What Does The Bible Say About Anxiety?

What does the Bible say about Anxiety_ Let's talk about dealing with worry Matt: [00:00:00] Well, good afternoon and welcome to Crowd Church with MEMA Edson and my beautiful co-host today. Uh, r you're looking absolutely fabulous. Rach, great to have you. Thank Sharon: you, Matt. How Rach: we doing? Matt: You you're doing all right? Rach: Yeah, I'm good. Thanks. I'm good. Yeah. Good, Matt: good. Yeah. Welcome to, uh, crown. So if this is your first time, whether this big warm welcome to you, we are an online church, digital church, uh, and we say that we're a church for those that might not see the point of church. Video: Mm-hmm. Matt: And it doesn't matter where you are on the faith journey, whether you are, you know, whether this is your first time, if it is awesome, or whether you've, you know, you're a bit more like me and have been around a little bit longer. Uh, you know, it doesn't matter. Just welcome, welcome. It's great to see you. It's great that you are here. Whatever you are doing on this, uh, not so sunny Sunday afternoon, it's getting dark and gray. Now. The nights are zooming in very fast, aren't they, Rachel? I dunno if you found that. Rach: Yeah, I [00:01:00] have, but um, I quite like winter. Well, I love autumn and I quite like the dark nights, but yeah, not too, yeah, maybe not half three going dark. But yeah, it's definitely autumnal now, isn't it? Matt: Autumnal is such a good word. Rach: Yeah, Matt: it's very autumnal. What is it about the autumn that you like? Rach: Um, I love, I love transitions, so I love the change. I love to see the trees changing colors. I think they're beautiful. Um, I love the way the weather changes, although it's been quite weirdly hot hasn't it, up until today, so, Matt: um, yeah, it really has. Rach: Yeah, it really has. Yeah, I love, I love the change in the weather. Matt: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Uh, so if you are new to us, make sure you say hi in the comments in the live stream. It'd be great to hear from you. We've got a few people here already, which is great. Uh, Matt Crew has updated his Facebook profile of Picture Bud looks things, which is awesome. It's good to see Matt looking very James Bond esque, I feel. [00:02:00] Uh, Graham's there. Graham. Uh, how you doing? Good to see you. Uh, I think Sharon's there somewhere. Anyway, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, uh, make sure you say hi in the comments. Uh, it will be great for you to do so. You can also reach out to us via the websites, uh, which is Crowd Church, www Crowd Church. You can get ahold of us via WhatsApp through all the social media links. Everything is on the website. Uh, if you would like to know more, it'll be great to connect with you and to hear from you. That is for sure. I'm gonna push this button on my pad here. And Rach, let's talk about what is coming up today. Rach: Okay, well, we have got, um. Uh, a song, a worship song, which is um, gonna be great to listen to that Greg and Martha have done for us. And, um, we're gonna have a really interesting talk from Sharon all around anxiety and what does the Bible say about anxiety? And I'm really looking forward to that. 'cause I know that Shaz has got some [00:03:00] great things to say and she's gonna join us, isn't she? Later for us. She is. Matt: That's the plan. Yeah. Yeah. For the discussion Street. For the discussion street. I can't even read what it says on my own screen. Conversation Street. So Sharon is in fact gonna join myself, Ann Rach for Conversation Street, which will be great. Yeah. Uh, Sharon, like you say, has done this talk on anxiety and, and bless her. After she recorded it, she was like, I just didn't have enough time to talk about this and just didn't have enough time to talk about this, and I couldn't mention that. So Rachel's like, why don't you just come and join us on Conversation Street? Yeah. And for the first time ever, Sharon has gone. Alright then. So this is a monumental day. I just want everyone to know this is gonna be a great day. So we're looking forward to having groundbreaking. Video: Yeah. Yeah, Matt: Sharon and Rach later too. Very beautiful women in front of me talking about anxiety. So, uh, yeah, we're, we're gonna get into that in Conversation Street. So, um, yeah, we've got this new graphic, by the way, at the top of the screen, which you can see, uh, which kind of points out [00:04:00] whereabouts we are in the live stream. So we're here in the welcome section. Uh, we're gonna do the talk as Rach mentioned. We've then got the worship and then we've got Conversation Street all coming up and you can see where we are, uh, along the top. So hopefully that all works out well. The live stream's gonna last probably until around seven o'clock. Uh, UK time, which is about 54 minutes looking at my clock there. Uh, so we think it's gonna be about, sort of 45 minutes to an hour, usually around that sort of time. Hmm. So all of that said, right. Shall we jump straight into the talk? Shall we get into this whole thing? What does the Bible say about anxiety? So, uh, if you have been following along, you will know that we have just started a new series. And if you're new here, we've just started a new series and this is actually week three. What does the Bible say about where we look at the Bible? Uh, and we ask, what does it say about some of these really interesting topics that we have to face on a day-to-day basis? Anxiety being one of them. And so [00:05:00] Sharon is gonna look at this whole topic. What does the Bible say about anxiety? Here we go.