A Word from Bob: Welcome to Part 10 of my blog mini-series on The Gospel Where You Live: God’s Prescription for Victory In Anxiety. I’m taking these thoughts from my booklet, Anxiety: Anatomy and Cure. You can read:
- Part 1 at God’s Prescription for Victory In Anxiety
- Part 2 at Anxiety: Stuck Vigilance
- Part 3 at Anxiety: What Difference Does the Cross Make?
- Part 4 at Facing Anxiety Face-to-Face with Christ
- Part 5 at 5 Gospel-Centered Responses to Anxiety, Fear, & Worry
- Part 6 at It Takes a Congregation
- Part 7 at Wholeness in Christ When You’re Falling Apart
- Part 8 at The Weapons of Our Warfare When Anxiety Attacks
- Part 9 at 8 Ways to Strike Back When Anxiety Strikes
Practice What You Preach: Living and Loving with Courage
We could call Paul’s counsel in Philippians 4:1-9, God’s Victory Action Plan. It includes:
- Our Relationship to Christ: Feeling fearful; guard your relationship with God your Guard.
- Our Relationship to the Body of Christ: Feeling fearful; connect deeply with others.
- Our Relationship to Ourselves and Our Identity in Christ: Feeling fearful; know who you are in and to Christ.
- Our Rational Control Center Submitted to Christ’s Word: Feeling fearful; renew your mind in Christ.
Victory in anxiety is relational: how we relate to God, others, and self. It is also rational: putting off lies and putting on the truth.
Paul’s comprehensive victory action plan is also “volitional”—it involves our will and choosing to act courageously.
“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice” (Philippians 4:9, emphasis added). Or, as the KJV puts it, “Those things, which you have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do” (Philippians 4:9, emphasis added).
Nike: “Just Do It!”
Overcoming anxiety requires that we practice what we preach. Feeling fearful; act!
It may sound simple, but it is truly profound. Anxiety feeds on anxiety. Avoiding what I fear breeds greater fear. Nothing empowers fear more than fleeing a fearful event. It becomes habitual. Mike’s life is clear testimony to this reality.
“Whether it’s speaking in public, going to the dentist, or finishing my presentation for the boss, the longer I delay, the harder it gets. The more I dodge situations that make me anxious, the more that fear paralyzes me.”
Simply saying to a person immersed in fear, “Just face your fear!” is like Bob Newhart’s “Just stop it!” But we’re not simply saying that. We are saying that in the context of our renewed relationship to God, others, and self, and in the context of our renewed mindsets.
In that context, there does come a time when we have to Nike—“Just do it!” We need to take vigilant action.
Replace Fearful Inaction with Other-Centered Action
Recall our biblical model of anxiety as stuck vigilance, vigilance gone wild, and being on perpetually high alert. If anxiety is scanning and scanning without taking a stand, then most certainly we must replace self-centered inaction with Christ-like other-centered action.
In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus was “sorrowful and troubled” (Matthew 26:37) as He faced the prospects of taking on our sin resulting in separation from His Father. “Sorrowful” means to experience deep sadness, awful distressed, and grief. “Troubled” means to be in anxiety, to be distressed or troubled. Calvin describes Jesus’ experience as a combination of sorrow and sadness, fear and trembling (Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, 226).
At the same time that Jesus experiences great psychological and emotional pain, He demonstrates amazing volitional fortitude and courage. “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39b).
For Paul, victory in anxiety involves thinking and choosing like Christ. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:3-5).
Worry draws our eyes inward. Warriors look outward. Worry protects self. Warriors are willing to die to self to protect others. “He humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8).
Our volitional goal is to move from struck vigilance to healthy vigilance. Healthy vigilance is God’s gift to us to warn us of impending danger and to prompt us toward a courageous response.
When are you “healed” from anxiety? When you are tending and befriending others even if the anxious feelings remain. When you are protecting others, not yourself, because you cling to God as your Protector.
Maintain a “Can Do” Spirit in Christ
It is in this context of overcoming anxiety that Paul penned the famous words of encouragement, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). Paul cultivated a “Can Do” spirit.
However, it is nothing like modern “self-help,” “positive thinking,” or “possibility thinking.” That’s all founded on a self-sufficient basis. Paul’s “Can Do” spirit is based upon who he is in and through Christ, not upon who he is in himself—in his own effort, strength, or power.
What happens when the reality of my fear rams smack into the reality of Christ’s Word? My fear says, “I can’t do that!” Christ’s Word says, “You can do all things through Me.” “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
Some Christians say, “Ignore your fears! Just obey Christ!” That’s not faith; that’s faking. Others say, “Sure, admit your fear and then immediately defeat it.” That sounds so close to the truth, but it lacks reality (and compassion).
We have to avoid two extremes. Don’t fake it—don’t pretend your emotions don’t exist. Don’t flood—if you’ve been terrified for years, it’s normally unwise to tackle your greatest fear all in one shot, head on.
Victory in anxiety is not a neat, nice, linear process. God’s promise that we can do all things through Christ is not a guarantee that we’ll never face obstacles. Turn setbacks into comebacks. Realize that you can plateau and then climb higher. Be willing to take risks—to fight again, to try again.
Regardless of the “pace” at which you move ahead, always view yourself as more than a conqueror through Christ your Conqueror (Romans 8:37). See and experience Christ as your Rock, Defender, Strong Tower, Fortress, Shield, and Sentry. Then go on sentry duty for His glory and in His strength.
The Rest of the Story
Join me for Part 11 when we talk about Emotional Maturity 101.
Applying the Gospel to Daily Life
- Where can you replace fearful inaction with other-centered action? Be specific: what initial “faith steps” can you take?
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Worry draws our eyes inward. Warriors look outward. Worry protects self. Warriors are willing to die to self to protect others. http://bit.ly/Gospel4Anx10
