Overcoming Anxiety
Anxiety is something we are all so very familiar with. Sin has broken everything good that God has created in this world and as we search for and seek after avenues of peace through the things of this world, we will naturally become anxious because nothing of this world can fix what is broken.
For the past few months I have had the opportunity to learn from Dr. Ron Allchin who leads the Biblical Counseling Center. When I grow up, I want to be as wise and gentle as Ron, not because Ron is all that amazing, but rather because Ron understands what if means to follow Christ and he models the principles of God’s Word in his life. Yesterday, Ron spent some time exploring and unpacking with me a few of those principles from Philippians 4:1-9. Here’s the text:
Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. 2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
There are four key principles for overcoming anxiety found in these verses. They build on each other and work together.
1. Pray Right - Verse 6 tells us to bring our requests to God in everything through prayer and supplication or petition. Let’s explore that word a bit. When you petition someone for something, do you only ask once? No. You come back over and over and over and as you do so, your petition becomes more focused and direct and clear and you prioritize that which is most necessary. We are told here to bring those requests to God through prayer and petition.
2. Thank Right - We are also told in verse 6 to bring those prayers and petitions with thanksgiving. If we really think about the situation we find ourselves in when we are anxious, they are hardly moments when we find ourselves wanting to give thanks, but the reality is that those are the times we most need to give thanks because we know that God is not only in control of the situation but that he is also “working all things together for the good of those who love him…” (Romans 8:28). It is in these situations we need to be thankful for God’s work in our lives.
3. Think Right - Often we quote verses 6 & 7, which are great promises of God, but Paul goes on to write more great promises that we need to hold onto and work into our lives. Verse 8 tells us to think on all of the things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, etc… When we can begin to change our thinking to not focus on the situation we are in now, but the goodness of God and all that He has given to us and done for us, especially that of the Cross of Christ, we hold in proper perspective the challenges we are facing that bring about anxiety in our lives.
4. Do Right - Verse 9 holds the same promise we see in verse 7. We get the peace of God and the presence of the God of Peace when we “practice these things.” We need to be diligent to not only pray, thank & think rightly, but also to “do” rightly.
All four of these principles are essential pieces to the puzzle of overcoming anxiety and when we are able to walk through these steps, we can trust that God will fulfill his promises and pour out His peace in our lives.
Which of these do you find the hardest to put in action? What are some areas of your life where you have experienced peace amid an anxious season?
4 Tips on Staying In Control of Your Tech
1. Make Time To Turn Your Technology Off
We all need to be intentional about finding time to turn things off. My wife and I have started trying to have a tech sabbath every thursday which is one of my days off. This means we don’t watch TV, don’t get on the computer and we turn off our iPhones. At first we failed miserably but we are starting to figure it out. We still don’t do it perfectly but we are committed to taking control of our time together.
You know what we have found? We have time to go for walks together and enjoy the sunshine, which doesn’t hang out much in NW Indiana, so we need to make the most of it while it is here. We have also had time to read together, have deeper conversations and connect about things that we are too busy to get to throughout the rest of the week. Make time this week to try turning it all off. The first time you do, you will fail, but keep doing it because it gets easier.
2. When Your Technology Is On, Have an Exit Strategy
Intentionally schedule time to watch television or be on facebook. Decide up front how much time you are going to spend consuming media. When you give yourself practical limits, you prioritize the most important things.
This is where a DVR can be so helpful because it puts you in control of what you watch and when you watch it. The danger is to record everything, so guard against that, but if you are selective about only recording things you have planned time to watch, it can be a great tool.
Also, you can set access limits on your computer that only lets you log on during certain hours or for limited amount of time. This is not just a great tool for teaching your children how to interact responsibly with technology it is a great tool for all of us. Doing so will keep us from falling into that computer coma we know so well.
3. Filter Everything
Justin Taylor, in this interview, talks about three areas of technology. The redemptive, the destructive and the murky middle ground which is mostly trivial. It takes a lot of energy to stay away from the destructive world of the web so if we can use technology to help block it out, then we can spend that energy navigating the murky middle or even better living in the redemptive world.
