We’ve all experienced it. That feeling in the pit of your stomach. Nagging thoughts that won’t go away. A paralyzing dread of the future. In a word, anxiety.
I’ve always been an optimistic person—perhaps to a fault. But a couple of years ago, I struggled with an unprecedented amount of anxiety. It surprised and left me reeling spiritually. I had always been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, to point out the silver lining behind the clouds. But during that time, I could see no light, no silver lining.
I realize that I was not alone in my struggle. Many people, including Christians, experience anxiety to a greater degree. Symptoms of this nearly universal malady range from an occasional sleepless night to debilitating panic attacks. Many Christians have even woven anxiety into the very warp of their lifestyle, so they come to regard it merely as an unfortunate feature of their personality. “I’m just a worrier,” they say.
Yet my bout with anxiety helped me understand that this malady could cripple a person’s spiritual life if left unchecked. Desperate for answers, I sought for help in Philippians 4:6-7. The three truths I found there led me to understand the deeper problem behind my anxiety, and how to overcome it.
Stop being anxious.
Do not be anxious about anything . . .
This first truth didn’t sit well with me at first. It didn’t coddle my anxiety. Rather, God’s Word countered it with a firm imperative: “Don’t be anxious about anything.” Doesn’t this simple command ignore the diverse and complicated factors that contribute to my anxiety? Doesn’t it fail to see how helpless I feel when strangled by worrisome thoughts? The scope of this imperative even further heightens its apparent unreasonableness: “Don’t be anxious about anything.” Yet instead of being unreasonable, this imperative actually brings hope to the anxious Christian. Rather than locating the cause of anxiety in events or people we can’t control, the imperative suggests that anxiety is something that we can choose or reject. I had to come to the realization that my anxiety was ultimately a result of my choice.
Pray.
. . . but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
But if the sentence had ended there, it wouldn’t satisfy the Christian seeking relief from anxiety. Instead of a curt, “just do it” approach to ending anxiety, Scripture offers a real remedy—prayer. Light bulb moment? Probably not. What kind of Christian would have failed to consider prayer as a remedy for anxiety? It is more likely (as was my case) that anxiety-plagued Christians fail to grasp what prayer truly entails, and how it relates to their anxiety.
In order to pray, I must recognize two important facts: There is a God, and I’m not Him. At the heart of anxiety is the frustrating attempt to do God’s job without God’s power. Prayer strikes at the heart of anxiety because it begins with the recognition that there is a Sovereign Being who both knows and cares about the situation I face. Prayer takes the worshipful posture that says, “God, you are infinitely bigger than the problems I face.” Please don’t misunderstand. The act of praying itself does not minimize our problems. But, since it brings God into the picture, prayer does put the problem into the right perspective.
That worshipful prayer is offered as a remedy for anxiety teaches us an important lesson: anxiety is more than a paralyzing emotional malady. It is actually far worse. Anxiety at its root is a worship problem—a symptom of a heart that has dethroned the Sovereign creator and replaced Him with a fingernail-biting, bumbling, or malicious deity. The habit of humble, specific, and grateful prayer has the power to transform one’s entire orientation to see and worship God as he truly is—loving, powerful, and caring.
And God will guard you with peace in Christ.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Many people have found that meditation and relaxation techniques can help relieve anxiety. Is prayer just the Christian variety of anxiety relief, a technique that can be adapted for different worldviews or religions? Certainly there is common-sense value in keeping physically fit, practicing mental focus, and spending several minutes a day in peaceful solitude. But apart from Christ, no mere technique or spiritual discipline can give what Scripture promises here: the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.
This third truth is not an action I can take, but a promise God has made: “My peace will surround you like an impenetrable fortress.” Surpassing all understanding, this peace safeguards both our minds and emotions. It can thrive in a setting that should stifle it. It leaves people wondering, “How can he be so calm in those circumstances? Why is she not freaking out now?” Most importantly, it is available only through Christ and what he has done. No one can have internal peace without first being granted peace with God. Only Christ—because he died and rose for us—can provide that.
My prolonged struggle with anxiety helped me see what a debilitating malady it could be. But Philippians 4:6-7 helped me see that, for the Christian, anxiety doesn’t have to dominate. In fact, in the fresh atmosphere of worshipful, grateful, God-focused prayer, anxiety evaporates, leaving unshakable peace in its place.
