Thinking as Means to Inner Peace

Tim Keller:

I've always been impressed by the contrast between contemporary strategies for coping with stress and Paul's counsel for how to get inner peace. Modern approaches tell you to take time off, to get a better work-leisure balance, to block negative and guilty thoughts, to exercise and to learn relaxation techniques. Modern books never tell stressed people: "Think about the big questions of life. Where are we from? Where are we going? What is the meaning of life?"

But Paul says, "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable . . . think about such things. . . . And the God of peace will be with you" (Phil. 4:8-9). In effect he is saying: "Think! God made the world and we turned from him—but he's come back to save us at infinite cost to himself. And some day he will put everything right and we will live with him forever. If you really understood and believed that, nothing could get you down for long. So think. If you are discouraged, think about and take hold of Christian doctrine until it puts some health and peace into you."

In short, the world tells you to get peace by not thinking too hard; Christianity tells you that you get peace by thinking very hard—learning, grasping, rejoicing, and resting in the truths of the Word of God.

So learn biblical doctrine—for your health.

Read the rest.

Books by Tim Keller:

• The Prodigal God  
• King’s Cross 
• Gospel in Life: Grace Changes Everything 
• The Reason for God  
• Counterfeit Gods  
• Generous Justice

"For most of us, it’s not heresy or rank apostasy that will derail our profession of faith. It’s all the worries of life."

Kevin DeYoung:

For most of us, it’s not heresy or rank apostasy that will derail our profession of faith. It’s all the worries of life. You’ve got car repairs. Then your water heater goes out. The kids need to see a doctor. You haven’t done your taxes yet. Your checkbook isn’t balanced. You’re behind on thank you notes. You promised your mother you’d come over and fix faucet. You’re behind on wedding planning. Your boards are coming up. You have more applications to send out. Your dissertation is due. Your refrigerator is empty. Your lawn is too long. Your curtains don’t look right. Your washing machine keeps rattling. This is life for most of us and it’s choking the spiritual life out of us.

The second thorn is related to the first. Jesus says the work of the word is swallowed up by the desire for other things. It’s not that possessions themselves are to blame. The problem is with everything we do to take care of them and everything we do to get more of them. Is it any wonder that the most stressed out people on the planet live in the most affluent countries? Cottages, boats, campers, timeshares, investments, real estate, snow mobiles, new cars, new houses, new computers, new iStuff—they all take time. We’ve heard countless sermons warning us about the dangers of money. But the real danger comes after your spend the money. Once you own it you need to keep it clean, keep it working, and keep up with the latest improvements. If the worries of life don’t swamp us, the upkeep will.

Jesus knows what he’s talking about. As much as we must pray against the devil and pray for the persecuted church, in Jesus’ thinking the greater threat to the gospel is sheer exhaustion. Busyness kills more Christians than bullets. How many sermons are stripped of their power by lavish dinner preparations and professional football? How many moments of pain are wasted because we never sat still enough to learn from them? How many times of private and family worship have been crowded out by soccer and school projects? We need to guard our hearts. The seed of God’s word won’t grow to fruitfulness without pruning for rest, quiet, and calm.

Read the rest. 


Books by Kevin DeYoung:

• The Hole in Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness
• Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will
• What Is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission
• The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism
• Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion

Promises for an Uncertain Future

Who doesn't wrestle with the uncertainty of what the future holds?  Yet we know that One who holds the future.

Mark Altrogge:

Maybe you’re about to graduate from college and have no idea what you will do this coming January. Perhaps you just lost your job. Or you’ve just moved to a new area where you know no one. Maybe you’ve just started a new job and feel overwhelmed at the challenges that loom before you. Maybe you’re single and wonder if you’ll ever get married. Your life may even be so uncertain you don’t know where your next meal will come from.

The reality is that none of us are secure in this world except in Christ. Nothing is certain. We aren’t guaranteed our next meal. We aren’t even guaranteed our next heartbeat. Even when we feel secure, we are incredibly fragile and completely dependent on the Lord for every breath. But when we are particularly tempted about the future it is important for us to meditate on these bedrock truths. My suggestion would be to copy these verses and put them somewhere so you can see them regularly, like in your Bible or on your fridge. Even if you only meditate on the first three or four, God will use his word to encourage your heart.

Click over to read the promises.

Along these lines I would recommend this resource.

"You see, real freedom is not liberty to do what we want or the absence of distress. Real freedom is the deep-seated confidence that no matter what, God really will provide everything we need."

Jon Bloom:

You see, real freedom is not liberty to do what we want or the absence of distress. Real freedom is the deep-seated confidence that no matter what, God really will provide everything we need (Philippians 4:19). The person who believes this is the freest of all persons on earth, because no matter what situation they find themselves in, they have nothing to fear (Philippians 4:11). 

But the only way for sinners like us with a bent toward unbelief in God to find this kind of freedom is by experiencing repeatedly God’s delivering power and his faithfulness. That’s why we are to count it all joy when we meet trials of various kinds (James 1:2). These trials are setting us free. 

God’s word to you through this story, in all the crises you face, is this: “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15).

Read the rest.


Recommended Resources:

• When People are Big and God is Small
• Running Scared

Antidote To Anxiety = Creation

Josh Blount:

Anxiety drains the life from your soul. It’s spiritual death by blood loss: a slow, steady drain on your vitality and passion and joy. It ends with helplessness and hopelessness. How do we fight it? How do we stop the bleeding so that our souls don’t shrivel and shrink under anxiety’s constant squeeze?

While God has given us numerous remedies for the malady of worry, there’s one we often might forget: the created world. All around us, every day of our lives, there is overflowing evidence that God rules his world and rules it well. Creation quietly and constantly reveals the power and wisdom of God. Consider the seasons: The colors of fall are an art display on a grander scale that uses a more glorious palette than any human art exhibit – and God pulls it off year after year without a single hitch.

