Whatever is praiseworthy...

Anxiety.

We all experience this heightened form of stress from time to time. It’s when your stomach ties in knots. Or when your chest tightens. And when your palms get sweaty. It decides to show up at the most inopportune times, like when your head hits the pillow and your eyes start to drupe. No no… you have too much on your mind to sleep, remember? Typically depression and anxiety are linked together as common mental illnesses. However, the two could not be more different. The depression sufferer experiences despondency, dejection, darkness. It can seem to be a black hole with little hope of emerging. One who suffers from anxiety typically wants to accomplish, but they are overcome with unease and uncertainty, racing too far ahead of the very situation they are overwhelmed with.

I’ve suffered from both throughout my years. Admittedly, depression has been the stronger of the two in my life, but more on that in another post. Today, I am feeling overwhelmed with anxiety. Anxiety about the future. Anxiety about events in motion. Anxiety regarding things that I have no control over. It leaves me spinning in circles, unable to grasp ahold of myself in my own power and strength. I’m helpless, and this can lead me to hopelessness in my human flesh.

Oh, but Jesus. Can I get an amen?

Throughout scripture, we find the reminders to give our worries and concerns to Him. The most prominent which stands out is in Philippians.

Philippians 4:6-7 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.

Peace? Yes, please. In my biggest moments of concern, when my body and mind are overwhelmed, I need this peace. I simply cannot understand or grasp this peace within my own power is what I desire most! How can I get this peace that transcends my understanding? How am I supposed to achieve this peaceful state if I can’t understand it? Paul gives me clear instructions for which I am grateful.

Now, I don’t know about you, but when someone tells me “don’t,” I typically want to “do.” Don’t eat that donut. Don’t have an extra cookie. Don’t eat the whole bag of potato chips. Can you tell I’m a recovering food addict? So, Paul tells us here, “Don’t be anxious….about ANYTHING.” What job is next. Where you will live. The sick family member. How you will provide for your home. The wayward child living in rebellion. What you will make for dinner. We are not to be anxious about ANYTHING. Instead, we are given such a clear roadmap.

Every situation that comes up, no matter how small or big, we are to cover it with prayer. Persistent, petitionary prayer before God. Not only are we to cover it with prayer, but we are to come before God with thanksgiving in this very moment, for this very situation. By now, I’m sure you have a clear picture of what is causing you the most anxiety right now. You are probably also thinking I can do prayer, even petitionary, persistent prayer. But thanksgiving?? Can you be thankful to God for this situation you are wrestling with? Can you be thankful to God for what this reveals to you about your humanness and His goodness? Can you be thankful for God stripping away even more of your self-life, exposing your worry? Can you lean into this anxiety with thankfulness? Hold your situation loosely, and present your requests to God - covered with thanksgiving in petitionary prayer. Then we are promised this transcendent peace. Then we are promised the guarding of our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. We are not promised the answers we want. We are promised so much more.

So now, you’ve done it… You’ve lifted your cares and concerns to God. Now what? I often find that I have to give my anxious thoughts to God several times a day, maybe even several times an hour, depending on what it is that overwhelms my soul. However, I find I cannot just sit with an open mind, with no thoughts, for too long before the anxieties come rushing back in. Paul continues…

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, 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.

Maybe you are like me and stopped reading after verse 7. I mean, who doesn’t want God to pour out his peace on us? Little work for me to do, right? Paul’s further instructions are actionable. They require us to put in effort into changing our thought patterns. Today, all the anxieties I hold loosely before God, how can I look at these worries through the lens of Philippians 4:8? How can I see what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable in every situation? How can I live my life seeing what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable instead of through my lens of cynicism and judgment? I just love this ending - “if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.” Paul has given us the keys to unlocking our minds and conquering our anxieties. For this instruction, I am grateful.

Today, in your situation, what is the truth that God has to say about it? What is noble and right? Can you see the purity and loveliness right around you? Can you see the admirable? When we dwell in our situations in our own lies, self-defeating talk designed to tear us away from the One who loves us most, we will most certainly be met with anxiety. However, when we dwell on these things that are worthy of praise, our eyes will most certainly fix on Jesus Christ, the author and perfector of our faith, and we will be in the most peaceful place we might ever know this side of heaven.

If you find yourself longing for more verses to arm yourself against the enemy's attacks to your mind, here are just a few more that I personally have found vital to my own journey.

Matthew 6:25-27  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?

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Psalm 121:1-2  I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

What is your biggest struggle in how you deal with anxiety?

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