Episode 7 | Overcoming Anxiety: Biblical Wisdom for a Worried World

In this powerful episode of Cultural Connections, we tackle one of the most pressing issues of our time: anxiety. From clinical definitions to spiritual roots, we unpack what anxiety really is, why it’s so common today, and most importantly how to find lasting peace through Christ.

What We Cover:

• Two powerful definitions of anxiety (clinical + spiritual)
• The three roots of anxiety: Nature, Nurture, and “New Mature” (the spiritual dimension)
• Why anxiety is both a physical and spiritual battle (panic attacks, emotional flooding, the body keeping the score)
• Grounding exercises using your 5 senses to return to the present moment
• Philippians 4:4-8 — rejoicing in the Lord, moderation, prayer with thanksgiving, and thinking on what is true, lovely, and praiseworthy
• The “Heavenly Reframe” technique to shift your perspective in the middle of fear
• Why living in the present (not the past or future) is God’s design for peace
• How neuroplasticity and renewing your mind work together with faith

Whether you’re battling anxiety yourself, helping a loved one, or simply want a biblical perspective on mental and emotional health, this conversation is filled with hope, Scripture, and practical tools.

Timestamps (approximate):

• 0:00 – Welcome & Definitions of Anxiety
• 6:00 – Nature, Nurture & the Spiritual Root (“New Mature”)
• 13:00 – Is Anxiety Increasing in Our Culture?
• 17:00 – Physical Symptoms & Panic Attacks
• 23:00 – Grounding Exercises & Returning to Reality
• 28:00 – Philippians 4: Rejoice, Be Moderate, Pray, Think on Good Things
• 41:00 – The Heavenly Reframe (Live Role-Play)
• 49:00 – Final Encouragement & Invitation to Christ

If this episode encourages you, like, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs hope today. Drop a comment below:
“How has God helped you overcome anxiety?” or “What verse gives you peace?”

Coming soon: Our episode on Depression, don’t miss it!

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:6-7

#Anxiety #ChristianMentalHealth #BiblicalCounseling #PeaceOfGod #FaithOverFear #Philippians4 #CulturalConnections #OvercomingAnxiety #ChristianPodcast #MentalHealthAndFaith

Thank you for watching! God bless you.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:25

Well, welcome back to Cultural Connections, and thank you for tuning in today. And we've been having some really great conversations and looking forward to the conversation today as we turn our attention to the subject of anxiety. There's so much in the world today that really uh lends to this conversation. We thought it was uh beneficial for us to kind of talk about. So, one of the things we do on cultural connections is uh provide some definitions for our terms because um he that controls terms kind of controls the world. So when I say anxiety, uh what what does that mean or what what are you coming from? What does it mean?

SPEAKER_00 1:02

Well, I wrote down a couple definitions. I'll give you the most clinical definition. It says anxiety is a natural emotional and physical response to perceived threat or uncertainty marked by feelings of worry, tension, and heightened alertness, even when no immediate danger is present. But then maybe I think to more spiritualize a definition, anxiety is an internal experience of anticipating future harm or loss, where the mind overestimates danger and underestimates one's ability or might I say God's provision to handle it. So those would be my two kinds of definitions that I like to use to explain the word anxiety.

SPEAKER_01 1:51

So, in that definition, I think a lot of um scriptural principles kind of come into play at the same time. So we're talking about uh the natural course of life leading us to a fear of the future. So we're sitting here in the present, and so you're saying kind of anxiety looks down the road a little bit at maybe real things or perceived issues. And in that moment, we have a chance to bring in the sovereignty of God, the providence of God, the power of God into our present situation to help us cope with the realities of life. Are we saying that the right way?

SPEAKER_00 2:27

And I think I would add to so when we emotionally respond to a perceived threat, um, it could be logical, it could be a very logical threat, or it could be an illogical threat. Um, and this is where the mind steps in. Okay, so the mind is gonna be the one that kind of weighs it out and says, no, this this threat is illogical, or maybe it is logical. And so, really, and I mean, if this is really true with most everything in life, is the battlefield is in the power of the mind and our thoughts and what what we do with that. Because I I can't control the emotional response of my body to be afraid of something. This is very natural, this is part of how God designed us, this is what keeps us safe. Um but it can get out of hand if I can use that phrase, um, especially when there's been a lot of trauma in the background. So that that part of our brain that signals fear um can be over-stimulated, if I can use the phrase like that, because it has experienced so much traumatic things, which causes it to overreact a lot or to stay in a heightened state of alertness. Um, and this is where the mind has to bring it back down.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Can you can you uh premeditate the responses? Can you retrain patterns as to because I know for myself what happens is I might be flooded with emotions, feelings, thoughts, or perceptions. Um, as the Apostle Paul talks about bringing every thought into the obedience of Christ or renewing our minds, can we create new patterns, or is anxiety something that it's going to happen whether we want it to or not, or is it a little bit of both?

SPEAKER_00 4:15

It's it's gonna be both. Okay. So, and with some people, some people struggle with anxiety more than others, and I and I want to say that too. Some people are like, I I kind of I I don't really, maybe I don't really can empathize with this, and others are like, oh, this is me. So there are some things that we cannot control, right? And this would be the the response that our mind believes is trouble. Um, but to answer your other question, is it possible to correct this, if I can say negative feedback loop? Okay, so there's a negative feedback loop that's happening. Is it possible to correct that or break the cycle? And the answer is absolutely yes. There is, it is possible. Um the brain is one of those organs that we refer to as neuroplastic, which simply means that we can rework it, we can, we can change these loops. Um, and the scripture really gives way to that. And it's just how you said it bringing every thought into captivity or renewing our mind. And so this is how we we break this this loop.

