Catherine Haddow explains how true worship is the key to personal transformation
Fear is increasing.
Undoubtedly last year’s EU Referendum campaign was emotionally fuelled by a fear of the unknown. As I write, an article on BBC News states ‘UK girls are becoming more unhappy’. This is attributed to the impact of anxiety caused by comparison on social media, which the Bible would call ‘fear of man’. Undoubtedly the dramatically increasing anxiety levels in the secular community are putting mental health care services under unprecedented pressure.
But, sadly, I believe this pattern of increased anxiety is also strongly reflected in our churches. We know that we have Jesus, and we know this should make all the difference to being fearful. But in practice Christians often seem to try and deal with their fears in the same way as the rest of the world.
There is a reason why God says in his Word, ‘Do not fear’ (or derivatives of it) so many times. It’s because he knows we will fear. After all, the world we live in can be a frightening place.
Struggling Christians
I have the privilege of working 1-2-1 with struggling Christians and severe anxiety issues undoubtedly form the biggest proportion of cases. Anxiety, like ‘stressed’, is a word that is used rather flippantly these days, but, defined accurately, it is miserable and debilitating for the sufferer. And I believe it is also impacting the witness of the church.
Often those I work with 1-2-1 have been told by well-meaning Christians that they must ‘just trust God more’. I’ve heard this from clients so many times that I suspect it may be some form of subliminal evangelical doctrine!
So the sufferer really tries to ‘just trust more’. But they fail – again! Then they start to lack assurance as spiritual attacks come. More anxiety kicks in. The hormones released in anxiety make it harder to concentrate, so it becomes more difficult to pray, meditate on God’s Word or listen to sermons. The downward spiritual spiral continues. People typically become more isolated. Their sleep suffers and their appetite is often suppressed, weakening them physically too. Then they become depressed. So they go to the doctor and receive medication, often feeling guilty about taking it, asking themselves: ‘Shouldn’t God be enough – what’s wrong with me?’
Hearing the spiritual smoke alarm
Of course there can be a place for medication. But if we only medicate away the symptoms we fail to address the underlying cause of this crippling fear emotion. We neglect the spiritual smoke alarm anxiety provides and miss the opportunity for spiritual growth, to become more Christ-like.
To help someone suffering anxiety to respond helpfully to the spiritual smoke alarm, we need to dump the ‘doctrine’ of ‘just do it’; ‘just pray more’, ‘just read the Bible more’, ‘just come to church more’ – and instead help them to connect suffering this huge life issue with Scripture in a meaningful way. After all, the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture is a fundamental tenet of Christianity – the Bible is all we need to equip us for a life of faith.
Please be clear, I am not in any way dismissing the heartbreaking and frightening trials experienced daily by many in the church. The suffering experienced by some leaves me saddened beyond words. But God says in Romans 8.35: ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?’ Those who are helped to grasp this in the midst of suffering and live in the light of its truth, are able to face the fears of the world without anxiety.
Much can be done
But how? Well, the good news is that there is a lot that can be done to help those who suffer anxiety beyond ‘just do it’. And giving this help is not limited to those in leadership or who have professional or theological training.
I was privileged to recently be funded by a Christian charity to develop a biblically-based anxiety course which I’ve entitled ‘Facing Fears’. This helps individuals suffering from anxiety, or trains others in the church in pastoral care to help them. In it I use an adapted CBT model ‘tbH’ to address what I believe are the four core components of anxiety.
We can address the ‘tbH’: the thoughts of anxiety, the underlying biology of anxiety and the behaviours of anxiety. But most importantly, we can use those thoughts and behaviours, which Matthew 15.19 tells us ‘flow out of the Heart’ to help guide us in addressing the heart of anxiety for that person. Because Jesus isn’t in the business of self-improvement. He is in the business of transforming us and giving us completely new hearts. ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here’ (2 Corinthians 5.17)!
We can all draw alongside
We don’t need to be professionally trained to have a working knowledge of how the emotional, physical and spiritual fit together. Simply having a basic awareness can help us to come alongside someone suffering from anxiety in a meaningful way, far beyond ‘just do it’. This is something that every believer can do as we draw alongside, ‘one-another-ing’ (see Ed Welch’s book, Side by Side).
Praying for a sufferer and drawing alongside them in love and practical care is biblical, and what a wonderful blessing it is. Please keep doing it! But it is also so important to minister to the heart of the issue and that includes the experience of difficult emotions. This helps the sufferer to look outwards and upwards rather than inwards, which is so common in fuelling anxiety. When we are able to delve deeper into the ‘heart of anxiety’, through Scripture we start to see the true source of the ‘spiritual smoke alarm’ as, in his grace, God reveals our true heart of worship.
Worship of our heart
By worship I don’t mean our musical preference! I’m referring to the desire of our heart which every moment of every day asks the question ‘am I going to do this my way, or God’s way?’. Our answer is revealed through our words, thoughts, actions, and emotions. Are we trusting in God’s sovereignty and his providence, or trusting in our own means to deal with affliction and fear?
We may choose to deal with our fears ‘our way’ – but it doesn’t work. So we put more and more control behaviours in place. We become ‘demi-creators’ as we forget who we are in Christ and create our own identity instead. Not only that, we give God a new ‘preferred’ identity which sits more comfortably within our heart motives and how we want to ‘manage’ our lives. As we do this, I become more and God becomes less and the anxiety cycle is sustained and deepened.
Ultimately we must help the sufferer to understand their heart of worship and their false identity, what they are trusting in and motivated by. This is not exclusive to anxiety. Strong emotions experienced in our horizontal relationships day-to-day, reflect our vertical relationship with God.
He gives more grace
And as our hearts are exposed, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe ‘gives us more grace’ (James 4.6), as he brings sanctifying heart change through the work of the Holy Spirit. Hearts are transformed as our worship focus changes. As we are reoriented to what he has already done for us, will do, and what he is continuing to do in our hearts every day, we see anew who Christ is and who we are in him, whether we feel it or not, as our identity is re-affirmed in him.
There are an expanding range of excellent, scripturally-based resources available to help and I would thoroughly recommend visiting CEEF or Biblical Counselling UK’s websites for further information: www.ccef.org www.biblicalcounselling.org.uk
