Finding Peace When Your Mind Won't Shut Up (Philippians #8)

Transcript: (00:00) well good evening and welcome to crowd Church great to be with you uh live next to me is the beautiful talented and all round Good Egg which is Jen Mariner good evening it's lovely to be here with you uh yes great to be here thanks for joining us on this cold actually it's not cold I don't know why I say that it's so hot it's wet it's wet and it's dark but it's not actually that cold wet and dark but it is not cold is like summer I was wearing a t-shirt earlier 13 degrees beautiful what's that don't know messed up that's what that is but anyway very warm welcome to you great to be with you tonight uh today we have (00:38) Sharon yeah Sharon's going to be talking to us about um what are you talking about anxiety is that right yep good got it down so yeah Shan's G to be talking to us about anxiety tonight so grab your notebooks grab your pens because there's going to be a lot of good stuff coming out of this and of course as always say hello in the comments be great to hear what you've got to say any questions any thoughts you can put those in the comments as well and we will talk about those in conversation street so do do that but (01:09) yes we've got Jenny in the comments I can see uh Jenny and will actually hi Jenny hi Will Jenny's been away not you different Jenny I knew that I'm like I don't even have a device so that would be quite amazing wouldn't it if I was managing to comment on YouTube but hi lovely to have you join us it really would be amazing so yeah very warm welcome to you great that you're here good to see you Jenny good to see you will uh we are going to be after the live stream um we are going to be meeting on Google so if you want to come say how's it uh (01:45) come do that on Google after the live stream at 8:00 pm so uh the live stream will end a little bit earlier give us a few minutes to grab a drink but at 8:00 we're going to meet on Google um and Daniel put that URL in the comments if you've not done it already uh but that will be there so do come join us follow that link just come say hello be great to meet you uh come meet us online in person I don't know if that makes sense kind of does I don't know anyway so how was your day anyway it was good I had to make a stone age outfit (02:16) for my daughter I find this kind of thing very stressful Ellie is here she probably would be like woohoo a stone AG outfit I was like seriously are you kidding me but we found something she's happy I think the Flintstone whenever you say Stone Age that's where my head goes around my head the stone AG family okay anyway back to anxiety and Philippians yeah back to that so um I don't know what to say really uh where's your Christmas Jumper by the way it's the 1 of December we'll get there don't rush me wow the trees up the trees we haven't got the tree up the trees up at home the (03:04) lights are on but the Christmas jumper has not appeared yet okay we've even got the Christmas Nativity background here beautiful yeah uh this is you can see it behind Jen actually um mana's Turned Up evening we've almost finished but thanks for joining us sorry if you don't know Mona is like family I get away with talking to Mona like that I don't talk to everybody else like that it's fine but very warm welcome welcome to you glad you're here if you're joining us if you joined us since the start of the live stream make sure you say hi in the comments be great to hear from you but without further Ado (03:38) I think it's probably time to hand over to my beautiful and gorgeous wife uh so grab your notebooks grab your pens once Sharon's finished her talk we'll be back Jenny and I to do conversation street so we'll see you in just a little bit but here is Sharon Oh I thought there was another little Fillin bit coming up then okay hi everyone it's good to be with you as Matt's already said I'm going to be talking about anxiety tonight I have a question for you is there anyone either in the room or watching online who is accomplished at being anxious or (04:15) anyone else uh got the anxiety gold medal or was it just me I don't know I remember when I was about 16 or 17 and at college and uh one of my teachers said to the class that all of us would have to do a talk in individually in front of the other uh members of the class I was absolutely terrified I wasn't that great at speaking to my friends in a small group let alone talking to the whole class so I started to come up with this list of different ways I could think of to get out of doing this talk my top idea was to break (04:50) my leg and then I remembered oh hang on I'm anxious about physical problems like you know breakages injuries that kind of thing I was like that's not going to work um as a child and as a teenager I had different symptoms of anxiety so I went through a period of time where I had difficulty swallowing at other times I had palpitations and at other times I had crushing chest pain that which was so bad I thought I was having a heart attack and I was sent to the doctors who investigated and found nothing physically wrong with me I had this General background of (05:28) anxiety but also was anxious about specific other things and I've seen and heard of the effects of anxiety in my wider family so for example my great-grandfather committed suicide because he was anxious about money in my friends and people that I meet I've also seen the effects of anxiety and many years ago when I was an occupational therapy student um I was on Mental Health placement and I saw the effects of extreme anxiety in people there too anxiety is something that we all experience to varying degrees some of us more than others it's one of the most (06:05) common mental health issues globally if you're thinking um if you're listening and thinking well