Outpost Notes: Anxiety through the lens of Philippians 4

Before you go on, read chapter four!

As you read, consider the following:

What is happening in this chapter? Who is the author? What is he trying to tell the reader?

What comes up for you about anxiety? (And whatever comes up, it is perfectly okay and good! Don’t feel like you’re supposed to feel anything in particular, just note what comes up!)

What can we take from Philippians chapter four?

Once you’ve read and thought on this for yourself, go ahead and read on!

First: Paul recognizes that anxiety is normal. He acknowledges that fear and worry is a feeling that we all experience.

Paul’s situation would cause anyone anxiety. He’s in prison for sharing the gospel.

He chooses to share with the reader how to approach that anxiety, worry, and fear.

Tool: beliefs precede thoughts, and thoughts precede feelings.

This is something we know from research. What you tell yourself will affect your emotions.

Paul says, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (chapter 8)

So if you believe that God is working at all times for the good of those who love him, this can be a reminder to focus on what you know to be true.

Life can be hard. You can feel overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious.

And in those moments, it might be a helpful practice to remember all the things that you know to be true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable.

Remember what you believe. Allow it to shift your thoughts. See if you can take a few deep breaths and breathe in truth.

Paul gives us an example of how to focus on the positive which leads us to the next tool:

Tool: Gratitude occupies a different space in our emotional well being than more challenging emotions

I want to be clear here: I don’t want to be trite about your difficult emotions.

Anxiety is very real. Stress and overwhelm and difficult things happening to you or those you love.

All real.

And you deserve to honor difficult emotions and move through them.

(And we want to support you as you do so- if you’re not already in our outpost, please go here and consider joining us!)

I also want to be sure not to suggest that you should “positive thoughts” your way through difficult times in your life.

However, I do want to share this: when you are expressing gratitude, you are making less room for more challenging emotions.

When you express true, authentic gratitude, you make smaller emotions like stress, anxiety, resentment, bitterness, jealousy, insecurity.

Those emotions may be very real: you may have very true hurts. People may have disappointed you, you may have disappointed yourself, you may have lost your job or be fighting with your roommate.

But focusing on what is going well, what you are grateful for- it truly can shift your mental and emotional and spiritual state!

“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.” (vs 11-12)

Pauls says he was never in need, despite that he lived in situations that most of us couldn’t fathom. Because he’s learned to be grateful: “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (vs 13)

Tool: think about and pray on things you feel grateful for. If you feel so challenged that you don’t know what to pray, you could simply say “I am grateful for God’s love. I am grateful to Jesus. Thank you Jesus for being you. Thank you God for your love.”

Tool: practice benevolent detachment.

This comes straight from John Eldredge, he speaks on it often.

Control freaks struggle a lot with anxiety (hand raised here!) because we aren’t in control. We can’t control everything, and there is very little even in our own world that we are able to influence.

Control is an illusion. It is trying to hold on to something that you can’t hold on to.

The truth: God’s got it all planned out, all figured out, and is working for the greater good at all times.

Benevolent detachment is the idea of letting go of everyone and everything, but in the absolute most loving way possible.

Worried about a relationship? Release that person, give them to God. Trust he’s got them and he’s working for the best outcome in your relationship.

Worried about your job? Release it to God. Give it to him.

The list goes on and on.

When we struggle with anxiety and want to hang on to control, hearing Paul say “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have” can feel trite.

Sometimes we can hear these verses and almost feel guilty that we don’t feel automatic relief upon reading them. Or maybe that’s just me. (Tell me it’s not just me!)

But when we practice benevolent detachment, it makes it a little easier.

The bottom line with benevolent detachment is that you are essentially saying:

“I feel stressed or anxious about (fill in the blank) but God, I give it to you. I trust you. I give it to you.”

And to learn more about the practice, we can’t say enough good things about the Pause app! Check out the Resilience 30 Day Study, you’ll truly come to understand benevolent detachment in just the first day!

Prayer:

God, you know my anxious heart. You know that sometimes I can’t seem to slow my mind and body and find peace, even though I know that you designed me to live in peace in union with you. Help me to remember Paul’s messages that I can turn to gratitude, that I can choose to focus on all the good that there is in the world, and that I can release all my worries to you. Help me to continually turn to you when I feel anxious, until it becomes as natural as breathing. Amen

As always, we want to hear from you! Please email us here if you need support or prayer or would like to join our outpost!