A Word from Bob 

In my booklet, published by P&R, Anxiety, I walk through Philippians with a gospel-centered approach to the whole person. In the booklet, we talk about the gospel and “the anatomy of anxiety,” including relational (spiritual social, self-aware), rational, volitional, and emotional aspects of facing anxiety face-to-face with Christ.

The last part of the booklet also recognizes that we are embodied-souls embedded in society. So, in my Anxiety booklet, I share the following implications of being physical beings in a fallen body living in a fallen world.

Embrace Physical Weakness (Jars of Clay): Physical Care for Embodied-Souls

The Bible recognizes the complex interplay between the body and soul.

“The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis  2:7).

For additional teaching on embodied-souls, see 112 Biblical Passages on Being Embodied-Souls.

In Philippians, Paul does not talk directly about the possible connection between the body, the brain, and anxiety. However, in his other writings, he clearly recognizes:

• The spiritual importance of wise care for the body (1 Corinthians 6:13-20),
• The need to master the body (1 Corinthians 9:24-27),
• The validity of physical treatments for the body (1 Timothy 5:23),
• The value of physical training (1 Timothy 4:8),
• The frailty of the body (2 Corinthians 4:7),
• The impact of the fall on the body (Romans 8:19-25),
• The relationship between bodily weakness and emotional/spiritual weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
• His own struggles with distressing emotions that overwhelmed him body and soul (2 Corinthians 1:8-9).

There are several vital biblical principles that we derive from a biblical theology of embodied-souls:

1. It is important to recognize that every emotion involves a complex interaction between body/brain and soul/mind.
2. It is dangerous to assume that all emotional struggles can be directly changed by strictly “spiritual means.”
3. We must remain sensitive to physical factors and organic issues that affect people’s lives.
4. It is wrong to place extra burdens on those who suffer emotionally by suggesting that all they need to do is surrender to God to make their struggles go away.

There are also several important implications of these truths about our being embodied-souls:

1. For some, spirituality includes embracing physical weakness. When we ignore the importance of the body, we misunderstand what it means to trust God.
2. Emotions, including anxiety, involve physiological components that often may need to be treated with physical interventions. That should always include a healthy diet, exercise, rest, relaxation, and sleep. That can also often legitimately include other biological/physiological interventions such as deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, etc.
3. At times, caring for embodied-souls may include the use of medication, in conjunction with biblical soul care.

Get Off the Merry-Go-Round: Life-Situational Care for Socially-Embedded Beings

We also must recognize the complexity of the connection between people and their social environment. We must remain sensitive to the impact of suffering and of a great variety of significant social-cultural factors (1 Peter 3:8-22). To help people comprehensively, we must seek to apply God’s Word to people’s lives amid both positive and negative social experiences. (See the Biblical Counseling Coalition’s Confessional Statement.)

Remember the specific situational purpose of Philippians:

Helping people to apply the gospel in the context of a culture where living for the gospel could cost you your freedom and even your life.

Like Paul, we need to be sensitive to the fact that some social environments and life situations can result in people being more prone toward anxiety.

If Paul had written after WW II, he might have focused on helping people to find peace by applying the gospel to survivors of the concentration camps. Or, he might have focused on helping soldiers who witnessed the horrors of warfare to find peace by applying the gospel to their lives. Past trauma or current ongoing situational stress can be contributing factors that we must address.

At times, part of wise biblical counsel for ongoing life situational issues can be to “get off the merry-go-round.” Slow down. Do less.

This doesn’t mean avoiding responsibility. It does mean realistically assessing one’s level of commitment and responsibility.

• Sometimes people need to simplify, slow down, take a “Sabbath rest,” or a sabbatical.
• Sometimes people need to learn to say “no” to too many responsibilities—including too many church responsibilities.
• Sometimes people need to accept their limitations.
• Sometimes people just need to have fun.
• Sometimes people need to set wise “boundaries.” Even when Jesus said to go the extra mile, He did not say to run a marathon.
• Sometimes people need to consider whether it is God’s will for them to change their circumstances, where possible.

Like Paul, people need to identify their priorities (Philippians 1:21) and stick to them and them alone (Philippians 3:13).

Like Christ, people need to practice the historic biblical and Evangelical spiritual disciplines that reconnect us to Christ and the Body of Christ: solitude, prayer, fasting, fellowship, worship, service, and so on.

Like Christ, we all need to remember that spiritual maturity does not insulate us from distressing emotions. For more on this, see 10 Biblical Principles About Emotions Drawn from the Emotional Life of Christ.

Keep Clinging to Christ 

Paul begins his letter with the words, “to all the saints in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:1). He concludes with, “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen” (Philippians 4:23).

Paul did not personally know all those who would read his letter, just as I do not know you personally. But I know this about you: if you are in Christ then you are a saint: a new creation in Christ. You are redeemed which means you can experience a peace that passes understanding even in the midst of what seems like overwhelming anxiety.

I know it’s not easy. I’m a fellow struggler. I wish that for myself and for you I could pray away all feelings of anxiety.

Then again, I know that my daily struggles with anxiety motivate me to keep clinging to Christ.

Because of my external stresses and my internal distress, I am deeply aware that I need the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to be with my spirit every second.

Let your bodily weaknesses, your situational difficulties, and your struggles with anxiety motivate you (and me) to keep clinging to Christ.

Further Biblical Counsel 

Again, for a more comprehensive look at how Paul relates the gospel to our struggles with fear, worry, and anxiety, see my booklet, Anxiety.

Applying the Gospel to Daily Life 

What physical and life-situational changes might you want to consider making in order to comprehensively address your struggles with anxiety, fear, and worry?