it's not really that big an issue for me I bet that you know somebody for whom it is a really big issue the NHS website defines anxiety as a feeling of stress Panic or fear that can affect your everyday life physically or psychologically and I've already mentioned a few of the physical effects that I have had but there are many others that you can have from bowel issues to tingling headaches dizziness pins and needles fast breathing so many more and anxiety can be quite complex (06:43) can't it and according to one Mental Health Website it can be caused by social and environmental factors which can include one or more of the following and quite often I think we can have a whole mix of them going on together so it can be childhood trauma social isolation negative life events stress relating to work or to education physical ill health because our bodies affect how we feel they affect our emotions and our stress levels or other mental health issues social and societal pressure few anxiety (07:18) is complicated and it can be messy and it affects our lives in lots of different ways the good news is that the Bible has something to say about this subject and we don't need to live in this constant state of anxiety that's not what God has for us today I'm focusing on one specific passage but it's by no means a comprehensive look at this subject the passage that we're looking at is actually one that means a lot to me because it's helped me a lot in the past so let's read what does Philippians so we're in the book of Philippians and this is the next section so what does it (07:52) say about being anxious it says do not be anxious about anything that's really helpful don't you think if we take the verse out of its wider context it can sound as though the advice of being anxious is just stop it I don't know if anyone has ever said that to you when you're feeling anxious if they have I can guess that you weren't just feeling anxious at that point but you had other emotions bubbling up that you wanted to say and uh share with them um and at times in the past I've internalized this verse of don't be (08:27) anxious to mean that if you do feel anxious that actually God is angry with you and um that you are in the wrong and that if you're anxious that you're a failure as a person and a Christian and that just adds guilt onto the feeling of anxiety it's not helpful and I don't think that that's what this passage actually means if we include the little section before the bit I just read it says this the Lord is near do not be anxious about anything it's more like a far father a loving father saying to his kids don't be anxious I'm here (09:04) I'm with you I've got you I'm going to walk through this with you 1 Peter 5:7 says cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you the Bible tells us to take our anxieties to God because he's a loving father who really cares and uh he's it's it's like a a relationship and the Christian faith is all about a relationship I don't know about you but when I'm anxious about stuff I get all this stuff going on in my head and it becomes this big jumble and generally a downward spiral I can just get stuck in my head and I need something to help me get out of my head and to help me through the (09:46) next few verses of this passage give us three practical things that we can uh or that can help us and that come with the promise of God's peace so the Christian faith isn't passive I've just said it's uh about a relationship and in any relationship if you've got one person who's passive it's probably not a very healthy relationship in our relationship with God there's stuff that he can do inside us that we can't do we just have no power over those but there are also the things that we can do so the first thing is um let's read (10:21) the next verse so we've got the Lord is near do not be anxious about anything but in everything every situation by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving present your request to God so the first practical thing that we can do is to acknowledge our anxieties To God In Prayer to talk to God about it remember he cares about us but to be able to talk to God about our anxieties we have to first acknowledge them to ourselves there's no kind of stuffing it down pretending that everything's fine um kind of the denial that that's not what (10:59) it's about there's a book in the Bible called the Psalms which is a collection of songs written by different people in different situations and I really like this book because it contains um different people just outpouring some quite extreme emotions about some really difficult situations um and some of them describe people being overwhelmed with anxiety and depression Psalm 61 says Hear My Cry Oh God attend to my prayer from the ends of the Earth I cry to you and my heart is overwhelmed and Psalm 69 says save me oh (11:39) God for the waters have come up to my neck I sink in the myy depths where there is no foothold I've come into deep Waters the floods engulf me I'm worn out calling for help my throat is parched have you ever felt like that I expect most people can probably relate to that so what ways do you actually find it useful to express yourself I know some people are more external processors and they can just go straight to the let it all out to whoever or to God I'm very much more of an internal processor and so I first need to write stuff down and (12:16) almost like have these little bullet points so that I actually know what is going on in my head before I can even get to the praying otherwise I'm just there going like that so I generally I'll write everything down and I'll do it as a a point by Point uh so that I know then what exactly I need to speak to God about and then I'll pray about each point specifically and be like God you seriously need to