world citizens immigrate to the United States, they tend to get just as anxious as Americans. It must be something in our water – despite it being regulated, too.

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 new pandemics. 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 seconds. 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 his mind 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 Mauna Loa, 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 or break your promises, take heed because Jesus gave this word: "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with ... the anxieties of life." (Luke 21:34) Frankly, not everything that weights you down is yours to carry anyway.

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 – meditate 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. Meditate. The first letter of each spell, “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 reframe the way you face your fears. You'll learn how to view bad news through the lens of sovereignty 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. Otherwise, anxiety will be just like a rocking chair – it’ll give you something to do but won’t get you anywhere.

It will require some work because 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