Inside Out: Anatomy of Anxiety

Dan Osborn

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Introduction

Okay, Inside Out 2

First of all, I love these movies...such a creative way to talk about the complexity of people and our inner worlds. A quick premise of the movies: Riley is the main character in the movies - but both movies follow what’s happening on the inside - following her emotions that become the other characters. You have Joy, Anger, Sadness, Fear, and Disgust.

The second movie follows Riley as she moves into her teenage years and we meet the new emotions that “move in.” Embarrassment, Envy, Ennui (boredom) and the overly enthusiastic, Anxiety. And as Riley is moving into a new season of life, we watch Anxiety step in and start to take control; informing all of her actions and decisions, interactions with her friends and family, even re-framing the way she understands herself...and Riley begins to spin out of control.

Now, it’s Pixar, so there’s a happy ending...which we’ll get to eventually.

But I think the reason this movie has been so well received is because it touches on something that is so unbelievably common. The role (or outsized role) Anxiety often plays in our own lives.

Now, I don’t want to add to your anxiety, so you don’t have to raise your hands, but how of you many would say “I know what it’s like to get anxious.” Or, “I have a problem with anxiety.”

About 40 million Americans report having a recognized anxiety disorder...that’s about 18% of the population or, 1 in 5. And thats just those who have had an intense enough experience with it that they’ve gotten it checked out. That doesn’t include the millions who know exactly what’s like to regularly carry around a profound sense of dread over...something. This is such a human experience! Anxiety is powerful...it’s often overwhelming...and at the end of the day, what we’ll see is that anxiety is a fantastic story-teller! Weaving compelling narratives of what’s out there...and what we need to do to prevent it.

The question is what do we do with our anxiety?

Is it a problem to solve? Or is it more like a tension to manage, and if so, how?

Well, this is what I want to explore today - three aspects of anxiety. I want to look at the anatomy of anxiety...what it is, how it works...the TYRANNY of anxiety, how it often takes over and why...and finally, the liberty FROM anxiety....and to do that, I want to explore one of the stories from Jesus, in Luke chapter 10. So if you have a bible with you, open up with me to Luke 10.

I’ll read the passage, pray, and then we’ll get started.

Luke 10:38–42 ESV

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Pray

The ANATOMY OF Anxiety

Alright, let’s go ahead and get started.

Remember, I said I want to focus on three aspects of anxiety...the anatomy of, the tyranny of, and the liberty from...

Here’s the first: the anatomy anxiety.

In other words, what is it?

Well, it’s a bit of a difficult question because at the end of the day, anxiety is an emotion. It’s something we feel...which also means it’s not something we can exactly see, right? Like it won’t show up in your blood work - you can’t see it on a scan. And yet it’s still something common to us all.

Today, mental health professionals helpfully distinguish anxiety from other emotions like fear and panic by saying, “Anxiety is the anticipation of a future potential threat.”

I love how the movie describes this...when Anxiety first moves in to Riley’s life, she says,

“My job is to protect [Riley] from all the stuff she can’t see. I plan for the future.”

Isn’t that so true for how anxiety works in our lives?

I said earlier, it’s a great “story-teller” because anxiety takes a good long look over the horizon of our lives and begins to project everything that could go wrong. This is why we feel anxiety so deeply, because we can see those issues pop up. And they can range anywhere from these mundane, everyday, “what if” scenarios (what if I get this answer wrong on the test...what if I’m not getting my son enough veggies at lunch...) to these catastrophic disaster moments (what if her car spins out of control...etc).

But the point is when you look at the anatomy of anxiety is that it keeps us hyper focused on the potential of what’s out there! All of what could happen. Just like Anxiety says in the movie, “My job is to protect you from all the stuff you can’t see!”

And the hard part is these things are all plausible...they are things that really could happen. This is why, in general, you’re not anxious that your husband is going to get abducted by an alien on his way home from work...or that your child will be attacked by a lion at school. In fact, I think the things that cause the most anxiety may be those things that seemingly have the most potential to happen - even if everything else going in our lives is pointing in the other direction or bringing us to an alternate conclusion.

And so, we respond to whatever story anxiety tells. Doing what we can to stop the potential threat...make the right adjustments...only to find that once we’ve got that one covered, Anxiety is ready with another story for us.

