Scars of the souls

Anxiety

Series Overview:

This series will look at three challenges many people face, yet churches often do not address. Anxiety, depression, and addiction are all increasingly common challenges that many people struggle with and, all too often, seek help for them outside of the church. We believe that while the Scripture does not exhaustively address complicated issues such as these, they do address the underlying factors that are often the cause of these issues.

We will tackle these issues through the use of Tim Keller’s “yes, no, but yes” model of addressing culture.

Yes- These issues are a reality for many believers today, and they often are exacerbated by factors beyond their control, many times leading to the need for medication and treatment.

No- These issues are not only physical, mental, and medical realities. They are also very much intertwined into our spiritual reality, and specifically our relationship with Jesus. Because of this, medication and medical treatment may, and often do, help, but they will ultimately fall short of addressing the root issues holistically.

Yes- There is a road forward as we learn to allow Jesus to speak into and transform the realities of our hearts, and learn to see Him more clearly.

Week 1 - Anxiety

Text: Luke 10:38-42

Big Idea:

Take Away:

Flow/Notes:

https://www.iamsecond.com/film/britney-ruby-miller/

● "Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the US, affecting 40 million adults (19.1% of the population) age 18 and older every year. Anxiety disorder affect 31.9% of adolescents between 13 and 18 years old. Anxiety disorders develop from a complex set of risk factors, including, genetics, brain chemistry, personality, and life

events." - https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/facts-statistics

○ "An estimated 31.1% of U.S. adults experience any anxiety disorder at some time in their lives." - https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/any-anxiety-disorder

● “Common anxiety signs and symptoms include: Feeling nervous, restless or tense, Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom, Having an increased heart rate, Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation), Sweating, Trembling, Feeling weak or tired, Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry, Having trouble sleeping, Experiencing gastrointestinal (GI) problems, Having difficulty controlling worry, Having the urge to avoid things that trigger anxiety” -

● There are multiple factors, many of which are beyond our control, that make us more or less susceptible to anxiety. These same factors can also make us more prone to more severe physical reactions to the feelings of anxiety.

○ “For some people, anxiety may be linked to an underlying health issue. In some cases, anxiety signs and symptoms are the first indicators of a medical illness. Examples of medical problems that can be linked to anxiety include: Heart disease, Diabetes, Thyroid problems, such as hyperthyroidism, Respiratory disorders, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, Drug misuse or withdrawal, Withdrawal from alcohol, anti-anxiety medications (benzodiazepines) or other medications, Chronic pain or irritable bowel syndrome, Rare tumors that produce certain fight-or-flight hormones” -

○ “These factors may increase your risk of developing an anxiety disorder: Trauma: Children who endured abuse or trauma or witnessed traumatic events are at higher risk of developing an anxiety disorder at some point in life. Adults who experience a traumatic event also can develop anxiety disorders.// Stress due to an illness: Having a health condition or serious illness can cause significant worry about issues such as your treatment and your future.// Stress buildup: A big event or a buildup of smaller stressful life situations may trigger excessive anxiety — for example, a death in the family, work stress or ongoing worry about finances./

/ Personality: People with certain personality types are more prone toanxiety disorders than others are./

/ Other mental health disorders.: People withother mental health disorders, such as depression, often also have an anxiety disorder./

/ Having blood relatives with an anxiety disorder: Anxiety disorders can run in families.//

Drugs or alcohol: Drug or alcohol use or misuse or withdrawal can cause or worsen anxiety.”

● Furthermore, the current cultural moment has led to a significant increase in anxiety among many Americans.

○ "The ‘60s and early ‘70s – a time often cast as a historic era for civil rights and women's rights – was also an era of three political assassinations, law enforcement killings of students at Kent State and Jackson State, the murders of three civil rights workers who were registering people to vote in the South, and a lengthy Vietnam War that divided the nation and claimed tens of thousands of American casualties. In the ‘70s, inflation was high and gas shortages were bad enough to require rationing, with drivers allowed to buy gas only on alternate days. But now, it all seems to be happening at once." - US News

○ Covid, inflation, wars, and shootings have all lead to rapidly increasing levels of anxiety among Americans. "For two and half years, it has felt like - it's just one more thing."

○ "Short-term things don't feel short when you're in the middle of them. There's a sense that things have just sort of spiraled."

○ Even our prosperity and success can make us more prone to facing anxiety.

Those with the most to lose tend to worry the most.

● Because of this, there has been a significant increase in the prescription of anti anxiety medications.

○ In 2022, at least 1 in 10 prescriptions filled in 43 states were for depression and anxiety medications. -

○ In the year prior to the start of the coronavirus pandemic, 16% were using prescription medication to support their mental health; two years later, thatnumber has risen to 23%, according to a survey conducted by the United StatesCensus Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

● "It is not wrong to want to feel better or want the restless sleep, pounding chest, or profuse sweating to go away. Since anti-anxiety medication simply change the way anxiety feels, those who say that taking medicine to feel better is sinful, would have to apply that principle to virtually every medicine choice, even pain medicine. No doctor would responsibly do that, even though the questions surrounding the "opioid crisis" and similar critiques of psychiatric medicine have some uncanny similarities to promises of psychiatric medicine and are thought to accidentally create chemical dependency as well./

/ Undoubtedly, alcohol, THC, or sugar consumption is also reported to make people feel better in the short term. Additionally, vigorous exercise, vacations, or sleeping in also lead to mood elevation and a more relaxed outlook on life. Feeling good is not really the issue. While it is not wrong to take medicine to feel better, it is naïve to think that medicine alone is the answer that brings those who worry to find significant progress and life change. From a Biblical perspective, psychiatric medicine is a Christian liberty issue, not one that should be condemned but one where loving pastoral caution is certainly warranted." - Biblical Counseling Center

○ Virtually all counselors and physicians agree that while medication can, and often does, help ease the symptoms that accompany anxiety, medications can not cure the root causes of anxiety.

