TAKE YOUR ANXIETY TO CHURCH
Prov 12:25
What better place to be when your anxious and have a hard time overcoming something in your life that seem to always take your mind to other places. The church is supposed to be a place where people come together from different walks of life, have different issues, and struggles… seeking wisdom from God. The church is supposed to be a place where gospel, and life, come together, to find strength to face another week under His amazing grace. The church is supposed to be a place where someone who is weaker to find stronger fellowship; to help them through seasons of life that may seem hard for them but not for you. Paul wrote, “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.” Rom 15:1-2
This involves sharing time and resources, providing guidance, and showing patience. So, if your anxious, and struggle with anxiety, the church is the best place to be today. One would think, and one would hope. I say that because…. The world lacks peace at the personal level. In the book of Job we read "Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.” Job 14:1
According to the World Health Organization, there are now more than 1 billion people living with a mental health disorder. About 32% of Canadian adults report experiencing anxiety or depression. That figure is 40% amongst high school students. I came across a study that says that anti-depressants amongst the ages of 12- to 24-year-olds are up 66% since 2016.
But beyond the statistics, there are individual lives that are filled with….
Dashed hopes
Miscarried dreams
Miscarried babies
Infertility
The sting of injustice
An unfair boss
A looming job interview.
It's not just the calamities of
our life that
prompt anxiety and despair.
Jerry Bridges wrote, “Some of the things that are just like a dripping faucet over time that exacerbates and compounds little things that add up. And on top of these things, a broken water heater.” And to make things worse? AI is coming for our jobs and your children, even economic uncertainty at the individual level causes great anxiety. Where does one go to find relieve from anxiety? Well, according to the culture there are places where people can attend calm retreats. If you want a moment of calm, you can pay an (large amount) x-amount of money and go to Wellness resorts for a weekend. They call this social network detoxing.
Anxiety is not going away, and
the church
needs to stop ignoring it, but help those who struggle with it.
We have a great number of people who have anxiety in the church. Some have social and emotional hurdles…. For many they experience dread or nervousness in church settings, worrying about being judged, appearing "perfect," or navigating high-pressure social interactions like "meet and greet" or even shaking hands of welcome.
Anxiety impacts one’s Faith….. While church should be supportive, anxiety can make it feel like a place of judgment, sometimes leading individuals to hide their struggles or avoid attending altogether.
If you have anxiety the place to find support should be the church…. The church is to encourage, to treat anxiety as a physical or mental health issue rather than a failure of faith, focusing on offering grace, understanding, and community support.
One Christian writer I came across said this. “We don’t like to admit we’re scared. No one wants to be thought a coward. Admitting fear or anxiety feels like admitting weakness, and we constantly encounter the powerful message that weaknesses must be camouflaged and compensated for. Our surrounding culture prevails on us to be self-reliant, self-confident, independent. Even in the church, we can be reluctant to share what might make us appear weak in faith or somehow less spiritual than we hope others think we are. Perhaps we confide only in counselors or therapists because it’s safer to be vulnerable with someone who doesn’t know us and is duty-bound to keep our confidence. Professional help can be good and even necessary. But if we share our fear and anxiety only in the therapy room, we’re missing out on many blessings and encouragements God intends for us to receive in community with other believers.”
God speaks to this subject in His word.
Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
Psalm 56:3 “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you."
Isaiah 43:1 “But now, this is what the Lord says…Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” ~ Joshua 1:9
Mark 6:20 'Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.'”
Anxiety finds gladness in the Scriptures, and in the body of Christ. God has given His good Word to us; so, in an age of anxiety, live in God’s Word. Meditate on His Word daily and nightly, on His promises, on truths about who He is, on how He can be trusted, on how He is sovereign and in control. Sovereign, not just everything in the world, but all the details of our lives, and hear from God every day, morning and evening. Anxiety is worry! Which when full grown becomes sin, it is a lack of trusting in God and taking on too much responsibility for our circumstances.
The psalmists dealt with
anxiety and
the depression it can bring.