help me I need I need to hear your voice I need your direction I just need help so I've got a personal example from (12:49) some years ago and I'm using this example because it was a bit of a light bulb moment for me because I've heard um these in Philippians for like I grew up in the church I'd heard them a lot but I didn't really understand what they meant or how to apply them um so it was a like a training ground for me and um so me and my husband Matt uh years ago were invited to help with he's he's putting his hand up there um we were invited to help with a small conference in United States of America conference is slightly a (13:25) generous word for what we went to um anyway I didn't want to go he really wanted to go I didn't want him to go without me but I also didn't want to stop him going and I just felt anxious about every option I didn't like any option um so I wrote down all the things I was anxious about and I talked to God about them my reasons were one I was afraid of flying now I grew up in the era when on the news it just seemed to be constantly going on about plane hijackings plane crashes and other plain disasters so my head was full of if you go on a plane you're going to die um (14:01) number two would' be traveling with a toddler now I know people travel with several young kids all the time and they make it look a breeze but for me this was actually a major cause of anxiety um the third one I was concerned about was collapsing on a plane because on a previous flight that is what had happened I'm not very good at sleeping sat up we were on a long haul flight I couldn't sleep my leg could sleep but not the rest of me got up to get their blood circulated again and just I was out on the floor uh the plane happened (14:33) to be full of lots of doctors from Brazil or somewhere in South America um so they were all around me um they thought I was probably pregnant I wasn't um but on this flight if I had gone to if I was going to go to America with Matt I I actually was pregnant then so the thought of that with that additional thing I was just like no so I told God what I was worried about and asked him to speak to me about each point now this might seem a bit of a a privileged anxiety to have and it is in many ways because not everyone can travel um yeah not everyone has the opportunity to (15:10) travel do they but if you look at what was going on underneath it all so I was afraid of flying because of all the things I'd heard in the news and how many of us today are anxious because of all the stuff we're bombarded with in the news there's so much isn't there and now we've even got social media so if you don't hear the news you've got it like everywhere um the other thing I was worried because of past experience passing out on the um on the plane again how many of us have got background anxiety because of stuff that's happened in the past so some of the uh yeah some of the (15:50) main anxieties for people at the time this book was written wasn't about going on planes they didn't have them but one of them was um am I going to have enough food to eat am I going to starve another was am I going to have enough clothes to wear or am I going to freeze to death and again I think for a lot of people that might be relatable now I know in the UK we've seen the increase in the number of food banks and people having to uh go there just for basic necessities of life if that's you there's some great verses in Matthew 6: (16:21) 24-34 uh that talk about that and if you don't have a Bible you can look those up online I'm not going to read them now now so our first uh practical thing we can do got try to remember what it was uh is acknowledge um our anxiety to God the second one is redirect our anxiety the verse um tells us to ask God for his help with Thanksgiving when we pray and we ask God for stuff we're to thank him at the same time and Faith allows us to thank God even before he's given us the answer it helps us to stop focusing in and to focus out and up (17:02) instead we can thank God that he hears us thank God that he will answer us in some way thank him that he's good and that he loves us that his ways are higher than our ways thank him that even though we don't understand that we know he has got something good in mind and that he'll guide us so does this mean that when we talk about to God about stuff and our worries that everything is going to go our way and it's all going to be sunshine and rainbows I don't think so Paul was writing these words from prison and (17:36) later he was actually going to be executed what does he say because he he said that if you do these things you'll have peace verse seven says and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus so he talks about a peace that transcends understanding a peace that we can understand would be one where you pray and everything goes how you want it to like the world's a happy place everything falls into line it's great but that's not what it's saying it's a (18:06) piece that goes against understanding that's a piece that you have even if your situation doesn't change even if things get worse it's a piece that helps us to go through the situations another small example of this is um I recently had to have a biopsy to see if I had cancer and then I had to wait for two weeks to get the results and I was desperate to get my results I have to say every day I was checking the post is that letter coming but underneath all of it I actually had a piece that even if the (18:42) result wasn't what I wanted that it was okay and that doesn't mean that if I had got an an unfavorable result that I would you know everything would have just been calm and happy I'm not saying that at all um but that there is this peace that God gives that just can be like this underlying thing underneath all the other