SPEAKER_01 5:21

Wow, there's so many questions I kind of have, and so I'm trying to uh maybe remember them all without kind of asking them all at the same time. So anxiety can be a spiritual problem. Yes. Um, but is it always a sign of a person who is out of right fellowship with God?

SPEAKER_00 5:37

No. No. Um I I've maybe I've already said this before in another podcast, but I'll say it again because it's it's very helpful for us to understand where things like this come from. So if someone said, well, okay, you're you're anxious, or this person tends to be, you know, then a very anxious person, why are they this way? And um, I bring up three reasons. There's there's three reasons for this. The first one is nature, which simply means it's just part of your your makeup, your your character. Um, it's part of what makes you you. And let me explain that for a second. And if you've ever worked the nursery or maybe been around small children, I worked at the nursery one time.

SPEAKER_01 6:20

I'm retired now.

SPEAKER_00 6:22

One time was enough. But if you've ever worked the nursery, been around maybe you're in a classroom or especially with small children, and you will see there are children that are just more anxious than others. Um I I noticed this really clearly in one of our children at a very young age. She was just making these really anxious statements that you think, how does this little child even think to worry about something like that? I remember she was little, like maybe three, and she just refused to let me tie her dress. And she kept saying, No, no, no, don't tie it, don't tie it. And I'm like, Well, mommy's gotta tie your dress. And she I could sense her her anxiety was pouring out in a physical manner. You could sense her anxiousness. And so I stopped and I asked, Well, why why can't mommy tie your dress? And she simply says, Because what if you can't get it off? What if it gets stuck and I can't breathe? What what three-year-old thinks like that? Right? So, and and that wasn't the only thing. It it would be things like this over and over again. And how do you answer that? Well, it it's it's genetic, it is partly genetic, but it's that's not everything, but it is partly genetic. Okay, so that's nature. That's nature. The next would be nurture. Okay, what does nurture mean? That that simply means I mean lots of things, but for most importantly, is how were you raised? What were the influences on your life? Was your mother or your father a very anxious person? And this is some sort of a trained behavior, right? Like a monkey see, monkey do kind of thing. This is how we respond to some sort of a a fearful stimuli. We we react in this manner. So it can be trained, or not just how you were raised, but what were the circumstances that you were in? Were you were you raised in some war-torn country where bomb sirens were going off constantly? Or were you brought up in an abusive home where there was traumatic things happening on a regular basis? This is all part of the nurture.

SPEAKER_01 8:31

So well, Phoebe, a good example. Um, I guess we're not supposed to use the names for our kids, but it's it's an innocent story. So um I think it was the Backyardigans, if I'm not mistaken, the TV show, and you correct me if I'm wrong.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

It was, I know.

SPEAKER_01 8:47

They were doing uh a show about ghosts. Now Phoebe is three, four years old. She doesn't know what a ghost is, she's never heard of a ghost. She's not afraid of ghosts. And the Backyardigans are teaching children not to be afraid of ghosts, and they're singing this song. I'm not scared of you. And now what is Phoebe scared of? She's scared of ghosts. Right. So there was uh an unknown perception, and and then in nurture, she is coached to not be afraid, and now is afraid because of a perception. So kind of an illustration of that.

SPEAKER_00 9:23

That's that's actually a perfect illustration of that. Um, so something that she never even thought to be afraid of. Now she's been introduced to the idea of a ghost. And so then we have to try to unwork what the backyardigans were trying to fix. Um, so that that would be nurture. The final one is a a word that I sort of worked. I think I'm allowed to do that. I kind of created a word.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

It's your world, we're just living in it.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

So I created the word numature because if you if you ever study for spirit or God, right? Yes, yeah. I'll I'll I'm gonna explain it in just a second. But the reason why I added it is because when you study um psychology or counseling in a secular state, they only give you the phrase nurture and nature. Those are the only two reasons they describe it. And as a Christian, I'd like that's not enough. That's that doesn't answer it enough because there is a spiritual aspect to this. And that's where I created the word pneumature to go with it because it naturally flows with nurture, nature, pneumature, and pneuma, p-n-e-u-m-a, to mean spirit or soul. So the the spiritual side of me also plays into that. So to answer your question, um, could it be spiritual? Absolutely. And part of that is um my my I I want don't want to say use the word inability because I don't think that's the appropriate word, but my unwillingness or my faith to believe that God is in control and that God's outcome is always good no matter what. Um, so that's where the the new mature, the spiritual side comes in.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