[00:06:00] Sharon: What does the Bible say about anxiety? This is a great question, and to begin, we'll look at what is anxiety. We can define anxiety as a feeling of unease that can be mild or severe. It's different to fear, which is an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain or harm. Fear and anxiety often occur together. They share some similarities and have some differences. Fear and anxiety are similar in that they affect our emotions, but also our thoughts and our bodies. They can also be a spiritual element to both. The Bible talks about people being made up of spirit, soul, and body, and these elements are all integrated so that what affects one part of us often affects the others. For example, some physical conditions such as an overactive thyroid changing hormones. Or a vitamin [00:07:00] deficiency can cause anxiety due to, um, an imbalance in our bodies. They're different in that fear relates to a known threat, a threat that's actually present now, whereas anxiety is because of an unknown, um, an expected or a poorly defined threat With anxiety, we can imagine the worst case scenarios. Now, everyone feels anxious or fearful from time to time, and the feeling usually passes once the anxiety or the fear inducing situation is over. So are fear and anxiety wrong? In some cultures, we've got the almost unconscious belief that the person who never struggles with emotions, including fear and anxiety, is the better and more virtuous and more courageous person. And this idea has also in infiltrated the church in the past, and it's still with us today to a certain extent. And we can also read verses in the Bible such as Philippians four, which says, don't be anxious. And then we can feel bad for feeling [00:08:00] anxious and feel like we have to pretend we're fine when actually we're not. So is it wrong to feel anxious and fearful? I don't think so. And I'll explain why. I believe that our emotions are a gift from God. The Bible says we are made in the image of God, and one of the ways we're like him is we have emotions. As Christians. We believe that God came to earth in the Hu in human form as the person of Jesus. And we see Jesus experiencing many emotions. For example, he wept when a friend died, even though he knew he was about to raise him from the dead. He expressed love and compassion to a woman who other people wanted to stone to death. He was angry when he saw religious people exploiting both the temple and other people. He experienced intense and deep distress when he was praying in a garden just before he was about to be put to death. Emotions help us evaluate situations and [00:09:00] take action. They tell us how we are emotions in and of themselves are not bad. They're not sin, but we can react to them in unhealthy or even sinful ways. So take anger for example. The Bible says that when we're angry, we are not to sin. In other words, anger is an appropriate and a godly response to some situations, but we're not to use that as an excuse to lead us into wrong actions. So is anxiety godly or sinful? I think it's the same with fear and anxiety. They can actually be a good thing because they can allow us to recognize genuine threats or the possibility of threats and respond in a way that keeps us or others safe, either by running away or by tackling the problem head on. And they can give us drive to propel, uh, prop, prepare well for presentation at work, uh, or to work hard for an exam or to flee from the Taliban, but they can become a problem in a number of [00:10:00] ways. Maybe we use unhealthy ways to cope with situations. Maybe we stay in a consciously anxious state and wreck our bodies in the process. Maybe we start to, uh, feel anxious about things that aren't actually a threat. And instead of using our God-given gift of imagination, to think of all the amazing things God has for us in the future, we use it to imagine worst case scenarios. Maybe we turn down good opportunities. Maybe we don't do what we know God has told us to do. Now some people are naturally, uh, more anxious than others, and I come from a line of anxious people. My great grandfather committed suicide because he was so anxious about money, and it was my granddad who was 15 at the time who found him. And as a teenager and as a child, I had several physical symptoms caused by anxiety. At times, I'd find it hard to swallow. On other occasions, I had severe chest pain that made me think I was having a heart attack. [00:11:00] And at other times I'd have palpitations. I had investigations, and it was decided that the root of my physical symptoms was anxiety. I was anxious about things going wrong, about the possibility of accidents and illnesses. I was anxious about not being good enough, um, in social situations with people I didn't know, and the list just goes on, and I know that I'm not alone in feeling anxious at times. What things make you feel anxious? I wonder. Do share with us. Share them with us by writing in the comments. But I want to share with you a few ways the Bible has helped me deal with my anxiety. First, I want to briefly talk about dealing with the past and then about dealing with the present and the future. So, dealing with my past, I did this by dealing with my own sin, by seeking forgiveness from God. But also learning how to forgive others. And there is so much that I could say about these two things, but if you want to know more about that, check out the [00:12:00] Crowd Church website. And because I go into a lot more detail about, um, that there, something that has helped me get rid of an underlying persistent anxiety is faith. The simplest de definition of faith is believing what God says rather than what our feelings or what other people say. Faith helps us deal with the past, the present, and the future. See, I often felt anxious because I didn't think I was worthwhile or that I couldn't cope with situations and we, when we don't know our own worth and that we're accepted, we can feel anxious in situations when we're with other people. My thinking had been based on stuff that wasn't true, but God's Holy Spirit began to teach me that. Just because a thought comes into my head doesn't mean I have to believe it. I can choose to reject thought. If they're lies, and I can choose to believe the truth even if it doesn't feel true to begin with. So I began meditating on things that the Bible [00:13:00] said about me, such as, I'm God's workmanship. I'm loved with an everlasting love. God loved me so much that he sent Jesus to die for me. And every day for months, I would think about these things and speak them over myself out loud, until they begin to seek sink deep into my spirit. And it changed the way I felt and some more of the anxiety disappeared. So what about other ways that the Bible helps us deal with anxiety about things happening now or in the future? Well, I found these verses so helpful. It's from, they're from Philippians four verses six to eight, and they say, do not be anxious about EV anything, but in every situation by Prayer and petition with Thanksgiving. Present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is [00:14:00] right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy. Think about such things in the original Greek, the word anxious here has connotations of meditating on anxious thoughts, and these verses are like step-by-step, step