Mary and Martha

And this is why I think the story of Martha and Mary is so insightful to us as we think about the anatomy of anxiety.

Look with me again at v. 38 (Luke 10:38)

Luke 10:38 ESV

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.

At this point, Jesus has a following. People have heard about him...they’ve seen the impact of teaching and healing as he’s traveled. He’s somebody. And here comes to this village, welcomed in by Martha.

At this point, we don’t know much about Martha - but from the story, there are few details that pop out.

First of all, in this cultural moment, it says something that Luke talks about Jesus entering her house. If she were married, her husband would have been mentioned - it would have been his house. But this little detail lets us know that Martha has built up a sizable amount of influence.

More than that, to welcome Jesus was almost never to simply welcome Jesus only into your home...He’s got followers with him and they would have been there too.

She’s hosting a distinguished guest and a large group with him in a day and age when women were openly judged according to their hospitality. So it’s not an overstatement to say in v. 40 (Luke 10:40)

Luke 10:40 ESV

But Martha was distracted with much serving...

In the original language of the New Testament, which is Greek, not English, that word for distracted means: scattered thoughts. It’s the picture of someone being pulled in a lot of different directions all at the same time.

Maybe that’s something you can resonate with?

This is certainly not just a “woman” thing, it’s a human thing right? But you know what it’s like to have someone coming over - and the frantic activity that takes place as you’re getting everything in order - the right food is there for meal prep, everyone else's things are picked up and put away, managing what time you need to shift from meal prep to cooking...fielding a myriad of urgent but profoundly unconnected questions from the kids all while your husband has informed you that it’s finally time for him to take a look at why the dryer is making that noise...a problem he’s obviously not qualified to fix anyway...but you push through because you want to honor your guests that are coming and have a meaningful experience for everyone there!

Not that that’s a real example.

Martha is distracted...she is mentally pulled a hundred different directions to make sure everything is covered.

Here’s part of what I want you to see, she is distracted by good and real concerns. In other words, she’s looking over the horizon and sees the many things OUT THERE that need to be done...and I suspect, though Luke doesn’t come out and say it, that in her heart of hearts, Martha hears a very specific story of all the things that could go catastrophically wrong if she doesn’t cover those many things out there.

What if they have a bad time here? What if I give them the wrong impression of my sincerity? What will Jesus think if I don’t [FILL IN THE BLANK]

Friends, this is the anatomy of anxiety.

It’s the anticipation of a potential threat...it looks over the horizon of our lives and because it’s such a great story teller, anxiety keeps us laser focused on the many threats OUT THERE that we can prevent if work hard enough at it.

The TYRANNY OF Anxiety

And yet this is the very reason why anxiety takes such an outsize role in our lives!

Here’s the second aspect I want to look at today...the TYRANNY OF Anxiety.

Look again with me starting at v. 39 (Luke 10:39-40

Luke 10:39–40 ESV

And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”

Martha’s got a lot going on. She’s hosting, she’s busy, she sees everything OUT THERE she’s got to deal with.

And there’s her sister...who, from a cultural perspective, should have been with Martha helping manage all the details. But she’s “sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to his teaching.”

She is locked in to what Jesus is saying, she’s there to learn from Him...I mean what an opportunity, right, for the Jesus who they all believe to be the Messiah, the promised Savior King the entire Old Testament storyline has been pointing towards...He’s right here...so Mary wants to soak in this moment!

But Martha can’t.

She’s too focused on the many things OUT THERE to see the one thing RIGHT HERE...

So she’s frustrated with her sister.

And what starts to become clear is that her focus on what’s OUT THERE is now taking it’s toll on her relationships.

Isn’t this true for how we experience anxiety in our own lives?

I saw this sign recently that says:

“I’m not anxious, I’m just extremely well educated on everything that could go catastrophically wrong.”

And when that’s us, it starts to influence how we view those around us! They either become part of the problem because if they weren’t, they’d be as worked about about this impending disaster as I am...OR...the people around us become tools we can use to manipulate the circumstance and mitigate the problem!

Either way, anxiety has a way of taking control how we view those around us!

For Martha, Mary has become a problem...and Jesus has become a tool she can use to solve the problem. Look at the end of v. 40 (Luke 10:40

Luke 10:40 ESV

...And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”

Think about this.

She knows who Jesus is. She knows he is more than just a good teacher...she knows he is MORE than just a wise person.

