Be Thankful in Prayer || Anxiety in Anxious Times || Week 4 (FINALE)

Welcome back to our series, “Anxiety in Anxious Times.” This four-week series examines a biblical view of anxiety and how we can apply its teaching to our daily lives. 

Before we begin our final session, let’s review what we’ve learned: 

In Week 1, we discussed Jesus’s reminder to not worry about what tomorrow has in store. He reminded us that we’re like birds and must go out and get what God provided. He reminded us of Solomon and the goal of gaining this wisdom by examining and understanding where we are currently. Jesus then reminded us that we are not alone in our battles with anxiety. 

In Week 2, we heard from Solomon and learned how to use God’s wisdom to overcome our anxiety. We shouldn’t trust what we know and instead lean on God’s wisdom. We should watch where we step by studying scripture and leaning into God’s plan for us and the path God creates for us. Fearing God and respecting God are the same and can shape how we view our anxious moments. God’s word nourishes and heals our souls at the deepest levels.

In Week 3, we learned that faith is a gift from God that gives us what Jesus has done for us, and it’s something we can hold on to and remember through all parts of our life. We learned that we feel our faith in the adjusting, shaping, mending, restoring, and preparing moments. We see examples of how faith helped earlier generations through their anxious moments.

Let’s also review how we’ve discussed the anxiety that Jesus mentions. Anxiety, for this study, comes from the Greek word “merimnaó” (mer-im-nah-o). It translates to “being pulled apart in different directions.” As you observed the anxious moments of your week, did you feel like your life was pulling apart?

Today, we’re reviewing a classic scripture that gets talked about when talking about anxiety. Like in Week 2, we will take apart Philippians 4:4-7 verse-by-verse and see what wisdom we can grasp. 

Point #1 – Anxiety leads to finding joy in the Lord. 

Turn in your Bibles to Philippians 4:4 (ERV):

Always be filled with joy in the Lord. I will say it again. Be filled with joy. 

Paul reinforces this to the church in Philippi, hence why he says it twice. Our life circumstances don’t need to guide our inner attitudes. The trials of life don’t need to tell us how to feel. Life could be beating you down, anxiety weighing heavy on you, and yet you could be walking around with the biggest smile on your face because the joy of the Lord overpowers all dark forces. 

Paul had this type of joy because he knew that no matter what he dealt with, he knew that Jesus was always with him. Paul went through a lot during his ministry, from being stoned, chased out of town, shipwrecked, and more. Through all that, Paul was still willing to go out and serve Jesus in whatever way necessary. The disciples were even trying to get Paul to stop at one point because they knew the people wouldn’t like his teaching. 

Listen to what he said earlier in this letter as Philippians 3:1 (ERV):

“And now, my brothers and sisters, be filled with joy in the Lord. It’s no trouble for me to write the same things to you again. I want to be sure that you are prepared.

Paul encouraged the church to read the Bible and study it individually and as a group. The Bible protects us both morally and theologically. It points out where we need to be corrected. It shows us how we can do that in our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. It makes us aware of wrong teaching while keeping us on the path of sound teaching, wise decision-making, and our great relationship with God. 

Life makes it easy to be discouraged about our circumstances. We can reflect on unimportant events and take them too seriously. 

Note: this is hard to do because our emotions are high in situations like these. We often don’t recognize some life events as unimportant until after we go through them. Your feelings are valid in these moments. Make sure you have a trusted person to talk to and reflect on these moments, so you aren’t holding on to them.

We can stay in our challenging circumstances and let their weight break us down, or we can pause and reflect on God’s joy in our lives. We can remember that God is with us always and will guide us through to the other side of our situations.

Point #2: Anxiety requires patience and not judgment. 

Turn back to Philippians 4:5 (ERV):

Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind. The Lord is coming soon. 

We need to be considerate of all people. Revenge shouldn’t be a thing in our minds. Anxiety can cause us to jump to conclusions, react emotionally, and attack people without provocation. Patience is necessary when interacting with those struggling with anxiety because it helps supply peace. Patient people allow those struggling with anxiety to work through their anxious thoughts and talk them through in a safe place. Anxiety also leads people down pretty deep rabbit holes and can lead to challenging and uncomfortable beliefs. 

The last thing someone with anxiety needs is to feel judged for these thoughts. Sometimes it’s uncontrollable with how thoughts work and to rationalize what’s true and not. Sometimes it’s challenging to slow thoughts down enough to look at them and stop the flood. People interacting with anxious individuals should remain free of judgment and allow that person to freely talk through, explore and interact with their thoughts. 