Read the rest.

The Mark of Wonderful and Powerful Sanctification

Two highly recommended books by Ed Welch:

• When People are Big and God is Small
• Running Scared

Eight Reasons Why My Anxiety Is Pointless and Foolish

Great scriptural reminder here from Justin Taylor.  I'm sure most of us could use a little dose of this today.  I know I can.

These Two Paragraphs Could Change Your Life

When my kingdom is at stake - my reputation, my quest for being loved - there is much to lose.  Out of fear I commit myself to self-protection.  Does this sound familiar?  When the things we value are threatened, we protect them.  In this case it is the same as protecting ourselves.  The alternative is to lose my kingdom and be a simple servant of the Most High God.  His kingdom is never threatened because he is all-powerful and he doesn't need anything from us.  He calls us to love and worship him, but he doesn't need it in the sense that we talk about needing love and affirmation.  

This should sound liberating to those who are in bondage to the fear of other people.  When we see ourselves as kings who need affection, we are highly vulnerable.  But as children and servants, we owe a debt of love to others.  We were loved by God more than we loved him; there will always be that imbalance in our relationship.  The only appropriate and healthy response is to treat others the way God has treated us.  The result?  People's (perceived) opinions don't have the same power to crush us anymore.  Instead, we are less concerned about how we are treated and more concerned with how we treat others.  Rejection may still hurt, but it won't control us.  

- Ed Welch, Running Scared, p. 188, 189

Why The Sabbath is Quite Profound

Imagine that you are self-employed with very tight financial margins.  Miss a day's work and your competitors get the upper hand.  Miss a day's pay and you wonder if you'll be able to buy groceries.  Time is money.

Now consider an agrarian economy.  Here time might mean survival.  Delay planting and you might miss the rain.  Take a day off in the midst of harvest and your produce might over-ripen or even rot.  With these risks in mind, the Sabbath was a big deal.  It was a test, a weekly tutorial for anxious people.  God was saying through it, "I am the Creator God who will care for your needs.  Embedded in the rhythm of your week will be an opportunity to rest.  You will do this because I rested on the Sabbath, and you will do it because I continue to be at work on your behalf on the Sabbath."

Just when your think you are getting the knack of the manna and are not worrying about tomorrow, you are told to trust your heavenly Father for today and tomorrow.  Once again, we can't help but be astonished at God's strategy.  Worry and fear are about danger, perceived needs, and being out of control. By incorporating the Sabbath into the normal rhythms of life he gives us weekly opportunities to say, "You, God, are in control, and I will practice trusting you by honoring your Sabbath and resting today."

- Ed Welch, Running Scared: Fear, Worry & the God of Rest, p. 78

Why God Tests Us

Go is the One Who Tests, and he will test you. Don't think of final exams and test anxiety. Think of this test as a way to expose traitors during wartime. We are the potential traitors and don't even know it. God tests us because we are so oblivious to the mixed allegiances in our hearts. The purpose of the test is to help us see our hearts and if they are found traitorous, we can turn back to God. God is not playing mind games with us; he is forging a relationship.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain obread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. - Ex. 16:4

And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you yto know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. - Deut. 8:2

Control freaks and worriers are being told that the challenges of life are ordained by the Father and King. They are neither random nor accidental. The outcome of these daily tests doesn't give God any new information about us. He is the Searcher and Knower of hearts. At least one of their purposes is to reveal us to ourselves. In that, they have the potential to reorient us and send us back to the true God.

- Ed Welch, Running Scared: Fear, Worry & the God of Rest, p.  75, 76

This book is really good.

Talking Openly About Anxiety and Depression

Stephen Altrogge:

I think we need to talk more openly about depression and anxiety in our churches.

Several weeks ago I mentioned in a sermon that I have struggled with anxiety throughout my life. Immediately after my sermon a woman came up to me and asked me to pray for her because she was struggling with anxiety. She said, “I’m glad you mentioned it, because it made me feel like I could come up and ask for prayer.”

Think about it for a second. Millions of people around the world struggle with anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses, and millions of people within our churches struggle as well. Many women go through a period of strong depression following the birth of a child. Many great Christians of the past have struggled with depression, such as Charles Spurgeon, William Cowper, and David Brainerd.

And yet for some reason, we don’t like to talk about it. It feels weird and uncomfortable. Why is it such a taboo subject? I think that there are a couple reasons.

Read the rest.

Arguments Against Anxiety

In light of all the changes swirling around me right now I needed to read this today from JT's blog. 

1. God is near me to help me.

Philippians 4:5-6: “The Lord is at hand; [therefore] do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

2. God cares for me.

1 Peter 5:7: “. . . casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

3. My Father in heaven  knows all my needs and will supply all my needs.

Matthew 6:31-33: “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

4. God values me more than birds and grass, which he richly provides for and adorns; how much more will he provide for all my needs!

Matthew 6:26-30: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”

5. What can man do to me?

Matthew 6:25: “Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” [I.e., you still have eternal life even if you have no food; you will still have a resurrection body even if you are physically deprived.]
Luke 12:4: “Do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.”
Luke 21:16, 18: “Some of you they will put to death. . . . But not a hair of your head will perish.”

Romans 8:31-32, 35, 38-39: “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? . . . Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? . . . For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

6. Anxiety is pointless.

Matthew 6:27: “Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” [Answer: no one.]

7. Anxiety is worldly.

Matthew 6:31-32: “Do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things. . . .”
James 4:4: “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

8. Tomorrow doesn’t need my anxiety.

Matthew 6:34: “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Lamentations 3:23: “[God's mercies] are new every morning.”