Peace of Mind – 2 – Anxiety Signals

 

Peace of Mind

Welcome back to Redemption Church in Plano Tx. My name is Chris Fluitt and last week we talked about 2 dangerous myths of mental health.

Myth #1 – Christians shouldn’t struggle with mental health
Myth #2 – God doesn’t care about your mental health.

We want you to know that mental health is a Biblical and Godly topic. You are in a safe place to talk about any struggle.

Remember this verse… Use it as a prayer.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NIV) May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Today we are going to talk about anxiety.

Anxiety

I read on the American Psychological Association that “anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure.

People with anxiety disorders usually have recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns. They may avoid certain situations out of worry. They may also have physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, dizziness, or a rapid heartbeat.” (https://www.apa.org/topics/anxiety/)

 

Philippians 4:4-6a (NIV) 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything…

 

Is that even possible?

Politics, war, debt, inflation, sickness, loneliness, job stress, marriage, children, health challenges…  Don’t be anxious about anything?

 

In 2019, two out of three Americans said they were anxious or extremely anxious.  This was before the covid19 pandemic and inflation explosion. Anxiety may be at an all-time high!  Especially in our younger generation.

91% of high school and college students report consistent and significant levels of anxiety associated with stress.

Our younger generation is the most anxious in history.  They are over-educated, yet under-employed. They have crushing debt, rising inflation, rising rent and home costs.    They keep postponing their life… postponing marriage… postponing having children… They feel that they have NO CLEAR PATH to the success of previous generations.  ALL OF THIS LEADS TO ANXIETY.

Will we be a church where people with anxiety can come, talk about their worry, and find comfort and wisdom?

Getting help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of wisdom.

The subject of fear and anxiety is complex. We all have experienced fear, anxiety, and stress, and we are all on what experts call an Anxiety Spectrum.

The low end of the spectrum includes: some Anxiety, Occasional uneasiness, and discomfort caused by stress.

Homework or tests, work presentation, a social situation are examples of what could bring on this temporary anxiety.

 

The anxiety spectrum moves to more dramatic levels.

• Generalized Anxiety disorder
• Obsessive compulsive disorder
• Panic Disorder & Agoraphobia
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Phobias
• Perfectionism

 

These can be crushing & debilitating, bringing a sense of dread, shortness of breath, an elevated heart rate, the feeling walls are closing in. With these high levels of anxiety, you can’t function in normal capacity.

 

I want you to imagine with me that you are driving in your car, and you look at your dashboard and you see the check engine light come on.

 

This check engine light alerts you that something is not right with your car.

Anxiety and fear is like a check engine light. Your body will alert you that something is not right with your surroundings. If you are walking in the woods and you hear a noise, your body will alert you and you will feel uneasy. Your body is telling you that something might not be safe, and you need to carefully check it out.

Now imagine you are back in your car driving along, and your check engine light comes on… but this time it does not come on because something is wrong in the present. Instead, the check engine light came on because something could be wrong in the future….

What if your car worried about how it needed to fill up with gas next week?
What if your car sent the check engine alert because you didn’t talk to that telemarketer about your extended automobile warranty?
What if your car had nothing wrong right now but sent alert signals over things that might never happen.

 

Some experience a continual anxiety alert, even when there is nothing wrong.
It is useful to feel a heightened stress because something is wrong in the present.
It is damaging to continually receive an alert of worry and fear, even when nothing is wrong.

Think for a moment about your check engine light.  Is it alerting you that there is something wrong, or is it crippling you with the fear that something in the future and outside of your control is going to happen?

Wherever you may be on the anxiety spectrum, I want you to know 2 things.

#1 God cares
#2 We care

You can talk to God about all your fears.  You can cast your cares on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
You can talk to your brothers and sisters in Christ. We will rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. (Romans 12:15)The Spirit of the Lord is upon us so that we will “bind up the brokenhearted.” (Luke 4:18, Isaiah 61)

There are examples of people who struggled with anxiety in your Bible…

Jehosophat – 2 Chronicles 20

Jehoshaphat was the 4th king of Judah. He is known as one of the best kings who faithfully followed God.

2 Chronicles 20:1 After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.

The scripture says “After this…” Life comes at you fast. You get through one problem, and then after that you are met with another problem. You barely have time to breathe. Job once said, “life is short and full of trouble.” (Job 14:1) He was not wrong.

But Jehoshaphat is not met with one problem but 3 armies of problems. The Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Meunites were coming to kill Jehoshaphat and his kingdom.

Imagine the anxiety he must have felt.  I know you can because you know that life hits all at once for you.

 

• Car broke down
• Kids have trouble in school
• Someone is sick
• Your boss is a jerk
• You made the mistake of watching the evening news – nothing is going right!
• And its Monday!

When life hits hard, it sends a signal…

That check engine light tells you something is not right, and you need to take your car into an expert.

I want to tell you about three things your anxiety is signaling.

 

When you don’t know what to do with your car, you take it to someone who knows more than you know.

In prayer, we are taking the things we don’t understand, the things that aren’t working, and our worry about the future… and we take them to someone who knows more than we know.

The old song says “Many things about tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand. But I know who holds tomorrow and I know he holds my hand.”