instructions. You may have noticed that the first verse of this passage is the one that I quoted earlier when I said, we, um, can use this verse to feel guilty about feeling anxious. But in fact, it's not telling us that we are awful on ungodly, ungodly people. If we feel anxious, it's telling us how to handle our anxiety. I'm gonna give you an example of a situation where these verses really help me. I debated whether or not to share, um, this example because in some ways it seems a bit frivolous compared to the awful situations that many people are dealing with. I work with asylum seekers and refugees and I hear stories from them every week about the [00:15:00] traumatic experiences they've had and continue to have. And I know many other people are dealing with chronic illness or the death of someone they love or huge pressure at work. But this goes back to a time in my life where I just got real revelation of these verses and um, and also the, these verses say to pray about every situation, not just the enormous ones. And the Bible says that, um, God has numbered the hairs of my head and I figure if God's interested in how many hairs I've got on my head, he's interested in me talking to him about all my worries, big and small. Also, I know I'm not the only one that worries about this stuff. So the situation was this. Me and Matt had the opportunity to go to the USA with one of our pastors and his wife and another friend to take part in a conference there. I used the word conference here quite lightly as it really wasn't that grand, but Matt really wanted to go and I really didn't want to go. And I had several [00:16:00] reasons why I didn't want to go. I was really anxious about flying. I was anxious about collapsing on the plane because this has happened to me before. And, um, I was anxious about traveling long distance with a toddler whilst also being pregnant because our son Josh, wasn't quite too at the time when I was pregnant with Zach. Also, I don't think the pregnancy hormones really helped with this either, so I didn't wanna go, but I didn't wanna stop Matt from going. Also, I didn't wanna let him go and be on my own at home. I didn't like any of the options available. So I prayed and ask Godd if I should go on the trip or stay at home. Which might seem like a silly question, but I just felt so anxious that I wanted someone to tell me what to do. But after I prayed, I have a had this sense that it was fine for me either to go or to stay, but if I stayed, I'd miss out on something good. That wasn't the answer I wanted. So I turned to the verses in Philippians for help. The first thing it said was to [00:17:00] pray and present my request to God. So that's what I did. I wrote down each worry and asked God to speak to me about each thing individually. The second thing that the verse is to do is to thank God and the thanking God bit comes before we've seen Him do anything before we've had the answer to our request. We thank him in faith that he hears us and will help us. So I thank God that he cared about my worries and that he would speak to me. So over the next days, I wrote down anything that I felt that God had spoken to me about these things. And if you're not sure how to hear God's voice, then check out a talk that we did a few weeks ago. You'll find that on the website. So as I worked through this process, something changed in me, um, through these verses and the piece that they talk about started to come to me. God also be began to work in this whole thing. Um, in that we ended up having a whole row of seats each on the plane so I could just, [00:18:00] um, lie out flat. Um, which was one of the things that I was a bit anxious about or had been anxious about before. Um, so I had this whole row of seats, um, which meant that I ended up not collapsing. There's more to that story. But anyway, um, and even Josh was great on the journey. I gave God my anxieties and he gave me peace. It was just as this first said, but what about times when the story doesn't actually go how we want? How about when there's like long-term illness or someone we love dies? This passage in Philippians that I've talked about is still valid here. The same principles apply no matter how big or how small our situation. When Jesus was in the garden just before he was arrested and put to death, he said this, my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me. Going a little further, he fell on his face to the ground and prayed. My [00:19:00] father, if it's possible, may this cup be taken from me, yet not as I will, but as you will. I find it comforting that Jesus God, the son, knows what it's like to feel so overwhelmed with such deep and difficult emotions. He needed people around him to help support him. He's not praying a quick Prayer, and then he's feeling okay again. He's wrestling in Prayer. But he gets to the point of surrender to God. And I think surrender is a key word here. Surrender. He tells God the Father what he wants, but he says in effect, I'll submit to you. I know you. I know that your love and I trust you, even though the darkness is closing in, even though I'd prefer an easier way. Now, I have a friend called Jane, and when she gave her life to God, her fear of death left her. But she was still afraid of someone. She loved dying. And in [00:20:00] 2004, Jane's fourth child, Joel was born with multiple holes in his heart. Um, he was actually a friend of our son, Zach. Um, he had an operation as a baby to help contain the situation, but they couldn't do a curative operation at the time because it was considered too dangerous. So the plan was to wait for him to get a little bit bigger and then do the opt to repair the holes a bit further on. But as you can imagine, this all played into Jane's fear and anxiety of someone dying. But it was through a particular Bible study several years later that even this fear left her. One verse in particular that came to mean a lot was this one, Psalm 20, verse seven, some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of our, the Lord our God. It wasn't until Joel was eight that he finally got a date for his operation at Alder Hay Children's Hospital in Liverpool. Now, the operation itself went well, [00:21:00] but his recovery didn't, and he ended up getting flown down to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London to be put on an ECMO machine as his lungs weren't working. You may have heard of this machine now because they're used being used