When
the psalmist anxiously says that his foot has slipped, he recalls that God’s
lovingkindness will hold him up and God’s encouragements are a delight. “If the LORD had not been my
help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I thought, “My
foot slips,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. When the cares of my
heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.” Psalm 94:17-19
David entreats God to search and discover his anxious thoughts within him. “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!” Psalm 139:23. And at the same time, he asks God to “And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” Psalm 139:24
These psalmists recognize that anxiety is fixing one’s attention on trouble rather than on the promises of God, and they look to God to relieve the depression that results. Hense my title! Take your anxiety to church…..How?
Share The Struggle With Others.
Be open and transparent, be cautious of others, but share your struggle because otherwise according to the text it only gets heavier and impossible to mange. “anxiety” weights heavily on the heart What does that mean? “Weighs him down” to burden someone mentally, emotionally, or physically with excessive worries, responsibilities, or guilt, causing them to feel depressed or slow. Anxiety seizes a man's spirits, it depresses them, and keeps them down. It weighs heavily on their heart; everything else seems lost and unimportant. Nothing else matters to them this one thing…. It’s fear and dread of adversity, or sorrow and grief, on account of some calamity and distress. When it gets into a man's heart, it sinks and bows it down, he or she, cannot take any pleasure or comfort in anything.
But what does Jesus say about anxiety? “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” Matt 6:25-30
The anxious person is worried about food and clothing, not trusting in God to provide them. Jesus bids us to look at nature to see evidence of God’s abundant providence, sadly anxiety overlooks that providence and supply of grace. Jesus equates anxiety with “little faith” and we find that anxiety is a persistent fear of the future.
What is an anxious person to do? We need to share our fears and anxieties so we can face them together. James wrote, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” James 5:16
Peter goes even further, and says we are to cast our care upon God, he wrote, “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
We need to acknowledge our anxiety and give it over to Christ. God wants us to lean on Him, bring our cares to Him, and be dependent on Him. We can take refuge in knowing that… Jesus knew the struggles that we would face, and He defeated them. There are so many struggles in life that I wish I didn’t have to experience, but I’ve come out on the other side with incredible realizations about who God is. We can’t receive a “good word” from another to ease the burden of anxiety unless we first share the struggle. We need to share our fears and anxieties so we can face them together. It’s not you saying, “That’s their problem” that is a terrible way to look at or address someone’s personal, real-time issue. Just because it isn’t happening to you, this doesn’t mean you don’t have to care. As we share our burdens and encourage each other with God’s life-giving Word, it lightens the load of carrying them alone.
What are we to do when someone
opens up their heart to us?
Share Encouragement With Them.
Someone admitting their fears isn’t for our benefit alone; as God helps us and our faith and courage grow, everyone else’s does too. David was very anxious when he wrote Psalm 23, but it’s here he finds comfort for his heavy and anxious heart, and so do we. “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Psalm 23:1-6
God's Word provides comfort for anxiety by offering promises of peace, strength, and God’s wonderful presence. This is why we have the faith chapter in the Book of Hebrews 11. Chapter 12 of Hebrews summarizes the faith chapter with this, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Heb 12:1-2
Fallen sinners, redeemed by God, are used by God, for His glorious purposes throughout history to demonstrate His wonders and grace by using simple fallen people. Simple, imperfect people, like: you, and me; they were recorded in His book for you to know that though you struggle with an anxious heart, God still loves, delights, and cares for your well-being. That’s why Christ is ultimate prime example, the Perfector of our faith, even when its barely visible in you, and me, when were anxious.
Was David anxious? We already seen that in Psalm 23, but Yes, David struggled when he fled from Absalom his son. “O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people!” Psalm 3:1-8
Many of the prophets struggled, the disciples struggled, and so will the church. This is why we keep telling long-ago stories of martyrs and missionaries and heroes of the faith. We tell them “Good words” which does, will, makes the heart glad, it refreshes the heart. We can’t receive a ‘good word’ from another to ease the burden of anxiety unless we first share the struggle. We need the whole community of believers, dead and alive, bearing witness to God’s faithfulness amid our struggles. When we share our struggles in Christian community, we not only find encouragement for ourselves, but also serve as an encouragement to others. A "good word" in Christianity is uplifting, faith-filled communication that reflects God’s love, mercy, and truth to encourage others. It acts as a spiritual ointment, curing a wounded spirit and offering hope to those who are hurting. It’s a comforting, cheering, and encouraging word from any friend, that sympathizes with their distressed situation; this lifts up the heart and inspires it with joy.