I think that's really important to bring God into the conversation. When you were talking about uh nature and nurture anyway, I was thinking about uh Bill Gillam. He writes about this in Lifetime Time Guarantee. He talks about the flesh um as being a New Testament principle that the Apostle Paul writes a lot about the flesh. And a lot of times um maybe Christians think of flesh as body. And in the in the Greek, anyway, there's there's two different ways you could look at the flesh. You can look at it as the soma or the body, or you can look at it as sarx as the flesh and the immaterial part of us. And and the point he makes is that the flesh are is is really early patterns that are created in our lives. And I I think what I was hearing you say, and what I'm trying to put together is that through nature, patterns that we may be, maybe they are predispositions, and through nurture, um mirror neurons, or um um we've seen often um skittish parents or anxious parents create anxieties in their children's lives, and those really become patterns that are very prevalent in their Christian lives. But what we want people to know that in Christ there's there's victory because you add that third element to it. I was thinking of the verse David said, When my heart, predictive, when my heart is overwhelmed within me, lead me to the rock that is higher than I, which I think kind of brings us to the second phase of the conversation, which is we, I think, do live in a very anxious world. Um so I was thinking about the difference between um anxiety and courage, and I've often said that courage is something that acts in the face of something that would make you anxious. That's what makes it courageous. If there's a soldier who does something extremely brave, he's not acting in spite of something that could cause anxiety, he's acting um in in light of it, he's responding to that. And so where where are we in the world today? You deal with a lot of young people and um really people from all walks of life as well. But I don't remember hearing a ton about maybe the term anxiety as a kid. I certainly in Bible college, I don't remember us really talking much about anxiety. Um, is it a hot button word, or is there a real kind of anxious crisis in our culture today?

SPEAKER_00 13:36

I I want to once again say I think it's both. Um I think that before people maybe they they just weren't speaking about it, or maybe they didn't understand it as much. So they they weren't speaking about something they didn't understand. But I would also say that I do believe there is an increase of anxiety, especially in this generation that we're seeing coming up. And I've I've taken part in some studies. Um and why is that the case? Um I mean, we could I don't know how far we want to go into this, but social media obviously plays a big part in that. Our cell phones play a huge part in that. Even something so um physically like the blue light in your phone, not allowing your brain to to go into a natural calming state that it needs to in the evening time. Because the way God created us, the sun starts to set. This is this is wonderful, it's it's a it's a beautiful thing, we see it, but there's actually a really important reason that it's setting. It allows our mind to start to shut down. It signals it to start to shut down. But when we keep this bright blue light in front of our eyes, our brain doesn't naturally go into this this sleepy state where your brain starts to calm down. So is that part of it? I would say so. I mean, you can't ignore the science of that. Um, so it's in my opinion, both that maybe it wasn't being spoken of because maybe it wasn't studied enough, and people didn't understand what they were seeing, but also because I do think it's increasing, especially like I said, in this generation.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

Yeah, I don't want to downplay anyone's anxiety for sure. Uh, but as a Westerner living in the United States, I mean, I think we could go to lots of places around the world, maybe war-torn areas, where you would say, wow, those people probably probably have a reason to be anxious. Um one of our church members sends us kind of live updates from a family living in Israel and how many times a day they were going to their bomb shelters and what they were doing in their bomb shelters, and we would say, Yeah, that that's probably a cause for anxiety, and and not to belittle anything that people deal with in our country, but um we don't necessarily have reason, I don't think maybe economically, a lot of people to be dealing with some of those things, but we are dealing with a lot of those things in our in our society today. And I I I I like what you say. I I do think social media plays a part into that. Um I think the incessant nature of uh information, media, stimulation, I I I think that kind of someone said that basically God's restrictions on the natural world, the last one we defeated was the night. As you said, with uh electricity, we could um like New York's the town that never sleeps, and and we don't really find the rest that we that we we probably do need. So that probably is important.

SPEAKER_00 16:31

Yeah, definitely for sure. And I was thinking in regards to what anxiety does, I because I I want to maybe describe it if I can get back to the definition just a little bit, because there is this thought process in the mind, right? There's these thoughts that are increasing it, but there is a huge physical reaction to anxiety. Um, and so that I think is a is another part of it as well that maybe we're seeing more or we're understanding it more. I don't, I don't really know. But I mean, even I before we started this podcast, you you asked me something about panic attacks. Um, and I um I I can't remember what your question was, or I think you said something about is this part of anxiety? And I said, Well, yeah, it's it's a fruit. It's a fruit of it. Um so this is one of the physical reactions that you might find. Obviously, fast heart rate, um, trouble breathing, um, lots of different things.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

It it's different for different people, but yeah, I I I could say a lot of times uh people are having a panic attack. They don't know what it is. It's obviously very alarming. So we're taking something maybe from the spiritual, mental, uh ethereal, if I could use that word, the abstract, into something extremely concrete.

SPEAKER_03 17:53

Right.

SPEAKER_01 17:53

Um and I feel like I'm having a heart attack, my my breathing is labored, um, I'm lightheaded. Um, that that physical response to that. Are there other maybe physical signs that that you identify if someone comes to you, you can identify anxiety in a physical sense?

SPEAKER_00 18:10

Um I mean, what we just said were the main things you hear people say. Um, I will just add in because you because you mentioned, oh, I think I'm having a heart attack. The first time that someone had told me um you have an anxiety issue was I had I had gone to the doctor because I I thought I was having a heart attack. I mean, and it takes a lot for me to think I need to go to the doctor. And it was it was this spilling of I think I'm gonna die. I think there's something wrong with my heart. And I get to the doctor's office, a sweet, sweet lady, she was a Christian, and she asked me, like, what do I do? And I just kind of explained my life. I was, I think at that time, I I think I just said I was my husband's a pastor, and I was kind of explaining different duties that I had, and she's like, Oh, okay. Just like that, okay, this explains it all.

SPEAKER_02 19:03

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

And I thought, explains what? Like, I'm having a heart attack because I'm in the ministry. What do you mean? And she's like, No, you were struggling with anxiety. And she goes, the kind of this position that you're in, it keeps you in this high alert. Um, this, this, this stage of just alertness and and ready to respond to something. And then she started, you know, going forward with, okay, well, let me let me write a prescription for, and I said, Oh, no, no, no, I I I'm I don't want to do that. Um, but now that you tell me this is what it is, now I'll go home and study and figure out how I can correct this issue because it was having a huge physical reaction, right? Something that is maybe spiritual or emotional, but it's pouring out into the physical.

