According to the Anxiety Disorder Association of America, the number one reason people seek help from a counselor or therapist is not problems with their marriage or depression. The number one reason people seek help is anxiety. There are many ways to address anxiety, and sometimes even just that can be overwhelming. In today's teaching, Pastor Dave led us toward what God has to say about anxiety.
1. Understand God's heart toward anxiety.
Philippians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything." Depending on your view of God, this might feel like an insensitive directive. But that's not God's heart. Just like an earthly father longs to calm the fears of his children, our heavenly Father does too.
Anxiety is not a sin, it's a signal. When you feel the symptoms of anxiety, just like the check engine light in a car, they are indicators that something else is going on.
Anxiety isn't a strategy. Anxiety itself will not lead you to peace, but it can lead you to an effective strategy to deal with it. In other words, when we feel anxious, we should allow this feeling to draw us into prayer, petition, and thanksgiving (Phil 4:6).
Pastor Dave lead us through what it means to pray and petition God for help with our anxiety.
Prayer: Dr. Caroline Leaf discovered that 12 minutes of prayer over an eight-week period can actually physiologically change our brains. God desires for us to come to Him.
Petition: God longs for us to know that we do not have to be afraid because He is able. All we have to do is ask. Pastor Dave shared some names of God with us to use as we petition God:
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- I'm lost, I'm confused. Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd)
- I’m hurting. Jehovah Rapha (The Lord That Heals)
- I’m lonely. Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is close by)
- Help me change. Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You)
- I don’t have enough. Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide)
- I’m anxious, I’m scared. Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace)
We don't have to be afraid, because God can handle it all. Philippians then leads us into thanksgiving. Remembering what God has done in the past, and thanking Him for all the good he has done keeps us focused on Him for the season we are in now and the future.
2. Identify what is true
Pastor Dave shared that often anxiety is rooted in other things that we may not even realize are lurking beneath the surface. Often these things are shadows or distortions of the truth. Being able to identify where the root of the problem is located, can help us work through it and think about "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things" (Phil 4:8).
Author and Pastor Steve Cuss joined us via video to talk about chronic anxiety. He said that chronic anxiety has its own playbook. It is not based on something true, it's based on something false or perceived, and every human has chronic anxiety. It looks like reactivity, not fear. So the first question we need to ask is: What kind of situations make me reactive? We can figure these out by investigating what our core values are. When our core values are violated, we often react negatively. Think about your precious relationships, what kinds of behaviors cause reactivity within you. Chronic anxiety is the only one that is contagious--someone else's expectations or assumptions can make us feel anxious. Sometimes our response to this is to "get bigger" and try to take control of the room or situation. Sometimes our response is to get smaller and retreat. Steve suggested we take the time to answer these questions to help address the root causes of our anxiety:
- What might be an assumption that you hold about yourself that might not be true? Are you prone to need control, a perfectionist, or a chronic people pleaser?
- What is an expectation that someone might be putting on you that you will never reach? This is how chronic anxiety is contagious.
- Notice your reactivity in any group of people, but particularly yourself.
This leads us to the last point.
3. Practice peace-producing behaviors.
Pastor Dave shared that the number one source of our anxiety is "incongruent values." This means that we may say we value something, but our actions do not match. To help ease anxiety, we need to do our best to align our behaviors with our values.
Pastor Dave closed our time together by saying, Paul suggests we seek the heart of God in prayer, petition, and thanksgiving, we identify what is truth (a lot of times that is in community or with a professional), and we put into practice peace-producing behaviors. This leads to a promise, “And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7).