Facing Anxiety Face-to-Face with Christ

Note: This Saturday I will be presenting at the CCEF National Conference on “The Anatomy of Anxiety: God’s Prescription for Victory In Anxiety.” This week I’m sharing some excerpts. For Excerpt One read: The Anatomy of Anxiety. 

Philippians As a Model

From cover to cover the Bible has much to say about moving from fear to faith. We’ll look at one book—Philippians—and focus on one chapter—chapter 4. We’re concentrating here not because it is the only or “best” place to look for wisdom regarding anxiety, but because it’s the “common place” with that oft-quoted verse about being anxious for nothing (Phil. 4:6). We want to put that verse in the context of Paul’s entire letter to the Philippians.

My hope is that by the time we’re done you will be thinking. “Incredible! One short epistle and one brief chapter in the Bible have that much relevant counsel about anxiety. I can’t wait to explore the rest of the Word to find truth for life so that I can experience victory in anxiety!”

In the original Greek, Paul’s letter has just 1,628 words. That’s about the size of two blog posts. Chapter four has just 356 words—less than two pages in an average book. Yet, we find the following comprehensive (robust) and compassionate (relational) insights for victory in anxiety.

• Guard Your Relationship with God Your Guard: Faith in Your Father

• Commit to Mature Relationships with God’s People: It Takes a Congregation

• Cling to Your Identity in Christ: Wholeness in Christ

• Put on the Mind of Christ: The Weapons of Your Warfare

• Practice What You Preach: Living and Loving with Courage

• Soothe Your Soul in Your Savior: Emotional Maturity 101

• Live Wisely in a Fallen World: Jars of Clay

Paul’s Purpose: Gospel-Centered Vigilance

In basic Bible study classes, we’ve all learn that when you see a “therefore” you ask, “What’s it there for?” Before Paul counsels us to be anxious for nothing (Phil. 4:6), he starts with a “therefore” which points us to the purpose of his letter to the Philippians.

There’s another foundational principle for studying and applying God’s Word. We must understand the original intent of the author in his original context. We can’t “cherry pick” a topic or theme and force it onto Paul’s writings if that theme was not a part of his original purpose. That would be like reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and seeking to apply it to the political issues of our day—it’s totally out of context. So, let’s follow that “therefore” to find Paul’s focus in his letter to his spiritual friends in Philippi.

Paul writes to real people with real problems out of his very real situation. As he writes, Paul is jailed for his faith and the Philippians understand that they could be next. Now that could create anxiety! Paul’s purpose in writing them is to encourage them to live worthy of the gospel (Phil. 1:27). He wants them to “stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you” (Phil. 1:27b-28a).

A. T. Robertson explains that “stand firm” is a word used in the context of temptation to defection and panic. It describes someone who wants to give up, give in, and get out. If that’s not a description of anxiety, I don’t know what is.

Frightened” portrays the metaphor of a timid or scared horse—skittish. According to Robinson the best translation is “startled.” Frightened, timid, scared, skittish, and startled—that’s the anatomy of anxiety.

Paul’s Model: Stand Firm!

In this context of anxiety, Paul explains that the gospel enables us to “stand firm.” The Greek word means to take a stand, to be steadfast, to stand erect and at attention—to be a guard, a sentry, a sentinel. Paul exhorts us to stay on guard as we “contend together”—a word from the athletic arena that pictures striving together with discipline against unrelenting opposition.

The purpose of Philippians is to teach us how gospel-centered living empowers us to experience victory together in anxiety. Paul frames his entire letter against the backdrop of helping Christ-followers to remain vigilant when everything inside and out screams, “Retreat!”

Paul’s life purpose is to model the courage of a warrior for Christ when facing internal and external worries. “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or death” (Phil. 1:20).

Applying the Gospel to Daily Life

Ponder a situation where you feel like retreating, but you sense God saying, “Stand firm!” How could a gospel-centered commitment to glorify Christ impact your response?