The Antidote to Anxiety

Introduction

Have you noticed that anxiety appears to be on the rise? It wasn’t all that many years ago that I rarely heard discussion of anxiety disorders or panic attacks, whereas in the past 10 years or so I’ve been hearing about them more and more. Naturally, I wondered if this was real or observational bias, so I did some research.

Indeed, that seems to be the case. In 2022, JAMA Pediatrics published a study that found that in the five years “Between 2016 and 2020, there were significant increases in children’s diagnosed anxiety and depression.”¹ This increase started before the COVID-19 pandemic.

I’m no psychologist, but I was reminded of this trend several weeks in our Tuesday lunchtime Bible study (in 1F-12, in case anyone’s interested in joining). We were studying Philippians 4 and I saw this passage in a new light.

Let’s dig in.

The Passage

A Book of Rejoicing

Paul wrote this letter from prison, but:

1. Philippians 1:4: He begins with joy.
2. V. 18: Whether people preach Christ with right motives, nevertheless Christ is preached, for which Paul rejoices.
3. Philippians 2:1-3: unity and humility bring joy.
   • Leading us toward our focus passage: Philippians 4:2, 3: Paul urges two ladies who are apparently gospel workers to settle their differences and agree. This is how he leads into our passage.

The Antidotes to Anxiety

Philippians 4:4, 5: Rejoice in the Lord always. The Lord is at hand. The starting point.

1. Paul didn’t say to only rejoice some of the time.
2. The nearness of the Lord is a powerful motive for rejoicing.

Antidote 1: Prayer

1. Philippians 4:6: Have you noticed how liberating it can be to bring your concerns to God?
   1. Note, however, that Paul says “with thanksgiving.” Once we bring our worries to God, we need to trust Him enough to be able to be thankful.
   2. Endlessly bringing the same thing to God might be a sign that we’re not really trusting Him, and it doesn’t help to solve the anxiety.
2. V. 7: The peace of God is the result of prayer—it protects us from anxiety.

Antidote 2: Thinking

1. Philippians 4:8: Think about good things.
2. I’ve always seen this verse as telling us what entertainment is acceptable, but I recently noticed that when read in its context, it’s far broader.
3. The more we focus on our problems, the more anxious we become.
   • Illustration: Dad’s saying: “Don’t think of a red-faced monkey!”
4. The more we fill our minds with the things of God, the less room there is for anxiety.
5. When worry builds, try singing a hymn, reading the Bible, taking a walk in nature, or doing something else that fills your mind with good things.
6. My friend Steve’s favorite verse is 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (NKJV). Any time he found himself in a worrying or stressful situation he would quote this verse and be much more at peace.

Antidote 3: Practice

1. Philippians 4:9: Practice what you’ve learned.
2. As we live our lives applying the lessons we’ve learned from God’s Word, we will find that anxiety has less and less room in our lives.
3. We come back to the word “peace.” We previously encountered it in verse 7 in the prayer antidote. Now, we see it again in the practice antidote.
4. Matthew 6:25-33: Rather than being anxious, we should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.