 

When Jehoshaphat received word of 3 armies on their way to kill him… his anxiety signaled that he needed to pray.

2 Chronicles 20:3 (NLT) Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting.

He was terrified. The anxiety the king felt signaled to him that it was time to pray. So he prayed…

2 Chronicles 20:6, 9 (NIV) 6 …“LORD, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you… 9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

What a great prayer. You know what is also a great prayer?

“Help!” “God show me what to do!” “God save me!” You do not need to have fancy “prayer words.”

 

Prayer is powerful.  I have many scriptures that I could go through with you about the power of prayer, but instead I want to quote a scientist.

Dr Caroline Leaf is an author, a communication pathologist, and cognitive neuroscientist.

“It has been found that 12 minutes of daily focused prayer over an 8-week period can change the brain to such an extent that it can be measured on a brain scan.” Dr. Caroline Leaf

12 minutes a day for 8 weeks can bring measurable change to your brain.

You have heard the phrase “prayer changes things.”

Not only does prayer touch the heart of God, but prayer changes the chemistry of your brain.

What is most exciting about this is that your brain can change! This is called NEUROPLASTICITY, the concept of changing your brain through forming neuron connections and patterns. We talked about that last week.

 

If your mind is always going to the wrong place, you can change your mind through prayer.

Let’s get a little more scientific.

 

The Amygdala is an almond shaped cluster in your brain. Science hypothesizes that this area of the brain is the fear center of your brain. This is the part of your brain that sends the “check engine light” signal. This is the part of your brain that can become a constant worry and fear signal sender.

When we struggle with anxiety, we end up dwelling in this small part of your brain.
Fear ALWAYS makes us dwell in smaller spaces.

 

The Greek word for fear that is most seen in the New Testament is merimnaō.  (Mer – rin – nah – O)

Merimnaō  – dwelling or pondering on fearful or anxious thoughts

This is anxiety is – meditating on the negative.  It is literally training your brain to be anxious… to DWELL IN FEAR.

You rehearse what could go wrong – connecting neurons and patterns, and then we wonder why we are anxious all the time.

It is natural to think about what could go wrong, but prayer is not supernatural!

Prayer says, “I will not dwell in the small place of fear.”
Prayer rehearses what God has done, what God has promised, and what God will do.

Prayer rehearses what God has said about us… we are more than conquerors, we are victorious, we are loved, we are forgiven, we are free, we are strong, we are sons and daughters…

Prayer breaks the cycle of the Amygdala anxiety loop. We no longer meditate on fear, but on the goodness of God!

2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

You can’t meditate on Fear and God at the same time.

2 Chron 20:12 …For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

I can’t handle this… but I am looking to you God! Trusting you! My eyes are not on the armies… but you.

 

Fear is a signal that we need to pray!  We need to take this problem to God.

 

So, you pray… then what?

If you are like me, you give it to God, but then try to take it back and do it yourself! We always try to control the situation…

 

Finish this sentence… “Don’t just stand there… do something.”

But God sometime would say this… “Don’t just do something… stand there and see the salvation of God… stand still and know that I am God.

2 Chronicles 20:12-13 (NIV) 12 …We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD.

There are 3 armies on their way… just stand before the Lord…
They have weapons and trained soldiers… just pause for a moment…
We need to come with a plan for defense or surrender… Our eyes are on the Lord.

 

“Are you saying that we just pray and pause, and God heals us of anxiety?

Sometimes he heals you in that moment.
Sometimes the Word of God comes into your thoughts and begins to renew your thoughts.
Sometimes it is a process where He directs you and guides you towards healthy steps.
Sometimes God directs you to new friends or even a counselor to explore the roots of these issues.
Sometimes a prescribed medicine might help normalize your brain.
Sometimes God reveals unhealthy diets and habits and we repent of them and make positive change.

What I do know is that when you pray and pause, you are breaking the unhealthy patterns in your mind

 

While they waited, the Spirit of the Lord came upon a man named Jahaziel and he began to speak…

2 Chronicles 20:15, 17 15  “‘…Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 17…Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’ ”

Don’t be anxious, the battle is the Lord’s.
When you face the struggle, He will be with you.

 

Your anxiety is sending you a signal that it is time to pray, pause, and praise.

 

This story takes an unexpected turn.

In his situation, you and me would have sent the biggest, buffest, and strong out to battle.
We would have sent Rambo, the Terminator, Jason Bourn, Captain America, the Hulk, Wonder Woman, John Wick, and some Jedi ninjas out to meet the army.

But king Jehoshaphat sent out a choir of singers. 

2 Chronicles 20:21 (NIV) Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”

 

As they began to sing praise to God, God Himself fought their battle. The 3 armies got confused and began to attack one another. They were completely delivered by God, BUT THEY PRAISED BEFORE THE DELIVERANCE.

Will you praise the Lord before your miracle?  …before your provision?  …before your blessing?  …before the anxiety is gone, will you praise the Lord?

Your anxiety is sending you signals…  Pray, Pause, Praise.

 

We started with that scripture that said to not be anxious… and we questioned if that was possible. Let’s read the full verse.

 

Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV) 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

Your anxiety is a signal.  What will you do with this signal?

Will you dwell in the fear (merimnao)?
Or will you pray, pause, and praise?