On your TV, that might mean setting up some parental restrictions. Newer televisions and most all cable providers offer restriction settings based on ratings of shows and movies. On your computer or your mobile device , that might look like a program such as Covenant Eyes. They offer software for nearly every device that accesses the internet. This is a software that is installed on every computer in our church offices. Many of the staff I work with have it on our home computers as well. The basic principle here is that where you go on the internet is monitored and anything of questionable content or higher gets sent to an accountability partner that you choose. That person can look at the review and discern whether or not something needs to be addressed.
The software can serve as a monitor without any restrictions or it can serve as a filter to block that destructive for you. Either way, it takes the secrecy away from our time online but if you don’t have a partner who is going to speak up when you fall, it isn’t going to work so the biggest key to making it work is to pick a partner who will hold you accountable.
4. Read a verse before you read a tweet. (Or status update, or email, or text message, or newspaper, etc…)
This one is pretty self explanatory but it has become a great practice for me. I use my iPhone as my alarm so it’s the first thing I pick up in the morning. Take a look at the home screen on my phone. Yes that’s me sitting on the ground. I have intentionally put my bible in a more accessible place than my social media apps, email, sports/news apps.
This helps me to go there first thing in the morning to read a chapter or two. When I am filled up with Truth first, I can better filter the stuff I am going to read later and I am also going to consume less junk because I am more full of truth. Whereas if I filled up with Junk first, I don’t have room for truth. There is no hunger for truth because I am satisfied with the junk.
What are you doing to take control of your technology?
Biblical Principles Starting Line
I am currently training for my certification in Biblical Counseling through the Biblical Counseling Center (BCC) under the direction of Dr. Ron Allchin. BCC is a center that counsels under the authority and sufficiency of the Bible and the Bible alone. Taking principles found in God’s Word and applying them in a way that is appropriate to the situational context, full of grace and love, and having patience for all (1 Thessalonians 5:14), lives are being changed and restored to the life God intended people to live.
Initially, I didn’t feel confident in my abilities to help people. Maybe it was my lack of knowledge, maybe it was the fear of feeling inadequate to help others when I know how imperfect my life is. Probably a combination of those and the truth that I can’t help anyone on my own. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”
The reality is that it is God who brings the change in our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of His Holy Word. Our responsibility is only to share with those who are seeking counsel what it is that God has already said about their situation and what principles He has already laid out as perfect wisdom.
I am currently studying through the book of Colossians. It is such a rich, Christ-centered, practical book that is pretty short and easy to digest. As I was reading today, particularly in chapter 3, it occurred to me that this chapter is a great starting line for a believer who is wondering what to prioritize in strengthening his or her personal relationship with Christ. It is also a wonderful picture of the life change that happens when a person submits their life to the authority of Christ and God’s Word. Listen to some of Paul’s (and God’s) words:
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on things that are on earth…Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry…Put on then as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you…Colossians 3:1-2,5,12-13 (ESV)
I am not sure it gets any more simple than that as to what our lives as Christ followers should look like. As you dig into each of those attributes, there is so much more to be discovered but even if we just try to live the life pictured in those words, what a great start that would be.
What in God’s Word has been an encouragement to you lately? What biblical principles have helped you grow in Christ?
Do you trust God in the hard times?
I am in the midst of some really hard situations right now. Some of them are affecting me personally, some are impacting those close to me. In the midst of hard times, it becomes really easy to try and fix everything, especially for men. That’s our job. Sometimes we try to change things too fast, other times not fast enough. Sometimes we struggle to understand all that God is trying to do and we push ourselves out of the struggle only to find that God had good intentions for us right where we were. Jerry Bridges in his book “Is God Really In Control?” says, “The sovereignty of God is often questioned because man does not understand what God is doing. And, because He does not act as we think He should, we conclude He cannot act for our best.” The reality though, is that we as sinners are broken and we cannot always or even often see the good that God is bringing about through the hard times.
God shows us in His Word, through His prophet Habakkuk the attitude we ought to have when hard times come our way. In Chapter 3:17-19, we see Habakkuk respond to the trials he is experiencing:
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
God also shows us His sovereign purpose for sufferings in our lives in Romans 5:3-5 where Paul says, “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” This is so that we can know that God is working in our lives and that we can trust Him, no matter the situation.
Do you trust God in the hard times? Do you have a testimony of God working through a trial in your life?