SPEAKER_01 19:53

So and one of the other areas of confusion would be someone thinks, oh, I was uh I was panicked in a certain situation. Um, I might have frozen in that moment, I might have run from that, I might have started, I might have been uh aggressive in that situation, and kind of the storm passed by. And it's weeks or it's months later, and they're sitting at their computer at work doing a certain task. Oh my goodness, I think I'm having a heart attack. So there's some confusion about how our brain stores up a lot of that. Um, you might have the scientific terminology for that, but it stores that up, but it's eventually the body keeps the score. Like it's going to eventually come out on us.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

Right. Um, so what you're trying to, what you're describing is a delayed physical reaction to an anxious moment that could have taken place weeks prior. And this is where some people struggle too. I I mean someone near to us was was having some heart palpitations and and they thought for sure there was something wrong with their heart. And I told them, I said, I I you're you're just anxious. And he said, I'm not anxious about anything right now. I was just sitting there, I was walking to class, I wasn't worried about anything. And I said, That doesn't matter. I and I and I started going through because I knew what he had gone through just two weeks prior, and I started listing all of the anxious events that anxious-inducing events that had taken place in his life. And he's like, Well, that doesn't make sense. I said, This is exactly how our body works. It doesn't naturally happen in the moment, it can, but it also can happen days, weeks later, and your body is reacting to that because what happens is your body's staying in this high alert mode, and your your physical body can only take that for so long. I don't have to do that.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

So I don't have an answer for this. It's a curiosity question. We're fearfully and wonderfully made. Why is it a feature or a bug? Does God make us that way? Because if we had to channel all of that in the moment, we would lose focus on the issue at hand. What why do we store that up and not fully flesh out all of that in the moment that our body Does keep the score and eventually does flush that out, but not in the moment. Is there a is there an explanation for that?

SPEAKER_00 22:06

Um, I I I don't have a scientific answer of that for you, but I can say what I personally think it is. I think it's just your body is taking these large doses of adrenaline and and cortisol that's being pumped because of the anxiety. And after a while, the heart just says, enough is enough. Like I can't take this. Um, so that's kind of my own personal understanding of why it would happen. I don't have a scientific explanation for that for you today, but that's how it's what's emotional flooding. Emotional flooding is when you are maybe there's some sort of a stimuli or something that you are thinking about is going to happen, this fear that you have, and your emotions start to overtake your system. Okay. And you're no longer thinking logically, you're you everything is working based on the emotion. And so when someone is flooded, um, you can you can they're like, if you've ever seen it, they're just kind of gasping, they're they're speaking really fast and they're kind of gasping in further air, and their their emotions are are running the show. Right. There and and the mind has shut down.

SPEAKER_01 23:15

And you can't live in that state, I think was the point I was trying to get to.

SPEAKER_00 23:19

Right. And so of course, when I I teach some of my clients how to have grounding exercises and those moments of emotional flooding, because you got to bring yourself back to a grounding state.

SPEAKER_01 23:30

So let's talk about those. Um, when someone's having um an anxious moment, um the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. I was listening to a sermon today. Satan's the prince of the power of the air. Uh, he has no rental property. Uh, this is this is our father's world. And there is something about grounding ourselves in where we came from. Um we were taken from the dust, and that might seem to be disrespectful. I don't think it is disrespectful. I think uh ultimately we were taken from God Himself. We were made from dust, but God breathes into us. Um, even gardening, getting certain enzymes and dirt under the fingernails is good for our mental health. So, what is it about grounding that brings us back to who we are as humans?

SPEAKER_00 24:18

So maybe the best way to answer that question is to describe maybe some grounding exercises, because then I think if I do that, it'll answer that question. So when I tell someone that we need to practice grounding exercises, or I'm teaching them what they are, um, we're always utilizing the five senses. So I would have them. Maybe it's looking at something and describing that completely to me, or closing their eyes and telling me everything they hear in that moment, or even something as simple as giving them something, maybe a candle or whatever that has several different flavors or scents in it, and asking them to describe everything you smell. And it what happens is it's bringing your body back into the moment by the way that we perceive reality. Like what are our senses? It's it's how we perceive the world around us. If we didn't have any of our senses, we would be like little robots. But our senses is what helps us perceive everything around. So I bring them into this moment because it's as if when they're having these flooding moments, it's like they're outside of their body almost. It's like they're not experiencing it from their body with their normal senses. And so I'm bringing them back into this moment is something as simple as just even put your feet flat on the ground or sticking their feet in something where they can feel it, you know, taking their shoes off and rubbing their feet in the grass, bringing you back into this present moment where you're at. So you're you're feeling the world in the way that we're supposed to be. Does that make sense? Sure. So I hope that answers the question.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

Yeah, for sure. I'm even thinking about like anthropomorphisms, which is like when when scripture gives God like human characteristics, and it talks about God smelling, uh, touching, hearing, seeing. It's almost like God grounds himself in humility, of course, but he's active in our lives through sense sensory ways. And when we're outside of ourselves, we can't perceive him. We can't perceive the situation we're in, as you said. So outside of ourselves, we have to be brought back into reality because God lives in reality. I'm not going to say that I'm I'm it's maybe dangerous to hypothesize on camera, but does God give grace for imaginary things? Well, he gives grace for reality.

unknown 26:44

Right?

SPEAKER_01 26:44

He giveth more grace, and and God wants to meet us in that place of I think that's what prayer is, and maybe we'll turn the corner a little bit to how we handle anxiety and discouragement in our lives. But prayer brings God into that moment of reality. Here's how I'm feeling. I think it's okay to acknowledge your feelings. I actually I don't think it's okay. I think it's necessary to identify this is how I feel. Um, someone said it's never okay to ask God why. Well, tell Jesus that. Because in the garden he did say, why? Um, or on the cross, why has thou forsaken me? And and comes to terms with the will of God in the Garden of Gethsemane as well. Uh, I think it was John Bishop who wrote that it's okay to ask God why as long as you're okay with the answer.

SPEAKER_03 27:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:31

So, but bringing God into that moment, this is how I feel. That's what the Psalms are all about. David talks about. David talks about all kinds of very, very strong emotions. And I I think a conversation of anxiety has to pass through the Psalms because David has a lot of perceived threat. He has a lot of real threats, he's in danger for his life, but he's bringing God into those moments, however, raw or salacious or controversial or even violent they are. He brings his his real self to God.

SPEAKER_00 28:01

Yeah. Um of course we see that David doing that a lot, but if I could turn the passage to Paul, um, because I think we would be remiss if this is the time that we're gonna really give our biblical answer to it in response, we would be remiss to overlook the passage of Paul. Let me just pull it here so I can read it in Philippians chapter number four. And of course, we know where Paul is at. He is in a prison cell and facing certain death. And he brings about this passage of scripture that I think is is so helpful, especially in this topic. And Philippians 4, verse number four says, Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say, rejoice. He says, Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. And here it is in verse number six be careful or be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And then here's his answer. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus. It doesn't end there because we have to keep going, because how do I get my mind to do this? And he tells us that in verse number eight, finally, brethren, whatsoever things are pure, I'm sorry, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of a good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, we are to think on these things. And so we have Paul here, he's sitting in, I think what we would say, um, us where normally we would be in a state of anxiety. We're sitting in a prison cell. We are unsure what our future holds, but we're confident it's gonna be bad, whatever it is, right? So there is a perceived thought of what the future will hold.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

Certain death, certain death, certain death and beheading.

SPEAKER_00 29:58

Yeah, and and he knows he's he's he's seen this. Um, and what does he tell us to do? He tells us to get control of your mind. You have to get control of your mind. So I I don't want to interrupt you.

SPEAKER_01 30:09

No, that's good.

SPEAKER_00 30:10

Okay, so you may keep going. Yeah, keep going. So um he he starts with this pattern, which I think is so very helpful. And he says the first thing is to rejoice in the Lord. What what does he mean by that? And we get the word joy out of the word rejoice. And I think we first have to realize that our joy is not based on our circumstances, our present circumstances at all. That's what you have to realize. My joy doesn't come from my present circumstances, but it comes from the presence of God. And that's the first thing I need to realize. So, as I as I'm giving you these truths, let me explain to you really quickly why these truths are important when we're on the subject of anxiety. So, as I as I just someone comes to my office and they tell me that I struggle with anxiety, and how can you help me? Um, I could sit there and give them all these different little things to do with their anxiety. You need to do some deep breathing, you need to do this and do that, and I do because there are physical things, but I can't just keep addressing the anxiety. I have to address what is fueling the anxiety. So, what's fueling our anxiety is our thoughts, right? It's it's things that we believe or perceive to be true about God, about our own.

SPEAKER_03 31:25

Wrong views about God.

SPEAKER_00 31:27

Yes. So, what is our perceived view or thought about God? Maybe it's the sovereignty of God. But there's something somewhere our thinking is wrong, and it's fueling this emotion of anxiety, which will have us, maybe we act out of our anxiety. Maybe, maybe there's things that we can't do in life, or we're too fearful to give the gospel to someone because we're we're afraid of what might happen. So that's an action that comes out of this emotion, which really stemmed from a perception that we have or a truth that we believe. And so Paul starts with something so important. Number one, joy. Our joy is from God, not our circumstances. We can't base all of our feelings on what's happening around us, but we have to understand that the presence of God is what continues this joy. And then he says, Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. And I asked my husband before this, I said, Can you please tell me how to pronounce this word? Okay, so he's just gonna say it for us because I cannot say it. But it's the word, it's the Greek word that we get the English word moderation from in our Bible. If you've ever looked at any other translations of scripture, you might be a little confused because our King James Bible says moderation, but the other ones say uh gentleness. And when you look in that that Greek word and you try to understand it, it's like a blending of both of those ideas. Um, it's this idea that I'm gonna moderately react in a situation that maybe there is something disastrous could be happening. So if you imagine maybe there's this really large rainstorm, we're here in Florida and there's lots of deluges, as we might call them, especially in the summer afternoon time. And if it's pouring rain, but I have an umbrella and I'm under my umbrella, I'm not reacting to the rain around me. I'm standing there in moderation. I'm standing calmly because there's an umbrella over my head. And that's the idea of moderation. Even in moments of extreme doubt or fear, I'm I'm reacting in a in a moderate manner or a gentle manner. I'm not overreacting. I'm just I'm correctly responding to a situation the way that God would want me to. And that's what he says next. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

Avoid the ditches on both sides, to be over ecstatic or to be uh dejected or melancholy. To just self-control, I think, is kind of part of that word as well. So Paul says later, I know how to be abased, I know how to abound, I know how to be full, I know how to be empty. He learned to live his life in the middle of the road, so to speak.

SPEAKER_00 34:17

Right. And and I if I can add to even that is I I'm not allowing my emotion to drive me. Right. Because sometimes emotions, we say this a lot, emotions are are great followers, they're horrible leaders. And the opposite of letting your moderation be shown is allowing my emotions to lead me. And and that's what he's saying. Don't you you need to set your emotions aside and and just calmly take each situation.

SPEAKER_01 34:44

I just want to say there though, I I think it's important. I I've seen this a lot in pastoring, is is maybe it's a new convert, maybe it's uh a new Christian, or they've gotten right with God, they're back in church. They have this ecstatic experience with God. It's it's it's on that. I I'm always concerned when they hit that place of that kind of extreme. Um, I hate to, I hate to use the term addiction. I remember a lady saying to us one time, I'm just addicted to Jesus, and I thought, oh no. Because she was setting herself up for when uh trials, when her faith came under fire, uh, like a pin pong ping pong ball, she was gonna be she was gonna be thrust into the other ditch of full despair rather than your moderation be. And then he says, the Lord is at hand. And I preached on this a few weeks ago. Not the idea that Jesus is coming again, although he is, he is here, he is present in in our situation to where we can trust him if if we are facing maybe some extreme circumstances, but to be moderate and gentle in our responses because we know God is with us in that in that storm.

SPEAKER_00 35:56

And and he is sovereign. And I think that's that's where I emphasize that a lot when I'm speaking to people that because a lot of our anxiety stems from the fact that I need to control a situation in order for the outcome to be what I want it to be. And when they realize there they have no control of a situation, this is when the anxiety really starts to pour in. And this is where Paul is saying to us, listen, the Lord is at hand. He is nigh, he is near. Back down. You were actually never in charge anyway. So just go ahead and back down. And then he continues it with saying, of course, be careful or be anxious for nothing. And then he says, What's the flip side of it? Give it to God and prayer and supplication. And I'm always, I always warn people that I'm helping with anxiety because they'll tell me, Oh, I I know I pray about it. I have these lists of prayers and and I see their list of prayers. And and even when they're praying, it's it's the most anxious feeling. And that's that's not what what Paul is telling us to do. It's not bring all these lists of worries to God, and as you voice them to God, you become even more anxious in it. It's I'm I'm giving it to you, I'm putting it in your hands, and not allowing even my prayer list to make me anxious.

SPEAKER_01 37:10

Yeah, I think that's that's a really good point as I was thinking about what you said. Sometimes prayer is not real prayer. Um throwing words at God at the throne of God. I I know, I know what they're trying to accomplish, but they're not getting any closer to God or peace in their life.

SPEAKER_00 37:29

There was a realization that had come to that I was doing that. Um I would have a prayer list, and my list was very long. And even as I would start to read them, I would feel myself getting anxious. I wasn't worried about that, but now I am worried about that because I just saw it on paper and I just read it. And for me personally, this is not, I mean, I don't advise people that you have to do it my way, but I got rid of a prayer list. I I can't. It it makes me more anxious to look at it like that. And I just allow God to tell me things that I need to pray about in that moment because it's it's it's not me coming in a soliloquy to God. I want to have a conversation with God. And if I come with my little script already, then it's not a conversation.

SPEAKER_01 38:18

There's we're not we're not praying by faith, trusting in the providence of God.

SPEAKER_00 38:23

Right. So for me, um, and this is just like I said, it's me personally. I'm not against prayer lists. Please don't get me wrong. If you have one, wonderful. It just wasn't working for me.

SPEAKER_01 38:33

It brings focus to some people's lives.

SPEAKER_00 38:35

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

But you're saying in that moment you were discovering this is producing a lot of anxiety instead of bringing Christ into that present reality.

SPEAKER_03 38:45

Right.

SPEAKER_01 38:45

Where human weakness and you can't the the thing about prayer or the Christian life is you can't appreciate how great God is until you recognize how frail you are. And it's okay to embrace weakness. You have to. But you can't embrace weakness without embracing his strength. Right. So if prayer is not bringing you into a place of peace and deliverance from I sought the Lord and He heard me and He delivered me from all my fear. If our prayer is not delivering us from fear, we probably need to maybe re-evaluate how we can come boldly before the throne of grace to find strength, to find help. So I I discovered in my Christian life the Bible wasn't broken, the way I was reading it was, the way I was prayer wasn't broken, the way I was praying was serving God was not broken, the way I was serving God was I was busy, but like uh Pastor Sexton used to talk about those disciples rowing and getting nowhere. Busy, busy, busy, rowing, rowing, rowing, but not finding peace or joy and fulfillment in all of it, uh, really found in recognizing that these spiritual disciplines, there's there's a way that God wants us to exercise those. There's one, I think, one last step, and I I wanted to kind of role play something really quick as you get this last one here.

SPEAKER_00 40:03

Um I I mean, so we we pray, we make, we let our requests be made unto God with thanksgiving. I think this is extremely important too. And Paul's saying, because what we can do is we can sit there and list all the things that are wrong in our life and ignore everything that's right in our life. And this is a huge, this is a huge way that we need to get our thoughts in control. Am I always focused on maybe the fearful things or things that feel undone in my life or the things that that that bring uncertainty instead of looking at the blessings of God in my life and that, you know what, God, you came through before, you know, maybe about this time two years ago when I was having this issue, and there you were, and you came through. And I say, bring your thanksgiving, remind yourself that God is good and God is in control. And he's telling us to remember that. And then he says, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus. And this is the flooding of the peace of God. And then he gives us some steps on how to how to think properly.

SPEAKER_01 41:06

But yeah, I think maybe we should take that up in another episode and changing the channel because I think verse eight is really important. It is, and um, we can get to that one. Okay, so I just wanted to maybe practice something really quickly because uh we have people watching, maybe you have children or maybe your spouse. So I want to set up the uh the heavenly reframe. Okay. Okay, so uh Tim Clinton says, uh, you have come a long way in your spiritual development when you are able to hold on to your joy and peace in Christ regardless of your circumstances. And then he says, practicing a heavenly reframe puts you in the same place where Paul lived as you just read. I'm gonna die, but rejoice in the Lord always. So I'm just gonna throw a scenario at you. So I come home and um and then reframe, maybe reframe what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00 41:55

And we have not practiced, I have no idea what you're supposed to say. I'm a little nervous.

SPEAKER_01 41:58

I just thought about this actually, so it's gonna be great.

unknown 42:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 42:02

Okay, so I come in and you ask me how my day was. Go ahead and ask me how my day was. How was your day, honey? It was terrible. It was terrible. I'm just so frustrated. Um, and I I'm just I I feel like I'm I'm ready to quit my job. My my boss just was really giving me a hard time. Um, I didn't get the promotion that I wanted. Um and I I don't know. I just felt like I'm not wanted anymore. And um, I don't I don't know. I'm just I'm thinking about quitting and and I I just my brain was racing about man, if I lose my job, we're gonna lose our house, and I don't know how I'm gonna pay for that new car that we bought you last week. And I'm just like, I'm really really stressed out right now.

SPEAKER_00 42:39

He did not buy me a new car last week.

SPEAKER_01 42:41

No, six months ago. No, and it wasn't new.

SPEAKER_00 42:44

Um, so I would start to read that was a lot, so you're giving me a lot to reframe.

SPEAKER_01 42:49

Okay, we just I I didn't want to give you too little.

SPEAKER_00 42:51

Okay, so let's take one quarter. Let's start with the the first statement. And I think your first statement was um my I didn't get a promotion or my boss was mad at me, or I was overworked.

SPEAKER_01 43:01

I started with the boss.

SPEAKER_00 43:02

Okay, you started with the boss. And so I mean, an easy reframe would be the idea that, well, you you have a job, right? You currently are receiving a job. So being thankful for that job that you have, but maybe the statement was um I didn't get that promotion that you were hoping for. And I I could say, I don't know what the job is that you're referencing if I had more detail, but I could say something like, well, it sounds like you're you're really needed in the area that you're in. Like they can't afford to move you out of this spot to put you in that spot because you're you're so helpful in this spot that you're in. That would be an example of a reframe. Um, trying to think about what other details you threw out there.

SPEAKER_01 43:45

Maybe describe a healthy reframe, maybe for your kids. Okay. The kids come to you with whatever issue. Well, what are you thinking about? I've seen you do this a lot. How do you reframe their anxious feelings and bringing peace into their life? Just through bringing that into captivity.

SPEAKER_00 44:03

So the reframe is is is a that's a great term, but it it simply means really it's a it's a switch in perspective. Okay. So if you think about maybe we're in this room here and I'm viewing this room from this perspective, so I can see everything on that side. I can't see what's behind me, but but you can see it, right? And but we're in the same room. So if I started describing this room, I might talk about the red exit light that I don't really like to see over there.

SPEAKER_01 44:33

We haven't talked about the magician behind the camera.

SPEAKER_00 44:37

Should we there is also Logan's back there? Logan is back there, and that's another perspective. Yes. He's seeing it this way, and we also have a special guest. Please don't miss her. Logan's wife is here, and she's even being part of the studio audience.

SPEAKER_01 44:52

She's being very quiet today.

SPEAKER_00 44:53

She is being very quiet.

SPEAKER_01 44:54

Um she's a she's an elementary school teacher. She is fearless.

SPEAKER_00 44:59

We probably should have brought her up here really to question her. She would probably have a lot of things to say about this. But all that to simply say, I am viewing everything from this way, and and maybe the exit sign of something terrible and it's something scary in the in the red light is bothering me, but you're gonna give me a perspective that I don't see from this side, right? So I'm just giving you a different way to look at it. And like you said, Locate could give us a another different perspective. And so that's really what a reframe is. I'm finding another way to look at the exact same situation, but I'm giving it a positive twist. And and I said that when you said you were, you, you were missed on this promotion. Well, was it that you were skipped because you you don't have enough qualities to get this promotion? Or is it that they can't afford to pull you out of the spot you're in because you're so needed right there? And see, there it it's this, it's the same situation, it's just a different view on that situation. That's what a reframe is.

SPEAKER_01 45:57

Jesus did that to Peter. I was thinking about this in John 21 when Jesus reels Peter back in. It's a fishing story. He reels him back in, and then Jesus is talking about their death. And Peter believes he knows how he's going to die. And he says to Jesus of Peter, and what about this man? And Jesus says, If he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me. And then John notes he did that because Jesus spoke of the way he was going to die. Jesus had to reframe Peter's thinking, and the way he did that was saying, Don't worry about him. He has his own story that I'm writing. You have a story that I'm writing. And actually, the 21st chapter of John almost feels like an addendum to the book to tell the reader, if he only had the gospel of John, oh, by the way, this is what happens at the end of Peter's life. He reframed that for him so he could see not everybody else, but he could see himself. And I I think scripture, I think being daily in the word, I think is the ultimate spiritual reframe, reframing who we are, what we have in Christ, where our sins and blind spots are, and how we can be like Christ.

SPEAKER_00 47:12

And I mean, maybe it's a common idea, but it just reminds me that Jesus is the greatest teacher that ever walked the face of this earth. And when you just study him as a teacher and look at the way he says things and the way he teaches a truth to his disciples, or maybe even the crowds that are following him, is amazing. The way he turns their perspective, the way he presents something in another way that just really gets a hold of them emotionally, spiritually, physically, and the way he can turn a situation and know exactly what they need to hear. And might I add, the greatest counselor that ever walked the face of this earth to look at a person and know exactly what that person needs to hear in that moment that's gonna help them get to the place of healing that they need to be. Nobody is like Christ in that area.

SPEAKER_01 48:06

Yeah. We're inviting you to trust Christ today. Um, maybe you've never trusted him by faith for the forgiveness of your sin. We invite you to come to Christ today, but we invite the Christian to come to Christ. Um, Jesus is not in my past. The gospel is not in my past, the gospel is informing me today. I I I I have read a quote years ago. I cannot find it. Maybe one of our viewers, if you know what I'm talking about, you can send this to me. Um, there was a person going through something, and and someone said we felt hopeless about this situation. And the man responds, but our savior rose from the dead. If he can do that, he can literally do anything in our lives as we trust him. So I want to give you a kind of a uh a runway to land the plane. We live in an anxious world. I think we've quantified what we mean by that. There's um there is uh sufficient to the day is the evil thereof. There's a lot of uh panic-inducing, anxiety-inducing things that that might affect us in our lives. We've given some good um scriptural uh principles and grounding techniques. Uh, what else should the the viewer know about anxiety and where to go from here in their lives?

SPEAKER_00 49:22

I I think the most important thing to realize is there is no absolute cure for anxiety, if I can say it that way, to until we get to heaven. Until we get to heaven. Um so there is this natural thing that happens, right? It's it's physical. But what you do have the power to change is how you view it, how you think about this fearful, possible, fearful thing in the future. And I'm reminded of James chapter one, verse number two, and he says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations or into testings or trials of your faith. And he gives us a command. This is an imperative sentence, right? Count it all joy. It's an understood you, it's an imperative, it means it's a it's a command. And he says, You count it all joy. What is he saying? You view this trial in your life, this testing as something to be joyful about. So, which simply means to me, you have the power to change your thinking about whatever you're going through. And remember that. How do I need to adjust my thinking in this matter? Why am I so anxious? Is it because I'm just not truly believing that God is going to take care of it? Well, then you change it. Count it all joy. You you have the power to change how you think, and that's what you have to do.

SPEAKER_01 50:59

Well, we hope uh this conversation adds some grit uh to your Christian life, some good perspective on what we all will face. Um, I I did want to just circle back. We were talking about why I think it's so common in the world today. I think we just start talking about it more. Um, and as I said, I think the last time we were together, someone used the term um spiritual mental health or Christian mental health. Um, and I kind of found that was a bit humorous, that caveat. The fact is, uh, God made you um spirit, soul, and body as we understand those inner life and outer life. You have a brain that is a um an organ with chemical, physical responses, but a mind that is more spiritual that's interacting to the things that are going on around you in your life. And you can surrender that to the person of Jesus Christ. And you brought up neuroplasticity, which is there's a physical benefit to spiritual mental health. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 52:00

Just simply follow God's formula.

SPEAKER_01 52:03

Christian life is the best life because he redeems our human potential and and ultimately we find ourselves in him. If you have any questions, um, feel free to comment here uh to the video or reach out to us, and uh, we'd love to help you and encourage you. Uh, there's also an episode coming up on depression and uh just 10-second infomercial. What's the difference between anxiety and depression?

SPEAKER_00 52:29

Um well, there's a big difference between them, but I I will say that they are what we refer to as a comorbidity, which means a lot of times you see them together. Um, so if someone is dealing with anxiety, a lot of times you see depression, or or if you have depression, you see anxiety with them. Um, so I simply put it that depression is where we kind of get stuck in our thoughts in the past. Maybe there's something that has taken place that I have a hard time working through or processing, and depression really kind of resides there in the past. But anxiety has sort of the opposite, which is I am stuck in the future, right? And so I'm I'm constantly looking into the future in a negative sense. Um, and anxiety is being produced. So, really, what is what does God tell us to do today?

SPEAKER_01 53:23

Yeah, live in the present.

SPEAKER_00 53:24

Live in the present. Give us this day our our daily bread, not tomorrow's bread, not a month from now's bread. I just need today's bread. And it's a challenge really for all of us just to live in the present. And I will say there there are a lot of spiritual wonderful things to you in the past. I'm not saying never think about the past because there's so many good things that that reside there, but when your past is producing this depressed mood, I need to get out of that that past moment and think about the times in the past that maybe God has come through. So just in that idea, depression kind of ri finds its its root sources in the past, anxiety finds its fueling or its its roots in the future. And let's let's live in today. Let's let's be present to what God is providing for us today.

SPEAKER_01 54:11

This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. And uh, this day for us is over. Uh, we're going home to have dinner. And uh I hope you have a great rest of your day. Thank you for tuning in to uh cultural connections. If you've liked this content, please hit that like button, share it with others, and it'd be an encouragement. Find a scriptural verse and uh shoot it into the darkness and uh let it pierce the heart of someone that might be a little anxious today. So God bless you. We'll see you next time.