turmoil going on on on the top you know God can answer our prayers in different ways I think Psalm 23 is a good example of this the first part says the Lord is my shepherd I lack nothing (19:16) he makes me lie down in Green Pastures he leads me beside Quiet Waters he refreshes my soul he guides me along the right paths for his name's sake even though I walk through the darkest Valley are fear no no evil for you are with me your rod and your stuff they comfort me so sometimes God answers our prayers by giving us the nice Green Pastures and the nice Waters so maybe that's giving us the stuff that we're actually asking for maybe that extra bit of money that we need in terms of um my example of the (19:48) trip to America um we actually ended up in this section of the plane I think it was a new new economy I think it was called at the time that it seems that no one else had heard about because there was hardly anyone in it which meant that we could all lie flat along these different chairs which was a great relief to me because it meant I could actually sleep um uh sometimes God answers our prayers by refreshing our soul by doing that inward work that we can't do ourselves and in the case of this example um it it took my fear it (20:21) just broke the fear of flying off me um and it was through some other verses in the Bible which I'd heard for years but there was just something about when the Holy Spirit just takes a verse and makes it real to you in that moment um and I've not had that same fear ever since I do sometimes have to keep you know bringing my thoughts back into line but it's nothing like it was sometimes he answers by Leading us and it could be leading us to the right people who are going to help us um the right information that can help in our (20:53) situation or just leading us in a way that is going to be helpful and sometimes God answers our prayers by helping us through the really difficult times it says even when I walk through the darkest Valley of fear no evil for you are with me so first practical thing we can do is acknowledge our anxiety second is redirect it into Thanksgiving the third one is to replace our anxious thoughts how do we do this so the next bit of the passage says this finally brothers and sisters whatever is true whatever is Noble whatever is right right whatever is pure whatever is (21:30) lovely whatever is admirable if anything is excellent and praiseworthy think about such things do you know what it was totally life-changing to me when I realized that I could actually choose what I thought about it was a complete Revelation because before that I'd well i' not thought anything that came into my head or any emotion that was just what I lived off so if I thought um God exists then in my head he existed if the next five in the next 5 minutes I thought oh actually I don't think he does then as (22:04) far as I was concerned he didn't exist that makes no sense at all God's existence is not dependent on whether I think it or not and also if I was in a room with people who liked me and were positive towards me I would feel good about myself if I was in a room with people who are less than favorable I would start to think oh I'm not not worth anything I'm rubbish all this kind of thing again it makes no sense our ability to think and feel are gifts from God but they are not a good indicator of what is true the Bible tells us we can choose what we think about we can choose to think about good things (22:42) um we can think about the good things people have done for us we can think about you know if we're walking out in the um in the Autumn Leaves uh en enjoy the beauty of that um there are so many good things we can think about and a couple of verses before the ones I started today say this rejoice in the lord always again I say it Rejoice now Rejoice is a bit of an oldfashioned religious word that we don't really use but it just means to have joy or feel Joy in something and we're told to find joy in God so even more than the things God gives us we're told to find joy in (23:21) him in his presence when I first started choosing to um what I was going to think about to be honest it was pretty exhausting for the first few months I was like having to bring my mind back into line every second of every day and uh it was hard goinging but after a while I remember there was one day and I got up and went oh actually I'm not having to make this effort because I've trained my brain to think down the right path and one of the things that I found helpful in doing this is taking scripture almost like medicine so breakfast lunch dinner time um just (24:03) spending time thinking speaking scripture over myself um writing what it meant to me um yeah and that it just made it easier then to bring my mind back into line in between times so I'm nearly done but um we've looked at three practical ways that can help us but there's more the next verses say this whatever you've learned or received or heard from me or seen in me put into practice and the God of Peace will be with you so there's the three things I've talked about but it's basically saying everything else that Jesus taught (24:39) it also helps towards your peace and I don't really don't have time to go into all that now um so these verses that we've looked at they're not um they're not they don't exist in a vacuum they're not meant to be just this little sticky plaster that you put on to make everything life um everything better um and just like a little add-on to the life that you're doing on your own they're part of a bigger calling that Jesus invites us to follow him just as he invited the original disciples um what does that mean Jesus was a rabbi and when a rabbi said to (25:14) follow him it meant that you left what you were doing and you revolved your whole life around being with your