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Study Notes 12th July Hope challengers: Anxiety
(Philippians 4.6-7; Matthew 6.25-34)
Some background material
“Anxiety is not that simple because it is often misunderstood to be simply that a person is stressing too much. There is a distinct difference between the sin of anxiety and the mental health disorder of anxiety that is characterized by physical changes in the brain. Anxiety is both a mental health issue and a spiritual issue.”
According to the mental health charity MIND, the number of people with mental health problems has not significantly increased in recent years, but it does appear that people are struggling more to cope. MIND estimates that 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year, and that in England 1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health issue (such as anxiety/depression) in any given week. In England and Wales 1 in 8 people with mental health issues are currently receiving treatment (usually medication).
Do these statistics surprise you?
Is there any difference between ANXIETY and WORRY?
Anxiety = a feeling of worry, nervousness or unease about something with an uncertain outcome – often marked by physical signs such as tension, sweating and an increased pulse rate.
Worry = to feel or cause to feel anxious or troubled about an actual or potential problem.
What are the common cause of stress/anxiety? Do you think that our world is more stressful for young people now than when you were young?
Stress at work; stress from school; stress in a personal relationship (e.g. marriage); financial stress; stress as the result of an emotional trauma (e.g. death of a loved one; stress as the result of a serious medical illness – yourself or a loved one. Any others?
So the challenge we are facing this week is whether, as Christians, we have any ways of coping with stress/anxiety/worry?
READ Philippians 4 verses 6 - 9
In these few verses Paul points to three promises.
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Our lives will be touched with a mark of the “supernatural”, something that “passes all understanding” (7). What do you think is meant by this? It seems to be something which cannot be fully explained – something beyond the range of human understanding! The world struggles to understand why, as Christians, we seek to live by different values/standards. So we need people to see “the finger of God” (Ex 8.19) at work in our lives. Do you think it is important that people can see a “difference” in the way we live as Christians?
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God’s peace will guard us and he will be our companion … “the peace of God … will keep … the God of peace will be with you.” The picture here is like a besieged castle – but one which is guarded and patrolled by the Household Guards of the King of kings. Just what Paul had in mind we cannot say, but the promise is the presence of God in power and in experience. Are people able/willing to share occasions in their own lives when they have experienced the presence of God in this way?
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The promise of peace, … “the peace of God … the God of peace.” The word “peace” can be a sort of “spiritual marshmallow, full of softness and sweetness but without much actual substance.” But in the Bible, the God of peace is the God who makes peace between sinners and himself. When the risen Christ met his disciples in the locked upper room on the first Easter evening his words were – “Peace be with you”. Peace – real peace – is the first-fruit of Calvary. The God of peace is the God of salvation who does away with sin as a result of Christ’s victory on the cross. But more than that, he is also the God of POWER (Romans 16.20) and the God of VICTORY. If we live with this peace, this power, this victory, then our lives will be free of worry, stress and anxiety. Is it this simple?
We must be careful here not to limit “peace” to a sense of just “being at peace”. The New Testament idea of peace takes it origin from the Old Testament where “peace” (shalom) carries both the idea of inner wholeness but also about our relationship with God and with one another. So at the start of this chapter Paul is not only offering to Euodia and Syntyche a peace powerful enough to master anxiety, but also to overcome any ill-feelings they may have to one another. It is in such outward workings that the peace of God can be seen as a mark of the supernatural in our lives. Would you agree with this? Is it the case that the lack of peace among Christians in the same church can have a negative effect on the whole Christian community?
We have looked at the promises – but now to the commands! If we want to enjoy the promises, we must obey the commands.
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the centrality of the Lord Jesus Christ. He must have first place in our lives. His attitude towards others was one of gentle forbearance – a readiness to accept others as they are. And this has to be a mark of our own lives too. How might that be shown (a) within our family; (b) with other Christians; in the wider community; at our places of work/leisure?
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the attitude of prayer (6). The antidote to anxiety, and the prelude to peace, is found in prayer and thanksgiving. We can bring that which makes us anxious to God – and then leave the matter in his hands. He never acts purposelessly and his purposes never fail. It is as we bring our anxiety to God that we find release. Can any members of the group testify to this?
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disciplined minds (8). Our prayers need to be bolstered by our minds – and as we honestly ponder on our lives then that should enable us to find genuine peace. “Just as a carnal mind is the surest passport to the downward path, so a mind drilled in the things of which God approves is the steadiest way into practical holiness.” As we do this, then God pledges his guardian peace and loving presence. Are there any practical ways in which we might discipline our minds?
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the authority of the Word of God (9). We have to seek to live by what Scripture tells us – even if that seems uncomfortable at times.
If we ignore the commands, we forgo the blessings!
It is important that at the end of this study people feel challenged and encouraged – and not burdened by guilt or failure. There is a great deal of pastoral support available for anyone who needs it.
There may not be time to look at the passage from Matthew 6 verses 25-34, part of the Sermon on the Mount. But just a few thoughts (based on Tom Wright’s commentary):
It is worth mentioning at the start that Jesus was speaking largely to people who lived very much on the edge of existence. They had very little in terms of material things and really did live from “day to day”.
There was sorrow in Jesus’ life, but he was basically HAPPY. This passage flows out of Jesus’ own experience – birds high up in the air of the Galilean hills; hundreds of flowers (the word “lily” = several different plants) growing in the fertile soil. The picture Jesus paints is one of glorious, God-given beauty. And when Jesus told his followers not to worry about tomorrow we must assume he led them by example. Jesus had that ability to live totally in the present, celebrating the goodness of God here and now. A God who has filled the world with wonderful and mysterious things.
So what is Jesus saying? That what we eat or drink or wear does not matter? That we should eat and drink as little as possible and wear dull clothes? NOT AT ALL. It was all about our priorities in life. Put the world first and you’ll find things get moth-eaten very easily. Put God first, and you get the world thrown in!
And whatever we do – in that day it was planting seeds, reaping harvests, weaving and spinning to make clothes, fishing for a living, looking after sheep – then we should do those things with joy because that is how God wants us to live. The danger of course is that we let an anxious world take control of our minds and actions.
Living without worry may to many seem as impossible as living without breathing, but here in these verses (at the very heart of the Sermon on the Mount) is a lesson for us all – how to share the happiness of Jesus day by day.
PRAYER
These notes were written just a few days before “lockdown” was opened up in a big way, so please reflect on the situation as it is when you do this study.
If we were meeting face to face, I would suggest that you bring a few stones (all shapes and sizes) and invite everyone to take a stone and place it beside a cross (if you don’t have a cross then draw one on a piece of paper) as a way of bringing to God our individual worry and anxiety. And then leave the stone – and the anxiety – in God’s capable hands.
It might be possible to mention the week before that you would like each member to bring a stone to the meeting. Or send an email.
Allow time for people to share their own feelings – assured that whatever is said is kept within the confidentiality of the group and not to be spoken of elsewhere – and then pray for one another.
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