a lot with COVID patients. Jane said it was an incredibly tense, intense time, but she didn't feel anxious, just supported both by people and by God. Every morning while Joel was in hospital, she'd wake up, she would cry, she would worship, and she would pray. Um, 'cause although there wasn't, um, there wasn't the fear and anxiety there because God had already taken those away. It was still a really, really emotional time. So there were a lot of tears. And the word she used a lot was intense intensity. There was an intensity of grief as she realized that she was actually losing Joel, but also an intensity of God's [00:22:00] presence. The Psalms in the Bible were also a, a massive comfort to her. Like Jesus. She came to that place of surrender. Joel died in her arms in the September of that year. It might be the August actually. Um, but Jane's story is an example of how we can experience God's peace in situations where naturally we'd be really fearful and anxious. And that piece was beyond understanding as the verse in Philippians says. It was a piece despite circumstances, um, not because of them. And surprisingly to me, she still doesn't actually have a fear of someone she loves dying. I would've thought that that would actually make her more fearful because it's happened. But she says that she's been there and she's known God's comfort and his peace. Why did God let God let that happen in the first place? He's powerful. He could have stopped it. That's a question for another time, for a different [00:23:00] story. My friend Tim went through a really tough time, so I asked him what helps him to get through, and here is his response. Tim: Hi, my name is Tim. Um, and I want to tell you a little bit about what happened to me. Um, in August last year, I suffered, uh, heart attack and five ventricular tachycardias, which means my heart was, uh, ultra fast pacing and I almost died five times. I was in critical care in Oxford Hospital and it was a tumultuous time. Now I'm a Christian. I, in that circumstance, experienced, um, anxiety post-event that caused me to question very basic questions about who I was, what the point of life was, whether I should live, you know, and what I should do with the rest of my life. If I did live and. Uh, I [00:24:00] just wanted to share how, um, one story in particular was helpful to me in that process of recovery, and that's the story of Elijah in One Kings 19. The story of Elijah explains how following a load of victories, Elijah faces terrible adversity. And then he runs away. He has all these victories, then he suffers adversity in that he gets a death threat from a lady called Jezebel. It makes him really scared and he runs off and hides under a bush. Then we see God dealing with Elijah, and this is what really helped me. Um, the start of it, the start of his recovery was his ability to be vulnerable. Uh, that was the same for me in recovery. I felt God led me towards a place where I was able to be vulnerable. That was to share my deepest. Felt hurt and anxieties with important people in my life to be able to share those things and [00:25:00] to be able to hear them reflect. Because the problem is we see with Elijah how the enemy has gone after his identity. He's questioning who he is, um, entirely. He's like wanting to die. He says, I'll be only as good as my ancestors. And to be honest, I felt similar. But when I was able to be vulnerable with other people, they were able to reflect back to me the truth of my identity in God. It wasn't something I could see in the place that I was at, but when my friends reflected it back to me, it broke the power of isolation that comes with anxiety. Um, when it happens to any of us. The second thing was God met with our Elijah simply, he gave him sleep. He gave him bread, he gave him water. Sometimes when we're anxious, there are things we need to recover from. A [00:26:00] thirdly, he gave him clarity. Elijah listened to the to for the voice of God. He listened for the voice that would supersede the voice within him that was making him increasingly anxious. And God spoke to him with a still small voice. It really helped me hearing that story from One Kings 19. Uh, I hope it helps you and wherever you face adversity or anxiety. Remember that you can break the power of isolation by doing the journey with other people. That took for me to meet a counselor, to spend time with another family friend and to go to a support group for those who had survived critical care, as well as listening to the voice of God through scripture. That's my [00:27:00] story. Sharon: One of the things that I love about talking to different Christians about how God's helped them in difficult situations or with their anxiety or with their fear, is like they have completely, uh, different angles on the same, the same subject, it's the same God, it's the same scriptures, but, um, they draw on different aspects of it and draw on different aspects of God, like different aspect, different facets of a diamond. So why does the, the Bible tell us not to worry? It's because God cares for us. We're important to him and he wants to help us. He gives us the power to overcome. And even though things may be tough one day, he's gonna put all the wrong things right. We have a hope we can hang onto this hope that we have. Even when our emotions are all over the place, we can hang onto God's words when we can't see clearly. You know, I've had times when I felt as though I were like a pilot flying a [00:28:00] plane through thick clouds that I couldn't see the way out of the situation that I was in. I wasn't even sure which way was up and which way was down. My emotions were all over the place, but God's word was like the instruments on my plane guiding me, steady, dependable, leading me to a better place. I sometimes have this expectation that I should feel great all the time, but that's not reality. We've seen that Jesus had times of intense and difficult emotions. He wasn't always in the place of great happiness and neither will we be, but we can trust God to lead us. I'll leave you with these verses, which you may be fam familiar with, which describe God as a shepherd, leading us through this journey of life and all the different situations, the lovely times and the difficult ones too. Our destination isn't the hard stuff we're going through now. We're just passing through. A better day is coming, [00:29:00] so it's Psalm 23. It says, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall lack nothing. He lay, 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 namesake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your Rudd and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Rach: Wow. Thank you Sharon. Thank you for all the effort that you've put into [00:30:00] preparing, um, that talk for us and, and to Tim and to Jane for sharing their stories and being happy to share them because it really helps, doesn't it? Sometimes to hear someone's story because it brings something to life for us. And I just thought that was great. So, um, we will have time to chat about what we've heard from Sharon, but before we do that, we're gonna have a time of worship. We're gonna be able to listen to a song, um, that Greg and Martha have recorded for us, and it's called. When hope is in you. And, um, I think it's really important when we're talking about anxiety, thinking about mental health, that we know that, um, God is a God of hope and there's hope for every day. So let's listen to that now.[00:31:00] Video: My strength soul.[00:32:00] My strength in[00:33:00] eyes hope.[00:34:00] To soul, to soul in heart like soul. How great will God this? Let your peace surrounding me, fill my eyes to heart.[00:35:00] Sharon: This is weird. So Matt: welcome back. Welcome back. Hello ladies. Hello, Sharon: hello, Matt: hello. Uh, so welcome back after that, uh, brief Worship and Reflection interlude there with Greg and Martha who are absolute legends and have written a beautiful song. It's such a great song, isn't it, when Hope is in You. So for the first time in a while on Conversation Street. We have the speaker, uh, in the house. So welcome babe. [00:36:00] Video: Well, Sharon: thank you. Matt: Round of applause. I think I've got, I know it's the wrong one. Hang on. There's a wrong no. There we go. So we have sound effects, uh, and I just couldn't find the right one. So there you go. I, I know where it is now. Sharon: Prerecorded things, so, Matt: yeah. Yeah, it is. I was actually surprised when you said that you'd be willing to do this when Roach asked. So, as I said at the start, this is a monumental occasion, ladies, gentlemen, to have both, uh, of the beautiful ladies sat in front of me. Now, if you have any questions, thoughts, or comments, uh, that you would like to add Conversation Street about today's talk, what the Bible says about anxiety, feel the freedom to put them in the comments, put them on the website at Crowd Churchill. You can share them via Watts app, if that's helpful, we would love to hear from you. So, uh, and if you don't know, uh, and if this is, you know, one of the first times you're with us here at Crowd Church, why would you know the, the lady [00:37:00] on the left, uh, Sharon, there is actually my wife, so when I call her babe, I'm not being over familiar. Um, I just wanna point that out. Uh, uh, there, there is a history between us, so we're okay. And in fact when we got married, yeah. No bit of history when we got married. Rach who is sat next to Sharon, uh, was Sharon's best woman. 'cause we didn't have a wedding. Yeah, Sharon: yeah. Our bridesmaid Rach: best woman. Yeah. That was a few years ago now, wasn't it? It was a few. Yeah. Yeah, Matt: yeah. Two's go anyway. Haven't Rach: age Sharon: fine. Matt: So let's get into this whole topic of anxiety. First of all, babe. Great Talk. Um, now one of the things that I heard around the house. Yeah. Matt's just put in the queue in the comments here. Don't call R Babe. So, uh, I'll try not to. Um, uh, that's ours job. Uh, one of the comments around the house was, uh, you wished you had time to talk about this or you had to take that out [00:38:00] because you, you weren't that you, Do you know what I mean? We, there's a time, always a time constraint with these talks. What's one of the key things that you didn't put in the talk that you wish was in there? Sharon: I think because I, I wrote out an original talk and then we realized it was far too long, so I had to cut it down. So I think, um, and usually I'm not very good at elaborating and having more detail was on this one. I was actually quite good at that, Video: but I had to cut it Sharon: all out again. So I think one of the things was actually, for me it was dealing with the past was like really key because I had so much undealt with stuff. Both, um, my own sin and like stuff that I've not forgiven other people for, that actually gave this, uh, quite a lot of underlying anxiety so that when anything else happened, it was just like an extra little bit tipping onto that already mound of anxiety. Um, 'cause I think like the whole thing of sin, which is basically [00:39:00] missing God's standard, it's like when we know that we've done something wrong. If we don't deal with it, the choices that we've got are, um, I like to pretend that we've not done it or to what else is there, um, to like change the standard. But actually when we know that we are wrong, that can be like a real weight on us. Whereas why will teachers repentance, which is to come and actually admit it, to be really upfront about it and to receive forgiveness for that. Um, and just having that, not having to carry that weight around. Mm. Because I think if we, if we hide it, we tend to want to hide from people because we are like, if they really know who I am mm-hmm. Then the gonna reject me and that can cause a whole lot of anxiety in lots of situations. So it was bits like that, which I would've liked to have expanded on a bit more. A bit more. Matt: Well the good news is, uh, we are an online church, so there's no reason why you couldn't record those videos and we could add them to the website if [00:40:00] people wanted to know more. So, you know. Just putting that out there. There is that possibility, Rach, um, out of that talk, uh, I, 'cause what you won't know is when the talk is being played, uh, both Rach and I can hear the talk. Uh, so we, we, I hear it in my headphones, so I know what's being said, which is always helpful. Uh, and I can actually hear Rach and Rach is, uh, she's not a quiet listener when you were talking about, so she's, she's, uh, she's like, yes, that's right. Or Amen. Ooh. Oh, I like that. Um, and so, Rach, when you were listening to the, to the talk, uh, there was obviously a few bits that you were enjoying. What, what stood out to you? Rach: I think I just love hearing people's stories. So Sharon Shaz shared some of her story, and I know Shaz really well, so I know even more of her