Fear, Worry, Anxiety Session 1

Introduction

Introduction of class:

By the nature of this class we will have a decent amount of discussion, but we also have a decent amount of material to cover. So it’s likely best if you have a specific question to write it down and save it for appropriate times of discussion. It’s also important for us to get to know one another. So let’s begin by sharing our names and one particular thing that we hope to get out of this class.

SHARE TIME

So here is our goal for this class. We will likely not be able to keep from having feelings or experiences of fear, anxiety, and worry. But my goal is to use the Scriptures to equip you to have a battle plan for engaging these emotions. This is Charlie Brown’s battle plan. My goal is that each of us will develop our own battle plan that will be a bit more effective than Charlie Brown’s.

Outline of Class

1. What is fear, anxiety, and worry

2. What does God say about fear, anxiety, and worry?

3. The Fear of Man

4. The Fear of Rejection

5. The Fear of Harm

6. Practical Tips and Hope

7. Developing a Battle Plan

8. Q & A

Before we fully launch into this first session I think it would be helpful for us to look at a few rules that we’ll have for our class.

Ground Rules

1. I will not share another person’s story or struggle unless given permission.

2. I will seek to start on time and end on time. (9:15-10:15)

3. I will seek understanding before seeking to be understood.

4. I will not take disagreements personally.

5. I will do to others as I wish done to me.

6. I will not try to “fix” other people. But will encourage, love, and point to Christ.

7. I will commit to regular attendance and necessary preparation

Identifying Fear, Worry, and Anxiety

First, it might be helpful to see if there is a difference between these three and try to find a helpful definition of them.

Fear is what happens when we feel uncertain about our resources in the face of danger.

Or you could say that

Fear is what happens when something I value is under threat.

Escaping Escapism: Fear is living in awe of someone or something. It’s a type of faith—it’s believing that something has power over our future and our happiness. This thing seems so big or so beautiful to us that it becomes all-important—we can’t risk losing it. If I think I can’t be happy if I’m not comfortable, I live in awe of my comfort and will never do anything that risks making my life less pleasant. If I’m in awe of my friend or partner or parent, I’ll always seek to please them and will avoid doing anything that risks upsetting them.

Is fear always a bad thing?

Is fear always a bad thing?

Not at all. In fact you can see in that God called Adam to “take care of” and to “keep” the garden. He was to be vigilant over it. What does that mean? It means that when a talking serpent comes into the garden he should have taken care of it. That is what vigilance would demand. It is the “God-given emotion that urges us to act quickly in response to a threat.”

“Vigilance is the proper, constructive concern for the well-being of others and for the advancement of God’s kingdom.” So fear in and of itself isn’t necessarily bad.

But what happens when the fall distorts our God-given impulse to vigilance? You see responses of either anger or anxiety. Anxiety is vigilance out of control. Fear becomes unhealthy and toxic. Worry and anxiety will carry with it physical symptoms.

We will use these terms pretty interchangeably. So the first thing we must do is identify our fears. Fear, anxiety, and worry are pack animals. Once you identify one you can usually identify many others.

Fear, anxiety, and worry are pack animals. Once you identify one you can usually identify many others.

Probing Questions

What fears and worries can you locate immediately?

What fears do you have regarding those people you love?

What are you afraid to lose?

What fears do you have about your own death and possible physical disabilities?

Do you have any specific fears or phobias?

1. I will not invalidate the fear of another

Your Fear Speaks

Our emotions are often indicators of what is going on in our heart. I don’t think anyone would fault you if you had a snake getting ready to bite you and you had fear. That’s not the type of fear and anxiety and worry that we come to a class like this for. Instead we are saying, “there is something here that has gotten out of its bank”. There is a fear or worry or anxiety that is keeping me up at night. It’s causing me to respond in wrong and sinful ways and I want this fear to be conquered. And so the first thing we do when we have an emotion is we don’t run away from it but we engage it.

We must learn to engage our emotions.

The first thing we do is listen to our anxiety.

It will tell us something about our heart.

What is my fear and anxiety saying?

Fear and anxiety make predictions.

They are prophets. Often false prophets.

What prediction is my fear making?

“I am vulnerable”

“I need and I might not get”

“I am needy, body, and soul”

“That is valuable to me”

What prediction is my fear making?

What is my fear and anxiety telling me to do?

Untangling 153, 154

What is my fear and anxiety saying about God?

Fear God or Fear Others?

Ultimately we must learn to listen to what God says over what our fears say. We will look at that in more detail next week. But for now I want to leave you with a bit that will point us towards where we are headed.

Fearing God is the end of fearing people (or other stuff).

What do we mean by that? Consider these words from Jon Bloom:

But we cut through to the heart of things if we remember a simple biblical truth: we obey the one we fear. The person(s) whose reward of approval we desire most — whose curse of disapproval we most fear to receive — is the person(s) we will obey, our functional god.

:

Ground rules:

Psalm 56 ESV

To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? All day long they injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil. They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life. For their crime will they escape? In wrath cast down the peoples, O God! You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you. For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

Ground rules: