Thought Life and AnxietyHow often do you take a personal inventory of your thought life? Have you ever noticed the connection between where your mind is focused and the levels of anxiety you feel?
I, like many of you, can see much of my anxiety in mood swings and my reactions to things. However, I do not often stop to reflect on where my thought life has been and how it is affecting my level of anxiety.
Captive Imaginations?
One of the primary reasons we can lack peace from so much of our anxieties is because our imaginations have been filled with everything else but God.
One of the primary reasons we can lack peace from so much of our anxieties is because our imaginations have been filled with everything else but God.
Let me ask some questions.
- Do the things you read call you to self-sacrifice or to think about yourself?
- Do you catch yourself caught up in the greatness of God more often or of yourself?
- How long can you go without checking the news or your social media feeds?
- How many times a day do you think about the prospect of others publicly recognizing your strengths, your abilities and giftings?
- How often do you find yourself thinking and planning about how to create the perfect life for yourself and your children?
Most of us have struggled with allowing some form of these issues to take hold of
our minds. Sadly, we’ve also allowed these thought patterns to go unchecked by assuming they’re no big deal. But they are a big deal. Unchecked, these thoughts destroy our peace, and more importantly, they do not glorify God.
What can we do to guard our minds?
In Isaiah 26 v 3-4, we read how God reminded Judah that even though future suffering was coming, they could have present peace.
The text says,
“You will keep in perfect peace
him whose mind is steadfast,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.”
Isaiah reminds us that God is able to keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, meaning those who are continually trusting in God.
The peace mentioned here is beyond political peace. It is a condition of harmony, well-being, and prosperity known in the soul.
The peace mentioned here is beyond political peace. It is a condition of harmony, well-being, and prosperity known in the soul.
The term “Steadfast” is a passive participle, meaning ‘maintained’ or ‘made/resolved to be undeviating.’[1] This personal characteristic is the key to divine peace. God keeps in perfect peace/calm those whose minds are resolved to focus on Him. And so logically, in v 4, we are exhorted to trust continually in the Lord, the Rock eternal.
Why does it say trust in LORD, the Rock eternal?
God was the source of strength and protection for Israel, not idols and not other nations. They were to build their lives upon the sure foundation of His trustworthy character. God was to be their source of shade and water in the desert that is this fallen world. These Old Testament exhortations all pointed to the true “Rock” for the soul, Jesus Christ (1 Cor 10 v 3-5).
His work is the basis, the anchor for our salvation. He is the Rock that was struck once and for all for us, and from His sacrifice flow the waters of eternal life for any sinner. Only Jesus can give complete wholeness, protection, and foundation in this life because he secures the most important peace of all -- peace between God and man. In His death on the cross, Jesus absorbed God’s wrath and purchased our peace. Christians are no longer God’s enemies because of Jesus. Through Isaiah, the Holy Spirit is saying we should put our trust in Christ. We must keep looking unto Him and know the peace he then keeps giving.
Why does the Bible teach peace like this?
Since the fall, every human mind has been bent against trusting in God. We are naturally prone to trust in everything else to comfort and sustain us. We are sinners. We all need a mind that is opened, made new by God the Holy Spirit. We need regeneration. We need to be born again. We cannot have peace and ongoing peace separate from a right relationship with God through His Son, Jesus.
We all need to be saved from God’s wrath and from our own sin. God is either your sure foundation or your stumbling block. It is for this reason that Jesus is referred to that way in the New Testament (1Pet 2 v 8; Rom 9 v 33). The old cliche is true. “No Jesus, No Peace. Know Jesus, Know Peace.”
The doctrine of our salvation in Christ is a secure foundation for our peace. We have an objective status of peace with God through our justification by faith in Christ (Rom 5:1), and we can never lose that if by grace we have repented of our rebellion and are trusting in Jesus alone.
Beyond that objective peace, however, there is a subjective sense of peacefulness that Christians should have by keeping our minds fixed on Christ (Col 3 v 1-3).
If our minds continually depend on Christ, we will continually experience His peace. However, we know that when trials and anxieties divert our minds from Christ, we can temporarily lose our sense of peace.
The apostle Paul said in Philippians 4 v 6-7
Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
How do we set our minds on Christ?
Ordinary Means of Grace- Stop looking to some new experience. Go to the ordained means of grace God gives in the Scripture and prayer. Meditate on God’s Word and spend time in prayer. Bible study and prayer in our lives cause us to exalt God and repent of our self-exaltation. It helps us to live self-sacrificing lives that give true joy.
Sound Teaching- We have to expose ourselves to sound teaching and stop exposing our minds to so much of this world. False teachers abound and churches are full of ministries that are really about self-help. Listen to teaching that focuses on what the Bible text says. The point of the pastor's sermon should be the point of the passage.
Let me say it again.
Do we want to grow in peace and trust in God? We must fill our minds with HIs Word.
Think about it. Our thought life, which includes our worries, lustfulness, greed, and pride, cannot be put to death apart from time in the Word and in prayer. If we are going to put these sinful thoughts to death every day, we’d better get our minds renewed by the Word (Rom 12 v 2).
Paul said, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Phil. 4 v 8). That is another way of saying, “Set your minds on Christ,” because Jesus is all of these things.
When we spend time in God’s Word, focused on Christ, and when we pray through the Scriptures, we are reminded that God knows everything. He understands. He is in control of our chaotic world. He is never surprised. He is never confused. He never worries or loses a night’s sleep. He never takes a break because he needs a rest. He never gets so busy with one thing that he fails to care for another and he never plays favorites.
In this pursuit of Jesus, we remind ourselves again and again of His wise and loving control, not because that will immediately make your life make sense, but because it will give us rest and peace in those moments that all of us face at one time or another—when life doesn’t seem to make any sense.
So, how are you doing?
Let me ask an obvious question- Do you think it would hurt or help your anxiety if you worked on making your home a place where you made space to think about God?
- Are you striving to set your home life up to encourage time for thoughtful engagement with the Word and in prayer?
- Are you turning off electronic devices and opening up your Bible?
- Are you having scheduled times as a family to be quiet before the LORD and engaging in meaningful devotional time?
- Are you sharing with others and are they sharing with you what they are reading in God’s Word?
- Are you preparing to hear God’s Word taught by gifted teachers in your local church?
What specific ways are you going to pursue to stay fixed on Christ?
[1] Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and
commentary (Vol. 20, p. 195). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
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