For the third teaching of our three-week series ‘Vous: Mental Health & You‘, James Wong teamed up with Dr. Kam Wong to give a clinical and theological perspective on Anxiety (watch here). In this post, James gives a guide to dealing with anxiety as a Christian.
The reality is that anxiety is both terrible and complex. As someone who has suffered panic attacks and ongoing anxious thoughts and feelings, I can testify that it is terrible to experience. Waking up feeling on-edge for no reason. Feeling nervous or worrying about normal, everyday situations you never used to think twice about. Experiencing the sensation of being overcome by adrenaline and freaking out that something much worse is about to happen to you. Anxiety is also complex. People suffer on a spectrum from situational, momentary anxious thoughts and feelings to debilitating anxiety disorders that can prevent their from living a ‘normal’ life for decades or more.
No matter how your anxiety may be manifesting or presenting itself, I hope that these five reminders of truth are helpful towards your journey of healing and wholeness. These are not an exhaustive list, nor are they a clinical list (for a specific clinical perspective watch the YouTube video below to hear from Dr Kam Wong), but rather reminders I have found myself needing to hear in the midst of my anxious struggles:
1. Remember that the Lord is near
Paul encourages us in the book of Philippians (4:6): “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
The second half of the verse directly before this gives us the reason why: because the Lord is near. The Bible’s instruction to give our anxieties over to God isn’t an arbitrary command nor is it a means of earning God’s approval. Rather we are encouraged to do this because of the spiritual reality that God is near to us. This is an invitation to find comfort in the nearness of the Lord who has drawn near to us through the presence of his Holy Spirit.
2. Remember your feelings aren’t facts
We live in a culture and age that is feelings-driven. It is incredibly tempting, and easy, to wake up each day and let our feelings dictate our reality. However the issue with this is that our feelings were never designed for that purpose. God gave us emotions as a gift to help us express and feel deeply, not to dictate our reality. When we allow our feelings to be the primary truth-tellers in our lives we give them a power over us that they were never meant to have.
It’s important to know the difference between acknowledging one’s feelings and accepting them as truth. The same applies for our thoughts. While it is important to acknowledge one’s anxious thoughts and feelings, this is not the same as accepting them as truth. For example I may have the anxious thought that — “I feel like I am going to have a medical episode and collapse” — acknowledging this thought exists and not ignoring it is a key in managing anxiety, but this does not make the thought true.
3. Remember you are in a spiritual war
As holistic creatures the Bible is clear that we have a mind, body and soul. This means when it comes to mental health there is both a physical and spiritual reality at play. Paul is clear in Ephesians (6:10-13) that those who are in Christ are in a spiritual war. Our fight is not against “flesh and blood” but against “spiritual forces” and the “devil’s schemes”.
This does not mean that the devil gave you anxiety. It does not mean your anxiety has been caused by a lack of faith, or necessarily by a specific sin. What it does mean is that spiritual war is a reality for you, whether you realise it or not. The enemy wants to use our mental health against us and leverage our fears, worries and anxieties to strip us of hope, rob us of joy, weaken our faith, and render us powerless in living out God’s call on our lives. Many of us need to wake up to the reality that this war is raging so we can be ready and equipped to fight back.
4. Remember getting help isn’t weak, it’s wise
The Gospel is all about needing help. In Romans (5:6) Paul describes us as being “powerless” when Christ died for us. Therefore the good news that we build our lives upon is based on the fact that we need God’s help! We cannot fix ourselves! So how inconsistent is it when we confess belief in this message yet functionally live in self-sufficiency Monday through Friday?
God has provided both supernatural and common graces to help us in our struggle against anxiety: prayer, the presence of the Holy Spirit, the promises of Scripture, genuine community, sleep, nutrition, exercise, and mental health professionals are all available to us. Often our biggest obstacle is actually admitting our need. As a community we need to reinforce the Gospel truth that there is no stigma or shame in needing help! We need to encourage one another to get the help that we need for there is no shame in weakness.
5. Remember this will not last forever
As we do all of this let us cling to the hope that our struggles with anxiety will not last forever. God has promised us a future where all our afflictions will cease to exist. Jesus, our Saviour and King, is making all things new (Revelation 21:5). There is a day coming where our anxieties, worries and fears will no longer terrorise us. Where we won’t ever wake up feeling on-edge or have intrusive thoughts.
This reality can help us find peace now, not in the absence of our anxiety but despite it. We can find peace now because despite whatever we face in this life we know how the story ends. We will be comforted. We will know perfect peace. Everything will be made new. Jesus Christ has given our worries and fears an expiration date.
If you, or someone you know, are considering self-harm or taking your life, get help immediately. Call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or go to Beyond Blue.