Rabbi and um listening to his teachings becoming like him and doing what he did there's a great book I'm saying it it's a great book I've only started it called practicing the way by John Mark comr who um digs into this a lot more Jesus said whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me to be a follow of Jesus um is like I said it's not just an add-on (25:49) sometimes we actually need to deny certain things um but in the bigger teachings just some examples of how it's helped in my life so learning about repentance has meant that I can move from my past failings and not have that constant anxiety about about those learning about forgiveness has meant that I've not been um not been stuck to things that have happened to me in the past and other uh difficult things that have happened I've been able to move on for them and not have them as this background anxiety and understanding who God says I am means (26:22) that I'm not dependent on what other people say or who I'm with it means I can I can know who I am regardless so in summary Philippians gives us some great insights into experiencing joy and peace through relationship and faith in Christ it challenges Believers to recognize God's presence and to one acknowledge our anxiety two redirect our anxieties and three replace our anxious Thoughts by rejoicing in him and thinking of good things so what now so of talked about how all of this is really in context of (27:02) relationship with God through Jesus but maybe you're not a follower of Jesus um what do you think your next steps are what stops you from following him is it that you actually just don't know enough about it and Jesus does say it's good to weigh up the cost we need to know or maybe you've got some doubts or questions do get in touch um we'll be help happy to help you or maybe you are a follower of Jesus which part of today's scriptures comfort you the most and challenge challenge you the most I'm going to hand back now to Matt and Jenny (27:36) but thank you for listening yeah we got that take down didn't we that was slick that's what that was professional love that great talk thank you babes yeah thanks Sharon brilliant and like such a important topic as Sharon was saying like anxiety and link to that mental health concerns are just something we're so aware of at the minute and many of us face so brilliant to be talking about it yeah it's a really big deal isn't it it's in the press a lot especially this time of year yeah um it's a really big deal um anxiety I think did you say it is the (28:24) biggest mental health issue we have at the moment I mean I could well believe that yeah I think it is I think it's the biggest mental health issue we have at the moment is anxiety the thing I love about this topic is the Bible has a lot to say about it and the Bible's not silent about this whole idea of anxiety um which is good because that would be a big hole right um but I I just love how scripture is really helpful in it and I think one of the points that Sharon said and it came up um in the comments I think on YouTube (28:59) this idea that we have in the past as Christians read verses do not worry do not be anxious and then we worry about being anxious do you know what I mean we do the and and you feel guilty and it's like you read it as though the Bible says stop it but when you read the whole of scripture in context about this topic it's not really what it's saying um but find it very helpful don't about you yeah absolutely I mean I heard someone talking recently about some of those statements and saying like I guess similar you have to read it in the whole (29:34) context it almost it says like don't worry almost to be a little bit an antagonistic a bit provoking you know to open up the subject to think about but obviously we all worry it's more giving us some ideas of what to then do about that isn't it and I've certainly like I've had a lot of battles with anxiety in my life and I know scripture has been one of the incredibly important things for me in terms of tackling that yeah yeah how I mean Sharon talked about being anxious when she was a kid was that the same for you yeah I mean so one (30:09) of my favorite verses on it is um two Peter 5 1 Peter 5:7 it says cast all your anxieties on Jesus and I remember someone I was really young when someone said like imagine you've got a backpack and you take it off and you give it to God yeah and I've done that since I was little and I still do it just that sense of um because if you're carrying something like I noticed someone put in some of the comments about when they say no to people and then you're worried about what's going to happen to the other person like that's a legitimate (30:36) worry isn't it yeah so for me that thought of I'm not just ignoring this problem but I am taking this problem off and I am giving it to God who is so much more able to handle it than I am yeah it's just not my responsibility it's his responsibility right from a little kid I found that image quite helpful to think of passing my anxiety to the God who can carry it yeah I was always told this example so if I show you let me get my I can do it with my mobile phone so I can pass my mobile phone to you give it to you there you go (31:06) it's as simple as that right yeah I can have it back that's how easy is to take them back yes do you see what I mean and it's that that idea that we can give our anxieties to God but quite we're not very good at leaving them there um and we still want to own them and we we still want to feel like they're ours and so spiritually we want to go oh yes I given my anxieties over to God because it's a spiritual thing to say and it sounds very good and very right but we still talk and act and behave like they (31:36) are totally ours and totally our responsibility and I think this is where that walk of faith that Sharon was talking about comes in right absolutely and without wanting to jump ahead in Sharon's points I think the last one was replace Sorry my phone's locked itself yeah and again for me I think that's really important because you give something away well then there's just a gap isn't there so like thinking about the nature of who God is I think is a big one there's certain songs that talk about um you know God (32:09) and your anxiety that sometimes when I've been in really tough phases I like play them on repeat you know because I'm trying to declare actually God is able to do this and it is that sense of needing to replace that thought with something else you can't just leave the vacuum you got to replace the thought with who is God what is God saying about this situation what can God do about the situation yeah definitely yeah and it it came up in the comments this whole idea and I know with Sharon she's talked about it and I think it's a big a big thing that what what doesn't happen is (32:44) you have an anxious thought you go to the Bible you read a Bible verse and that's it well done I have sorted out and can walk out the door now um and it's it's one of those things where I remember reading a book called um your brain at work which is not not a book of Faith but it's it's a really interesting book about the brain and how it works and how when we have thought patterns continual thought patterns going over and our head and we think the same thing over and over again they likened it to you know the water going over the Sandstone um and Niagra Falls the the (33:18) most beautiful waterfall in the world or one of them um was formed over years and years of water just going over the same path and it wore it away and wore it away and so trying to get yourself to stop thinking a certain way is like trying to backfill the Grand Canyon which is why you don't say oh just stop it or just don't be anxious because it doesn't make any sense especially if that thought pattern is ingrained right but Bible tells us that we are renewed um or we are transformed by the renewing (33:48) of our mind by creating new thought pads and you can't stop necessarily the old thought patterns you can't stop thinking that way but what you can do is start form new thought patterns and that that's a transformation that the Bible talks about and that takes time especially if you've got a grand cannon in your head which if you've been anxious since you're a kid is going to be there right yeah absolutely and I thought like Sharon said again that thing of choosing what you think about like at the minute I try and teach my (34:20) kids that they both struggle to sleep and I'm like you know think of something happy think of something good and they're like I can't choose what I think about the thing is at some point point you realize that actually you can and that is then really powerful whether it's something good that's happened instead of dwelling on the bad thing that's happened whether it's a characteristic characteristic of God whether it's a piece of scripture whether it's a song you you can actually begin to train your mind and then you (34:46) know like I found it does eventually somewhere along the line become more of a habit that when that thing happens that thought comes to mind it is possible it's amazing yeah it is I and I I think again some of the things that I was taught very ear on in my Christian walk is you can't stop the thoughts you know they're a bit like birds you you can't stop them flying overhead you can just stop them nesting in your head um and I think the thoughts come it's what we give Credence to it's what we um well that's what the Bible talks about in (35:17) terms of meditation isn't it where fixing your mind or um is another phrase that it uses fix your mind on these things whatsoever things are lovely pure Noble of good report fix weigh your minds on these things we have a habit of fixing and weighing our minds on things which are not necessarily lovely or of good report um I don't know about you I find it easier to focus in or find it easy to let my mind wander about what's bad oh absolutely than the good stuff absolutely and like I thought it was interesting that Sharon mentioned like (35:51) we might all have things that we're anxious about because we've heard about it on the news and again that's something that like people have done studies on that like ever since the kind of creation of newspapers it's been a thing um and like you can do things like actually choose to not look at that much stuff like I've gone I quite like the news I'm quite interested in what's going on in the world but I've gone through phases of I'm not going to do that because I just can't handle it and actually it's not good for my emotional mental health it's not that I don't (36:21) care because but you just got to be careful sometimes or like I can be really babyish about what I watch on TV sometimes cuz I'm like actually I just don't need that image in my mind it might be beautifully directed or incredibly great script or whatever but I just can't cope with it it's going to play on my mind at bedtime so you know you can help yourself I think yeah you really can but again it's just easier not to um and that's the the whole point um G Craig relle talks about the battlefield in the mind doesn't he (36:57) um the mind in the battlefield Jo ma talks about it as well the Battlefield of the Mind um and it really is and I think taking those thoughts captive again something the Bible talks about take every thought captive it's quite an active thing to do it's definitely not passive which requires energy requires effort and if you're feeling anxious and if you're feeling depressed that's that's that's even harder it's it's a lot easier to good think good things you know when Liverpool have won or whatever right it's it's so much easier when Life's good and your bell is full of chocolate or um you know you get to (37:30) where your Christmas jumper and like you know maybe the 7th of December I don't know uh but it's it's one of those things where when life is good it's easy to think good things when life is hard it's easy to think bad things and that's where the battle comes so it's one of the questions here Jen um what verses or truths do you come back to when anxiety hits I mean one of them for me is out of that passage that piece that surpasses understanding and I think you know Sharon unpacked that really well it's (38:03) not peace that makes sense so I think praying that and claiming it in that situation when you're waiting for biopsy results and actually the result could be really bad or when there's a problem at work or financial trouble there's things that like this is real I can't just nice myself out of it but but talking to God about that and being give me your peace God that is beyond my situation that doesn't make any sense it makes sense for me to be super anxious that makes sense but you can do it God and I think (38:35) for me that is one that I kind of cling to and I ask God for and again I do tend to put songs on repeat and like try and claim those truths because sometimes we have to walk through really anxious anxiety-provoking situations don't we what about you you got go-to verses uh I I think it really depends on the situation so I'm I I think the longer I've walked in my Christian faith the more specific I try and get right so if I'm feeling anxious say about work I will tend to go and find verses around that so provision maybe or how to (39:16) deal with people or somebody saying something which is not true I'll tend to go and read around that topic um because I find that more I understand what the Bible has to say about something the easier it is to have faith um and so Faith Comes as as I understand scripture now if I was just starting out in my Christian faith and yes I would just take one single first not I would write that on my bathroom mirror and I would be just saying it out all the time and just getting it from here down into here you know um I think that would be super handy in fact we'll put in the comments (39:49) here um he when he became a Christian he thought his mindset would change immediately um but what he's realized is actually that's obviously not true but over the years you can look back and see that it has and sometimes that's that's another important thing isn't it sometimes we measure our progress by how we feel in that second and actually just looking at the journey that God has bought us on and and being aware of that actually you you'll probably see that there's been some big strides forward I would have thought oh yeah absolutely and I would agree with you as well (40:21) looking the Bible actually has so much to say on so many subjects isn't it so looking up that specific thing and I definitely think having a few that you can cling to because you don't want to overwhelm yourself with too much information do you but finding those verses and even asking the Holy Spirit to give them to you I've done that as well been like holy spirit give me the you know what's going to be the key for me in this situation so would you give it to me and then when you've got it like keeping hold of it yeah again that's super important and I (40:53) think the the strength of God then comes the grace of God then comes um but again it is all a battlefield um Dan put in the comments that apparently 1969 Niagara was redirected so apparently you can change your thoughts who knew apparently the Bible did amazing absolutely well this is a massive topic isn't it this whole topic of anxiety anything else from Eugen oh gosh I mean there's there's so many things I think it was interesting the one there about decision making um CU again it can be really anxiety-provoking can't it I think for (41:33) me one of the things I try to do about decisions is try and submit it to God and then just make a decision and kind of trust that God will redirect me if he needs to because I think you can get really caught up in like God must have the decision that he wants me to make and if I get it wrong it's going to be a disaster and I think sometimes you just need to make a decision and be really open like God if I'm making the wrong one tell me and then just trust that he will and keep walking forward in it I (42:03) think that's such an important point because as Christians were so wrapped up in am I in the will of God right am I doing what God wants me to do and I think actually I'd flip it the other way around I think if the the Bible makes it really clear that we know the you know with Jesus said you will know my voice um and the voice of a stranger you will not follow I mean that's quite an important promise um and I and I totally agree I think sometimes it's harder to miss the will of God than it than we than we actually (42:34) think do you I mean I don't think God's made it particularly difficult but there's this wonderful story in the book of Acts right where Paul goes on a missionary journey this is the Aged Paul he wrote 2third of the New Testament this was you know there's Jesus then there's Paul right this this was the guy maybe Peter was in there somewhere I don't know but Paul was your man right and it talks about how he starts going in One Direction and there's this really fascinating verse where it says the Holy Spirit constrained me in other words he wasn't going the right way now he was going a way he thought was the best (43:10) direction to do but even then it wasn't until he started moving that the Holy Spirit constrained him and so there was a line they they mentioned at bible school that