● That is because anxiety is not only a medical and mental health issue, it is also a spiritual issue.

○ Anxiety is, in many ways, a part of the human condition.

● Anxiety represents an awareness of not being in control. The more we hold on to the illusion of that control, or at least the more we desire it, the more anxious we will find ourselves.

○ If anxiety is realizing how out of control we really are, then the answer has to go deeper than relaxation techniques and medications.

● Fear is at the core of anxiety. Anxiety is the fear of something happening that is beyond our control.

○ "To go further than that, anxiety is also the association between works and person that is so closely bound that the work defines the person (I have anxiety when I do not do well on a paper because I see myself as a good student... I have anxiety with the work involved to be a ‘good mother’ because my work defines whether or not I am good). It is an indication, perhaps, of how hard-wired we are for what theologians call “works righteousness,” in other words." - Lauren

Larkin, Mockingbird

● Anxiety narrows our focus to ourselves.

● "God created us as emotional people. Our emotions are given by God to put us “into motion.” For instance, anger is driven by a sense of injustice and a desire to oppose something that we feel isn’t fair or right. In the same way, fear is a God-given emotion when our mind alerts us to danger, real or perceived. Anxiety is what we feel when our body is responding to the emotion of fear. Worry is the thought process that mulls over and gives power to the object of our fear./

/ All throughout the gospels, Jesus addressed the fear, worry, and anxiety that those around Him were experiencing. However, He didn’t just do this to bring physical comfort to those experiencing ill effects of anxiety. He challenged those He encountered to understand the spiritual significance of their anxiety. Fear, worry, and anxiety affect our physical health, but they also reflect our spiritual health. Our brain’s responses are most influenced by our hearts and our values. Our thinking and actions reflect the spiritual condition of our hearts. /

/ Jesus taught us to examine our fear, worry, and anxiety as clues into who we worship or what we worship in any given moment. In conversations with Jesus, His questions often exposed the values and thinking that were causing fear, anxiety, and worry. His goal was never to shame those who honestly sought Him, but rather His questions were an invitation to trust in Him as the creator and provider of all that they truly needed." - Biblical Counseling

● Luke 10:38–42 “While they were traveling, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.” The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.””

○ The same sisters we met last week, dealing with Grief, even showing many of the same traits.

● Martha is feeling the weight of getting everything done, and she knows she can't get it done by herself.

○ It's worth noting that the Martha/Mary passage immediately follows the story of the Good Samaritan. Hospitality and care weren't the issue at stake.

○ Putting μεριμνάω/anxious and θορυβάζῃ/upset together, this seems to indicate radical anxiety that Martha is experiencing, not just the usual busyness of hospitality.

○ Martha may be having a panic attack. Anxious+upset. περιεσπᾶτο the prefix περι (“peri”) means around; the stem σπάω (“spao”) means to break, according to one modern dictionary. It is the stem for the English words ‘spasm’ and ‘spastic,’ which may be suggestive here. Would it help if we translated it to say that Martha was “totally spazed with all work she had to do”? The emphasis would not be on the industry or Martha’s work itself, but on how it has discombobulated her. She was on the verge of losing it.

● Jesus does not say that Martha is irrational or wrong-headed. He merely says that he will not stop Mary from her sitting and hearing.

● One of the biggest issues with Luke 10:38-42 is that too often it is seen as a passage for women's ministries and not a text for all followers.

● Many of us, especially those who struggle with anxiety, bounce between being like Martha and being like Mary. Martha is a picture of us in our worst moments in, distracted, anxious, and desperately trying to maintain control through effort and will. Mary is a picture of us in our best moments, loving God with all her heart, mind, strength, and soul, completely resting in His presence and care.

● Jesus does not really chastise or criticize Martha, rather he calls her by name and points her to himself.

○ In Semitic languages, doubling a word magnifies it. The doubling of a name is the magnification of feeling. The use of a double name is usually accompanied by weeping. (David-Absalom, Jesus-Jerusalem, Jesus-My God) Martha, Martha reveals Jesus' love and compassion toward her.

● Until we understand Martha's struggle, we can't understand Mary's sitting. Without going through what Martha experienced, we won't get to what Mary experienced.

○ Underneath Martha's effort was an effort to prove/validate herself.

○ "We are justified by faith apart from works, or work period. This is the gospel message...and it exposes our situation for what it is: out of our control; and not only that but also this: Jesus is in control. The gospel message tells us that we are neither defined by our failures nor successes." - Lauren Larkin, Mockingbird

● "If you have more to do in a day than anyone can do, it's because you are doing things Ididn't give you."

○ Luke 12:22–34 “Then he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat; or about the body, what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: They don’t sow or reap; they don’t have a storeroom or a barn; yet God feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than the birds? Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? If then you’re not able to do even a little thing, why worry about the rest? “Consider how the wildflowers grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. If that’s how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will he do for you—you of little faith? Don’t strive for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don’t be anxious. For the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. “But seek his kingdom, and these things will be provided for you. Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money-bags for yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

● Release control.

Seek His Kingdom (not your own).

Trust your treasure to Him