Philippians 4: 6 – 7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Which do you want, anxiety or peace? I know everyone wants peace, but I find fewer and fewer people are living with the peace which passes understanding than any other time in my adult life.
I remember some stressful times. Although I was very young, I realized something major happened when JFK died. I could tell by the adults’ actions. I grew up with the Vietnam war. That was pretty challenging. It was the first time a war came into our living rooms each night. It was the real beginning of the news cycle drama because it was much more impactful seeing the news than reading about it. Things changed because of television. Were people anxious? We didn’t talk about anxiety.
Fast forward many years and the rhetoric around our lives became about stress. We began living in a state of elevated stress and learned that stress is the single greatest factor impacting our health. Still, not many people admitted openly that they were over-stressed though we did begin to embrace episodic stress. We called it being “stressed out.” This condition was understood to be temporary and there was not much sympathy and very little support for the stressed-out person. We live in an entirely new era now. This is the Age of Anxiety and it’s a real thing.
I met a young woman last week who is most definitely stressed out. Interestingly, minutes after meeting she admitted to being challenged by anxiety. As she spoke, it made quite an impression on me. First, when I was younger, if we suffered from anxiety, we probably wouldn’t have known what to call it and once we did, we wouldn’t have admitted it. This woman is not even 30 years old and yet her life is being dramatically affected by anxiety. It probably is a good thing that the younger generation is open to talking about anxiety so they can get support but it struck me as unusual.
The sad news is that she is not alone. Many young people are reporting anxiety issues. It isn’t just young people either. Those who are older and thought they knew how to cope with stress are finding themselves overwhelmed. Truly, we are living in an epidemic of anxiety.
How are we to manage this overwhelming level of stress and anxiety? The good news is that the Apostle Paul knew a bit about anxiety too and Praise God, he has given us the answer. You won’t be surprised that Jesus is the answer because he always is. Just to anchor our thoughts and our hearts, I want to suggest that Paul received this answer from Jesus himself through prayer and communion with Christ. Let that be your guiding light.
From that point Paul taught that unimaginable peace is available even under the most dire circumstances. However, I warn you, this peace does not come without an investment. I wish I awoke every morning and peace settled over me regardless of what I have done with my time. No, Paul’s revelation is clear. Perfect peace is the result of prayer, petition and thanksgiving. When the stress levels rise and people and situations start getting to me, I know I need more time with Christ. I need to pray more and I need to be in his presence.
I want to be clear about one thing here. Although I believe that any time you spend in the Bible or in any kind of prayer is food for the spirit and wonderful, I find when the stress levels are rising, I need something more. Maybe you are this way too. I need to really slow down my heart and mind and look for Jesus. I need to hear him speak to me. I need him to minister to my spirit. I need to feel him in my heart. Fortunately, we have learned many skills over the years to facilitate intertwining with Jesus. Let me share a few.
When I need to calm my body or my mind, I always begin with breath. Recall that the Holy Spirit is the breath of God and the very breath in us (See Words of the Day Breathe, and Creative Breath). Meditation is certainly one of the best ways to connect with God and to calm an anxious heart (See Breathe, Meditate and Breathe, Meditate Part 2). I also recommend journaling, writing down your To-Do list, exercise, yoga and EFT.