story, which we've just been chatting about. And then just to hear how Jane handled things and then. Tim's story in [00:41:00] particular really resonated with me because he, when he said that he shared really honestly what was going on with him and his fear and his anxiety with some people that he really trusted, then they could all then address what was really going on. And I think, I mean, I, um, I'm involved in family support with my job and um, I support a lot of parents who really, um, where anxiety is a big issue and can be quite debilitating at times. And my heart really goes out to them. Um, and they're really trying their best. And when he shared that he was really honest and vulnerable about what was really bothering him, then things could start to change. And I think. When people are really isolated [00:42:00] and feel, sometimes people can feel really ashamed, then that can just compound things, um, that are going on in them with their emotions and particularly with anxiety can really compound things. And um, I just think just sharing it doesn't mean that it goes away, but it means then that you can start to look at it. And I love the way that he got other, um, help so professional help Video: to, Rach: to, to look at what was going on for him because I think there are certain times or events in life where we need professional help or professional input to um, maybe give some context or go No, that's your reaction's perfectly normal there. I'm sure for Tim, he needed to hear that his responses and the level of anxiety experience. By nearly dying. Mm-hmm. He probably needed reassurance that that was a normal response. Matt: And well do you, uh, question to both of you, I [00:43:00] suppose. Do you think it it's, I mean it's interesting that, that Tim brought that across, right? That actually he talked about being runable and talking about stuff. Mm. Um, I was brought up of, you know, there's, there was two worldviews when I grew up. A problem shared as a problem to Hal or a problem shared as a problem. Two people have got, Do you know what I mean? And, uh, yeah. And I was always sort of the latter too. Do you think there is a thing in church which stops people feeling like it's okay to talk about what makes them anxious? Sharon: I think it's improving, but yeah, I, I do think there's been a lot of stigma around it. Definitely. That if you are feeling anxious, then you are not in faith or whatever. But I think we can't necessarily control our initial reaction to stuff. Um, and yeah, we need to be able to share, I think those verses in Philippians, which talks about [00:44:00] actually coming to God and saying what the problem is. Video: Mm-hmm. Sharon: Um, and like with Jesus getting his mates around him to support him, it's like actually both of those things I think are really supported in scripture. But yeah, for some reason we kind of said, oh no, you, you've gotta pretend everything's okay. And, and I don't think that's very healthy. Yeah, I agree. I agree. It's Matt: interesting, isn't it, that one of the questions, I mean, when we do the research for these talks, one of the questions that kept coming up about anxiety and fear is, is it wrong? Is anxiety sinful? Yeah. So it's in the same bracket, isn't it? That there is this belief or can be this belief. That anxiety is in, is in fact wrong. 'cause it, it tells you not to do it. Therefore, if you are anxious, you are sinning or you are wrong. Rach: Yeah. And Matt: that maybe stops, stops us sort of sharing things. Do What do you think, rich? Rach: Yeah, I think, well Sha said it at the beginning, but in the Bible it says, do not be anxious. So then you're like, oh, but I feel anxious, [00:45:00] therefore I feel bad. And I definitely felt like that in my life. Um, I think, um. I am definitely, well, I, I am with my upbringing, very middle class in many ways and almost like, well, you just get on with it. You just put your head down. You just work hard. You achieve, you get results, you get a job, blah, blah, whatever it might be. Um, yeah, Matt: that's, that's, that's the term for there. Rach: But, but there's this sense of, um, oh, but be being vulnerable. Oh, well, you, you shouldn't break down or you shouldn't this or you shouldn't that. And particularly when it comes to mental health, and I think my children's generation are a whole lot better about talking about things more openly because it's within the school curriculum and we've had to learn the hard way. To be honest and vulnerable. And um, and that's good that [00:46:00] we've had to learn it and hopefully we're modeling it to our children. But I think if you look in the Bible at what is recorded in the Bible, there are plenty of people in the Bible that have really had a hard time when it comes to their mental health. Um, and they have been really honest about it. And, and I love the fact that it's in the Bible because it's there to help us. And also, um, like Sharon said that Jesus, um, went through a great deal of mental distress and that's recorded in the Bible. Um, and he didn't sin, did he? You know, but yet he went through these things and he was in torment at times, and I'm so glad that we know that, um, because it's. It gives us hope. And I think the really important thing is, is that there is hope. Video: Mm-hmm. Rach: So when [00:47:00] it comes to, um, if we, um, are affected by anxiety or depression or any other mental illness, there is hope and the Bible is full of hope. And that sometimes I feel like you have to dig for it and mine for the treasure in the Bible to really help us. And I think we're getting better as a church. As the church in general. We're getting better, but you know, we do need to keep thinking about these things and talking about them. No, we Matt: do. And I mean, last week Phil boarded up a little bit after the service 'cause it was World Mental Health Day. Um, you know, the whole thing about men and anxiety and worrying and all that sort of stuff, which was just fantastic to listen to. Video: Yeah. Matt: One of the things that says, uh, in the book of one Peter, it says, uh, humble yourselves into the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you and do time or lift your work. Right. Um, and it, and then it tells you how to do this. It says casting all your care upon him because he cares for you. Now that word care, I'll [00:48:00] put actually that in the comments, but that word care, um, is the same word that Paul uses when he says, do not