The Anatomy of Anxiety
Part 32: Stop Looking at Life with Eyeballs Only!
Note: For previous posts in this blog series, visit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31.
Big Idea: Does worry, doubt, or fear get the best of you sometimes? Do you wonder where anxiety comes from and how to defeat it in your life and the lives of those you love? Then we need a biblical anatomy of anxiety. We need God’s prescription for victory over anxiety.
Renewing Your Mind: Ideas and Images
God designed us to think in words and pictures, ideas, and images, beliefs and imagination. I develop the biblical evidence for this on pages 179-188 of Soul Physicians.
So biblical mind renewal involves renewing our ideas and images. In this blog post we explore the renewal of our ideas; in our next post we explore how to renew our images.
Renewing Your Ideas, Thoughts, and Beliefs
To renew the words, ideas, and beliefs flowing through our mind, we need to preview, overview, view, renew, and re-view (enlarge). To work our way through these five principles, imagine that you have been called into the office. It might be your bosses’ office, the principal’s office, or the Doctor’s office. Whichever it is, you immediately begin to think the worse. “Oh no! I know I’m in trouble. What did I do wrong? Am I going to be fired? Expelled? Is the news the worst?”
1. Preview: Catch Your Eyeballs Only Thinking
In 2 Corinthians 10:7, Paul warns us against “looking only on the surface of things.” I like to call this “eyeballs only thinking.” Rather than looking at life with spiritual eyes, faith eyes, and 20/20 spiritual vision, we look at life peering through fleshly lenses.
As you think the worst, ask, “Where is my good, and great Guardian God missing from my thinking?” (Matthew 6:25-34). How am I like Elisha’s servant who was looking at life with his eyes closed to spiritual reality?” (2 Kings 6:13-17).
2. Overview: Face Your Ultimate Fears
Now step back. Ask yourself, “What if the worst case occurred? What if my boss is going to fire me? What if the diagnosis from the doctor is terminal?”
Don’t minimize, but honestly reflect and face your greatest fear. “If I’m fired, does God still clothe the lilies of the field?” “If the diagnosis is cancer, can anything separate me from the love of God in Christ?”
3. View: Capture Your Thoughts
Of course, more than nine times out of ten, the boss simply wanted to update you, or wanted to commend you, or wanted to ask a question. So you’ll also want to assess why your mind starts imagining the worst.
“Why do I view my boss as mean, harsh, and uncaring? Is that what he/she is really like? If not, why do I act that way? What does that say about how I see life?”
4. Renew: Change Your Thoughts
Bring truth to bear. That does not always mean quoting a specific verse. It can also mean bringing reality to bear on the situation.
I might sound like this. “I’ve been called into the principal’s office before, nothing bad has happened. I haven’t done anything wrong. This is likely no big deal, or perhaps something the principal wants me to do for the school. I need to stop assuming something bad when there’s no evidence for that. I need to start believing that God has a good heart and He never lets anything happen that won’t ultimately glorify Himself and bless others.”
5. Re-View: Enlarge Your Thoughts
As Elisha prayed for his servant, so we need to pray for ourselves. “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, that I might see reality as it is—as You see it.” We need to ask, “How can I bring God my good and great Guardian, who stands vigil over me, into my thinking?”
Keeping It Real
Ponder some fear, worry, or phobia you face. Apply the five wisdom principles to that situation. It would be especially helpful if you wrote out your responses.
The Rest of the Story
In our next post we teach you how to apply four wisdom principles for renewing your images.
Join the Conversation
Do you agree or disagree that God designed us to think in both words and pictures?