She calls him Lord!

AND THEN TELLS HIM WHAT TO DO!

You see, at the end of the day, Anxiety will always prove to be cruel master. A tyrant. It will either crush you or convince you that you need to do everything in your power to thwart this impending doom that’s OUT THERE just on the horizon of your life.

Here’s how it works for me.

I love being a pastor. It has been one of the greatest thrills of my life. But as I look at the horizon of my life - and see everything OUT THERE - I find that I often listen to the siren song of Anxiety - and the story it tells me is that if I am successful as a pastor, then I my church will look like (fill in the blank). I will have people who come to me for (fill in the blank)...I will be invited to the “whatever” speaking engagement. But in order to make that happen, I need draw as many people around myself as possible so that my church continues to grow as fast as possible...with as much influence as possible so that we can get the next thing, hit the next milestone and goal, and see the exponential growth that could be just around the corner...and so I must keep the people around me happy...I must say yes to as much as can...not push the buttons or rock the boat...make the most palatable decision...and when people feel like they’re slipping out of my orbit...I need to “check-in”, grab coffee...meet up...and you see, when ANXIETY is in control, it tells me that I need to do this not out of care for OTHERS, but so that I can make sure my life doesn’t start to spiral out of control...

See that’s me. That’s the story I hear from anxiety. And it keeps me laser focused...like Martha...on what’s OUT THERE...and endless string of potential future problems I need to solve.

Friends, this is why I say anxiety is a Tyrant. Because you can give everything you have to it...and tragically, many of us do...and you find over and over and over again that it only takes...until you finally believe the story it’s telling: that you are on your own and therefore must do everything in your power to provide for yourself, care for yourself...because there’s no one else who will.

And the tyranny of anxiety means the more we believe that story, the clearer we see what’s OUT THERE on the horizon...meaning to more we give ourselves to “preventing” what’s OUT THERE...without ever seeing that in our anxiety, we’re locked in an endless loop.

The LIBERTY FROM Anxiety

But...we are not without hope.

Look with me at how Jesus, in his wise and discerning kindness, responds to Martha’s frustration in v. 10 (Luke 10:41-42)

Luke 10:41–42 ESV

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

I love this response.

See, He’s not rebuking Martha for interrupting him. No, Jesus recognizes exactly what’s going on.

“You are anxious and troubled about many things.”

This is Jesus, the one she knows as Lord...as God in the Flesh...this is Jesus stopping what he’s doing, turning to one his followers who is under a tyrant she can’t seem to control...and saying, “Martha, I see you.”

“I see what you’re doing. I see all the background work you’ve given yourself too...I see what you see OUT THERE...the many things OUT THERE that have consumed you.”

“But,” he says, “you are focused on the many things OUT THERE...and I want you to focus on the ONE THING that’s RIGHT HERE.”

Now, I would expect Jesus to finish that statement with some kind of solid truth that she can focus on; that he would continue his teaching. But interestingly enough, Luke doesn’t tell us what Jesus was talking about before Martha interrupted Him.

Instead, the way this is written let’s us know that it’s just his teaching that she needs to focus on...it’s Him.

You know, I’ve been saying all along that anxiety is a great story teller...but that doesn’t mean it tells a good story.

The Good story is what Luke is telling us through this interaction between Jesus and Martha. The good story...the true and better story is NOT that Martha is on her own to provide for herself and...and solve all of these potential problems...the true and better story is that she is already seen and loved by her God far more than she could possibly imagine! The true in better here is that she is already brought into a kind of family with a heavenly Father who knows what she need before she even opens up her mouths to ask...with a heavenly Father who delights to give good gifts to his children...and there is not amount for future forecasting that can change that!

There is nothing Martha needs to do to show Jesus she’s taking this seriously enough...there is nothing she needs to do to earn the love and care and provision from her Father. And this is what Jesus is pointing to in this interaction. He says, “Anxiety will forever get you to focus on the many things OUT THERE...but in this new spiritual family, you are finally liberated to focus on what’s RIGHT HERE...me!”

See, this is what is offered to us in Following Jesus - a liberation from the tyranny of anxiety.

And while anxiety will ALWAYS tell the story that we are hopelessly OUT of control, the Gospel tells a better story; that we are boundlessly loved by the One who’s IN control!

And we enter this love - by faith in Jesus.

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