These are words express sympathy and friendship which are a powerful virtue to soothe and alleviate the sorrows of the mind. Do you know that Job’s complaints would have been fewer, had his friends showed him pity which he expected from them. Unfortunately, human words have no such effectiveness for this purpose, as the Word of God. As the Psalmist wrote, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2. David would have perished in the day of his affliction unless he found joy in God’s holy Words. We delight in the law of the Lord by making God’s Word a daily part of our lives; by receiving its “message with great eagerness”
Tim Challies wrote, “The law of God is God’s character externalized. It comes to us from the very heart and mind of God. Its purpose is not first to tell us what we must be and what we must do. Not first. Its purpose is to tell us first who God is and what he is like. And right here the Bible confronts you and me. If we don’t love the law and don’t want to do the law, we don’t love the God who gave the law. Do we treasure it as he treasured it? Do we meditate upon it and internalize it and live in light of it as he did? David loved the law of God because he loved the God of the law. Do we?”
This is why the church is called to encourage one another along in their faith. A great passage to encourage the heart would be found in the book of Philippians that says, “do not be anxious about anything,” we go and paste that verse with a smiling emoji…. and hit send. We say to ourselves, “There, that should work” but what we should be sending to our anxious friend, along with text of Scripture, is what comes before this reminder. We read, “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:5-7
“the Lord is at hand” this means the Lord is near, the Lord reminds us that He is in control of everything that is terrifying us and causing us to obsess over. Four words that change everything, words that make the words all around those four words have profound impact and meaning. No matter your situation, circumstances, or condition right now, the Lord is near, present in your life.
As
finite creatures living in a fallen world, stress
and worry are sure to come.
God knows this, and He offers believers, powerful resources to overcome in spite of them. When the war on worry rages on, here are four biblical truths to hold on to. Make sure your worries are not due to misplaced priorities. Matthew 6:25-34 Whenever you’re feeling burdened, remember that Jesus gives you this powerful invitation to rest in Him. Matthew 11:28-30 Get some rest, turn off the devise and the world. 1 Kings 19 Persevere, keep crying out to God. Psalm 51:12
Are you grieved, anxious, in your mind?
Remember that it is sinful and dangerous to think, obsess perpetually, over your sorrow. In order that you may have comfort restored, you must retire and read your Bible, and see that you are resting in the Spirit, and not in unbelief. Remember what Jesus said to His weary and anxious disciples. “Let not your hearts be troubled” John 14:1 There is only one cure for the troubled heart! J C Ryle said “that disease is trouble of heart, That remedy is faith.” Don’t let this world and the coming days worry or trouble you to forget the promises of God. It may seem or look like the world is falling apart, and all is lost and darkness is going top engulf you, but don’t let your heart be shuddered. Don’t let this world and the coming days cloud your vison to not trust in God promises. Our afflictions, and troubled news, in this life, is for us to see and trust in Christ alone.
Christians facing social anxiety need encouragement from the body of Christ, not condemnation for their struggles. (We have to many Eliphaz’s, Bildad’s and Zophar’s in the church today.) The fact that they show up at church, despite how uncomfortable it makes them feel, demonstrates a dying to self that brings Christ glory. So don’t mask or bury your fear and anxiety. Don’t reserve them exclusively for the counselor’s office and pastor’s. While professional help can be valuable, it’s not a substitute for the collective strength and encouragement we find in the community of believers. Expect God to work amid your struggles with fear and anxiety. Expect God to work through his people as you share your struggles in community. As one writer said, “So don’t mask or bury your fear and anxiety.
which is your necessary food.
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