I've never forgotten it's easier to turn a car when it's moving and I think sometimes we get so anxious about making the decision that once the decision's made half the anxiety is gone do you know what I mean and it's and actually just making a decision a quality decision which I think God can handle my failure much more than he can handle my Disobedience and I think God's okay with that right yeah absolutely and I can't if it was you or Sharon that (43:44) made this point because you know you're just both so wise but one of you was talking about like knowing all that the Bible says and all that Jesus says and I think like the more you do that the more you spend time in scripture the more you talk to the Holy Spirit the more you learn to recognize voice so you will be quicker to just pick up you know you move like you say you move you make a decision and you'll be quicker to pick up that nudge in your spirits like actually this is the wrong decision right because we can tune in it's like any relationship we spend time talking (44:14) to God we spend time in his word and he will help us to hear his voice I totally believe that yeah yeah absolutely so I think the big takeaway in all of this is yes anxiety is the biggest health issue mental health issue we are facing at the moment yes it is very real whether you're a Christian whether you're not a Christian it is a prevalent thing but God does not leave the whole thing untacked does that make it easy no but God is with you in that and I think he can definitely help you and that's a big the big thing there's hope uh is the is (44:44) the bottom line um and I think if we can help you in any way direct you or or lead you on the right uh lead you in the right direction then do let us know reach out to us we'll put the details on the screen go Tech girl is um and if you want to reach out to us you can get a hold of us through the website www.c crow. (45:07) church or you can reach us on social media at crowd church or on the WhatsApp number uh all of those are available in fact you can they're all available on the website as well www.c crow. uh do get in touch with us we'd love to pray for you and if we can point you in the right direction we definitely will uh but looking at the time I think that's conversation streak coming to an end anything else for you no I think that's great but yeah do get in touch cuz there's there is lots more to say and we'd love to pray for you yeah we're definitely not going to cover this in 45 minutes are we no matter how (45:38) wise I think she's probably talking more about you than me uh but yeah do connect with us and do can I just encourage you wherever you're at Whatever anxiety you've got casting that over onto the Lord and then letting him keep it is the trick of of dealing with this with Christianity and doing what Sharon says just acknowledge it uh acknowledge it replace it what other one I missed out oh my phone's locked again your phone's locked it was acknowledge uh redirect your anxieties and replace your anxious thoughts and I love that redirect with (46:17) gratitude yes that's one way to deal with I think anxiety mental health depression all of that sort of stuff is just to start being grateful absolutely and I think I at the end of the day I always make a little note to myself one of the big questions I ask myself at the end of the well actually it's the start of the next day first thing in the morning is how thankful was I the day before um and were there situations I could have been more grateful and more thankful because it's just such a great thing to (46:40) cultivate absolutely I think that's another topic from of the live stream so you're going have to stay with us you're going have to like And subscribe because no doubt we'll be talking about thankfulness at some point uh because it is such a big deal but thank you so much for joining us like I said at the start if you would like to come chat meet in person we would love to meet you uh the link will be in the comments I think it's go. crowd. (47:04) Church meat me T not meat that you eat don't know why it would be that uh but definitely come join us in there be good to say how's it I think we'll be going online in about 12 minutes time so at about 8:00 we will see you in the Google chat room uh but yeah thank you so much for joining us do you know what's coming up next week sure hband Philippians yeah the end of Philippians I don't know who's speaking I'm sorry I have it's your husband oh was it oh no I did know that you just put me on the spot it'll be great (47:44) definitely my husband's speaking it will be great clearly he's told me what he's talking about everybody the end of Philippians yeah it's good to see those two communicate yeah so we're going to be talking about marital communication next week no we're not really do you know what we're talking about I remember doing the nights but I C remember what's in them I mean I'm sorry he actually hasn't told me has he not I know he's prepped it I'm sure it will be great but we actually haven't had a conversation about it he's been away this week he's been away he went on (48:16) Retreat he's had a nice time he's in a great place for coming and sharing great wisdom about the end of Philippians but I'm sorry I don't know fantastic it's going to be great so make sure you come join us at 700 p.m. in the UK come join us online uh on YouTube on Facebook I think we live stream all the informations is on the website www.c crow. (48:39) church but uh if you're online thank you so much for joining us uh it's been great with you we're going to go and chat to the inperson crowd now we're going to go pray um but thank you for being with us thank you for joining us it's been an absolute pleasure but that's it for me that's it from lovely to be with you bye for now [Music] [Music]