Hear what James 5:8-9 (ERV) says: 

You must be patient too. Never stop hoping. The Lord is coming soon. Brothers and sisters, don’t complain against each other. If you don’t stop complaining, you will be judged guilty. And the Judge is ready to come!

Anxiety can make us think that everything is going wrong and that our world as we know it is ending. When we get into this line of thinking, it’s easy to shift the blame to others for triggering our anxiety. While they might have triggered it, we also must work through why we were triggered. It feels easier to blame others for causing it than own that we have to work through it. It takes patience to work through our triggers and understand how we got worked up. Over time, through Jesus, we can come to a place of understanding and peace and work towards building our faith so that no matter how anxious we get, we know that Jesus brings us the peace that surpasses all understanding. 

Before we blame others, we need to take those thoughts to God. God is the only one who can judge humanity accordingly. If others do wrong, God will handle them. If you do wrong, God will handle you. God might put it on your heart to forgive them. God might put it on your heart to reflect on why you were ready to blame them instead of taking responsibility. It’s about where your heart posture is, but it takes patience, and it takes being judgment-free. 

Point #3 – Anxiety alerts us that it’s time to pray. 

Turn in your Bibles to Philippians 4:6 (ERV):

Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have. 

Easier said than done, right? Paul is simply saying that whenever worry overtakes your thoughts, pray. Stop what you’re doing and talk to God. Take time to listen to God. Listen for God’s guidance, comfort, wisdom, and whatever God has for you at that moment. Also, Paul says to give thanks for all the good things God has done for us. Paul is telling the church in Ephesus, and us, to practice gratitude in our anxious moments. Giving thanks for what God has done allows us to see good and positive things when all things are overwhelming and challenging. Why should we do this?

Peter has something to say in 1 Peter 5:7 (ERV):

Give all your worries to him, because he cares for you.

Going to God comes with a sense of humility. It’s saying, “God, I can’t manage this myself. I can’t get rid of the problem myself. I can’t overcome this myself. I need you.” It’s a tricky thing to accept, but a wonderful feeling, nonetheless. Humbleness opens us to recognizing that God cares for us, that we’re in need, and that we’re willing to accept help from others. When we turn to God, God takes on the weight of our anxiety.

When we give something heavy to someone else, we feel lighter, and nothing burdens us. The same thing applies when we give our anxieties to God. 

Point #4: Anxiety leads us to the true peace found in Jesus. 

Turn in your Bibles to Philippians 4:7 (ERV):

And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.

We cannot find true peace in positive thinking. We cannot find actual peace in the absence of conflict. We cannot find real peace in just good feelings. True peace comes from trusting God, trusting that God will work everything out in the best way for you so that you can best fulfill your role in God’s plan for the world.

True peace may involve positive thinking, no conflict, and good feelings, but it isn’t the end, all be all. We’re to guard our hearts against all anxieties from the world. The anxieties that beat us up and break us down. God’s peace protects us from them and allows us to focus on Jesus. Let’s look at Old and New Testament scripture to see how the Bible described God’s peace over a long period.

Join me first in Isaiah 26:3 (ERV):

God, you give true peace to people who depend on you, to those who trust in you. 

We will never avoid issues all the time. There will always be some strife and conflict in our lives. When we fix our thoughts on God, we can still find peace amid chaos. God surrounds and protects us with unchanging love and mighty power that God will never take from us. With this, we will not get shaken by the troubles we experience.

Now join me in John 14:27 (ERV):

“I leave you peace. It is my own peace I give you. I give you peace in a different way than the world does. So don’t be troubled. Don’t be afraid.

Jesus’s peace gives us confidence and assurance in any circumstance. It could be a sin we’re dealing with, upcoming uncertainties, or decisions we need to make. The peace of God doesn’t let them take our thoughts over. It offers comfort in place of conflict. We will feel a peace different from any other peace we’ve experienced. We will feel a calm that doesn’t make sense. These moments are when the Holy Spirit takes over and guides us through life’s stressors. 

So, what did we learn today? Our anxiety can lead us to find the joy that only comes from the Lord. Our anxiety requires us to be patient and judgment-free of ourselves and others to experience this with us. Our anxiety alerts us when we need to pray and experience gratitude. Our anxiety guides us to the true peace only found in Jesus.