OVERCOMING ANXIETY.

What does the Bible say about Anxiety? Why is it that even when I seek God in all supplication my mind keeps going back to the anxious thoughts? Philippians 4:6 seems not to work!

Mental health includes a wide range of characteristics directly or indirectly related to the component of the individual’s mental well-being. “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.” According to WHO, it is important to maintain adequate mental health and to maintain a healthy response to normal life, labor productivity, and community. Mental illnesses represent 23% of lost years due to disability in low-moderate countries, which are related to less hope for life and greater mortality. 18% of the adult population is diagnosed with mental illness.

According to advanced psychiatry associates, ‘Anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental illnesses in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the country. This mental illness also impacts children – approximately 7.1% of children ages 3-17 have been diagnosed with anxiety.’ Since anxiety is a pervasive issue for many Americans, it’s an issue that Christians cannot overlook.

Before we examine what the Bible says regarding anxiety and how believers should respond when anxious, it is useful to consider what occurs in the brain of an anxious individual. In neurobiology, analysts have found that the feelings related to uneasiness will generally happen within the emotional centers of the brain, rather than the cognitive centers. This implies that clinical anxiety is a greatly programmed profound reaction rather than a planned stream of thought. It’s the body’s approach in attempting to safeguard us from hurt. The tension once the mind recognizes something in the environment and afterward conveys messages to the body to accelerate or stop. All of this will in general occur without consulting with the “coherent” focus of the brain, so the anxious individual enters a state of dread before realizing what has befallen them. His fretful reaction is as normal to him as his breathing.

Anxiety is a wide term that can portray numerous problems, including:

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): Panic disorder, Social anxiety disorder, Separation anxiety disorder, and also Specific phobias

What the Bible says about anxiety.

Right from Genesis 3 the bible addresses anxiety, first with our first parents’ failure to trust in God, Exodus 14 as the Israelites cross the Red Sea, during Joshua’s commissioning in Joshua 1:9 where he is commanded to ‘be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.’

Jesus also in the New Testament calls his audience to the birds of the air and the flowers, parts of creation with less value than men (Mathew 6:25-33).

It’s good to note that the Bible does not encourage us to live without a plan for our future for in many places the diligent and prudent worker is commended. The problem occurs when much confidence is placed in our own making.

In many other places where Jesus addresses this subject, he assures his disciples that he will be with them.

Peter calls the believers in dispersion to cast all their fears and anxiety onto the mighty hand of the all-powerful God and still their troubled hearts. 1 Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

“The anxious heart is divided, pulled in all directions, and in constant affliction.”

Believers’ response then…

Considering that anxiety is complicated and can have a couple of factors at play (chemical, spiritual, circumstantial, biological), healing from unmanageable anxiety is long-lasting.
Admittedly, there are forms of anxiety that we can control, but there are others that are biological, automatic responses. Regardless of the form, God invites us to grow in trust, and we can keep patient with ourselves and also others as we constantly choose to trust God, however much it’s a struggle. Our heavenly father equips us to grow in sanctification through the power of the Spirit, His promises, and the community. This cannot be done overnight, but we can learn to automatically respond by entrusting our anxieties to Him. His is the path toward peace and comfort. Meditate on the ‘prince of peace’, wonderful counselor, and “God with Us.” The Spirit of Jesus is given to us (John 14:27) and the Lord will remain at hand at all times.

‘The anxious person does not necessarily have the power to “choose” to not be anxious, but they can choose what to do with that anxiety, to trust God when anxiety is present, and to make use of the gifts of common grace that God has given us helping minimize the effects anxiety has on their trust in God (i.e. medication, psychotherapy, diet, sleep, and exercise, growing in God’s truth and engaging in community and prayer).’

Isn’t it genuine that the presence of someone else in our horrible circumstances can diminish our feelings of trepidation? Dread doesn’t need a progression of unoriginal advances; it needs an individual. Stroll in an obscure dull spot without help from anyone else and you are apprehensive. Hold somebody’s hand while you are in that dull spot and fears ebb. If we are consoled by the presence of a simple person, who may be less courageous than ourselves, what more will we be supported by the sworn presence of the prevailing Christ?

“We should also be careful not to make God a go-to pharmacist, with the theory of prayer + thanksgiving = peace.”

By Michelle Mwikali.