be anxious. So do not be anxious. Do not care about anything, as in, you know, obviously it's good to care, but do not be, uh, anxious about stuff. Uh, and so Peter here is saying, cast your anxieties over on God for he cares for you. And I thought, actually, one of the things you said, babe, at the end of the talk is. Uh, which I thought was quite good, is why, why would God talk about anxiety? Why would he give us mechanisms to deal with it? Why would he be interested in helping us with, uh, anxieties rather than just going, yeah, you just stole a bunch of crazy people down there. I'm just gonna leave you to it. Do you know what I mean? And it's kinda like, and it says right there, and you talked about it in the talk. God does this because he cares for us. He loves us. He is interested in what's going on. He cares about the hairs on our head, whether we get seats on a plane in New York and whether we collapse on it and Do you know what I mean? And all that sort of stuff. So, but that, that verse where it talks about casting [00:49:00] your anxieties doesn't sound like an easy process to me. Rach: No. It Matt: sounds like there's a bit of effort involved, and I don't know if you, if you both could talk about this, like when you've had to. You know, have you had to wrestle with anxiety? Is it just a case of saying, God, here are my anxieties and there you go. Have at it, I'm, I'm leaving them? Or is there, is it a bit more involved? Is there a bit more casting, a bit more effort? Sharon: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I, I can think of a few times during lockdown. So quite often I can go in life and I'm okay and then I'll just, suddenly there was something happens and I get really anxious and quite intensely anxious about it. Um, I'd like to say that my first response is to go and cus it all on God. Sometimes it takes me a little while to go, hang on a minute, what am I doing? Um, you know, several days or weeks later. But, um, yeah. And I remember in lockdown there being a few occasions where I was just really anxious about [00:50:00] stuff. Video: Mm. Sharon: Um, and when I did eventually pray about it, it took a while for, uh, of. Yeah. I just keep going to God. And then, um, one particular occasion, I remember I'd talked to a few different people about it, and then it was one person what they said. I was like, oh yeah, I know that's from God. And then I was okay because I'd heard, but actually to get to that point took a little while and quite a lot of wrestling and a lot of angst in the middle of that. Video: Yeah. Sharon: But yeah, it tends to be how I work, I think. Rach: Mm. What Sharon: about you, Rach? Rach: Yeah, I, it's definitely a learning process and I think sometimes I don't even realize that I am anxious about something. And then almost like the pressure of life gets to a point and it's like, oh, you know, and I realize I'm really overwhelmed. Video: Mm-hmm. Rach: Um, and I think, um, yeah, then I, I have to take myself away [00:51:00] from and have some time by myself. I quite enjoy, I think it's good for me to get outside and get in nature and go walking. I find that really helpful. Um, and talk to God that way. Um, you know, and, and in the verse that says about, um, when Jesus does say, do not be anxious about anything, he then talks about nature Video: and Rach: think about the birds, you know, and how God provides food for them. And think about how beautiful nature is. And God, um, has made nature beautiful and it, I have to remind myself of how amazing God is. And then I feel like, oh yes, and I can, therefore I can trust you, God. With this thing, or for me, with my job, you know, my job can be really stressful and I really care about the families that I'm involved with and volunteers are involved [00:52:00] with, and some of their situations are heartbreaking and I can get anxious about them. And it's almost like I have to trust the families and what I really care about to God because I can't control the outcome, but I can invite God in to help them and what they're going through. And, um, so it's like a, it's like a process, an ongoing process of learning and trust in him. Um, Matt: that's really interesting. The comment you said there about not controlling the outcome just instantly made me think about, uh, Jesus in the garden and that whole conversation. Then around surrender, it's like actually. Anxiety, we are anxious 'cause we can't control the outcome. We dunno what's gonna happen and it could be potentially bad and that, that makes us anxious. Video: Yeah. And Matt: coming to a place of going like, like Jesus did in the God and not my will, but your will be done. In other words, God, I can trust you enough even though I don't understand what's going on. [00:53:00] Yeah. But actually you, you've got this in hand. Video: Yeah. Matt: Uh, and. That I think sounds to me like it's a key part of this whole thing of dealing with anxiety, isn't it? And yeah. And the ability to trust God and to give God these things and, and know that he's good and that he will deal with stuff like that, I think is super helpful. Video: Yeah. Matt: Um, I would struggle if I didn't have that, if I didn't have my faith. I've gotta be honest with you because I, I don't know where else to put that anxiety. No, Rach: no. And I think, I mean, we, we were talking a bit, um, when we were off camera, we were talking a bit. So like, um, I would say at times during my life I struggled maybe more, or, you know, had times of depression in my life. Video: Mm-hmm. Rach: Um, but I wouldn't say, um, medical anxiety, so clinically diagnosed, anxiety has been a thing for me necessarily, although I can. Struggle with anxiety, and I think for some people as [00:54:00] well, um, they do need that, um, support and intervention medically to help them as well as all of these other things because, and, and ultimately I believe a hundred percent that God can, um, and wants to heal us. Of course they do, but I think for some people they do need medical support as well in order to manage some of these symptoms of anxiety. I remember reading someone's book around it and I was like, gosh, to deal with that and the, the, the onslaught of anxiety, that must be horrendous. And so I think, um, for some people they definitely do need medication to help them as well as, and it's a bit like with Tim's. Journey he needed. He, but, you know, and so would never want anyone to feel bad at all if they need medical support, um, to [00:55:00] manage anxiety. Um, Matt: yeah, I think that's very good. And I think the comment there is, you know, that especially if you're from a certain era of people, you know, if you're a certain age, there is stigma attached to anxiety, there is stigma attached to feeling anxious and being a Christian, there is stigma attached to feeling anxious and being a Christian and having staying medication. You know, there's a whole, uh, raft of feelings and, and, and I'm, and I think what we're saying is actually this, is this needs to stop. Yeah. And, uh, it's not right. And, and neither are we promoting it. Um, but neither are we saying, you know, we have to live in anxiety for the rest of our lives. That actually God is bigger than that. Yeah. Is bigger than our anxieties. Yeah. And God can still work both in and through us. Joy. That. And that's the hope, isn't it? That's the hope that we have. Um, and that we can lose the stigma. We can, we can get the hope. And actually in the midst of all of this, God can [00:56:00] still do some really good things in and through us. Yeah. When we, when we trust him with the whole thing. And that, and that's, that's beautiful. Yeah. Because I've, I've known it from both sides. I've known people that just totally shit up because of the stigma and I, stigma and not stigma. Stigma. And I've known people who, um, who have gone totally the opposite way. They're just like, this is me. This is who I am. I'm just gonna be this way for the rest of my life. Video: Yeah. Matt: Uh, and. And I think both extremes just seem, seem a bit off to me. They, they, they don't feel right somehow that actually somehow God's God can still be in this regardless. You know? Sharon: And I don't think as Christians are, identity is not, oh, I'm an anxious person. Our identity is who God says we are. Like we're a child of God, we're loved. Um, it's not in the anxie, you know, anxiety is not part of our identity, even though we might experience that. Um, but the other thing I was thinking of. But actually during the talk was, [00:57:00] um, see, I, I like hearing different people's stories because they do have a different kind of, um, just a different view of things, even though it's the same principles, but I think sometimes it can be easy to compare ourselves. So we hear someone else's story and go, oh yeah, but God's not come through for me like that. Yeah. And, and I think the whole thing with that is let's not compare ourselves. Let's seek God for ourselves. Yeah. And see what he wants to do in us, and not think, oh, he has to do it how we did it for them, or how we did it for this person. Rach: Yeah. Sharon: Brilliant. Rach: I love, I love, um, in the Bible there's a book called Lamentations, and it's when, um, the children of Gods and the Old Testament went through desperate times. I mean, just dreadful and desperate. And then at the end, and, and, and the person that's writing it is very, very honest and very real. And, um, like could, sounds brutally real about what they're going through. And then right at the very end of the [00:58:00] book, it shares the verse, the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. And there's that the verse of hope versus of hope. And I think yes, we've got to be real. We've got to be vulnerable, we've got to be honest. Get it all out in whatever way that needs to happen. And then for the hope of God to come. And I think, um, in really dark times for people. Um, that verse can be really key. Mm-hmm. And really, really helpful because every single day God gives us a new morning. There's a new morning every single day, and there's fresh mercy and there's fresh hope for that day. Yeah. No matter what happened the day before, there is an, um, that may be of encouragement. Matt: Yeah. No, that's great. That's awesome. Ladies, thank you so [00:59:00] much. Uh, that was fascinating. I feel like we're just scratching the surface, aren't we? And we could go so much deeper in this whole thing, but unless Sharon: time is not on our side. Matt: Um, so thank you so much for your contributions there about anxiety. If there is anything that has come up today that you would like us to, uh, pray about, anything, uh, that you would like to talk to us about, you can get in touch with us via the website or via the WhatsApp number, which I'll throw up on the screen right now. You can connect with us. Is that way we'd love to hear from you. Uh, but thank you so much. So this week was, what does the Bible say about anxiety next week? Do either of you know what's coming next week? I don't think either of you do. Do. Sharon: No. Okay. I Matt: just go on. Maybe Sharon: I do. Is it Mr. Matt: It is. Well done. Sharon: Well done. Matt: So what does the Bible say about science that's next week's topic? Oh, that would be good. And you are not gonna wanna miss it. I've actually heard the talk. The talks are prerecorded, uh, in case you didn't know. Sorry to spoil it. Uh, the, this isn't, this is always live, but the [01:00:00] talks are prerecorded. Next week's talk. What does the Bible say about science is brilliant, utterly brilliant. Will is such a top bloke. He's a bit of a scientist himself. And so he's gonna share his whole insight in this whole thing. Uh, and, uh, just a little bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh, he, he's such a clever, anyway. You're gonna want to come watch it. It's gonna be great. So do come join us next week as we talk about what does the Bible say about science. As I said, if you wanna reach out to us, do reach out to us, uh, on the number below. Right now, we are gonna close out the service by playing another worship track. Uh, and you can sing along to this one to your heart's content. Uh, you would be more than welcome to do that or to stay in the comments. Uh, what's Graham written here? One of the things I used to get anxious about was when other people had strong opinions of an issue, and I used to wonder why I didn't always feel the same way. Mm, that's interesting. A lot of time I didn't have any real opinion on anything. Yes. So that's, uh, interesting. Mm-hmm. [01:01:00] And Matt and a few other people put in here get anxious about work. Mm-hmm. So, uh, yes, we can cast that anxiety over onto God, can't we? Uh, so yeah. Anyway, have a fantastic week ladies. Thank you so much. Uh, it's been awesome. God bless you all. Have a fantastic week, uh, from myself and from the very, very beautiful two ladies in front of me. Bye for now. Bye.