Spiritual Formation in a Time of Chronic Anxiety (Part 2)

By Ryan Pflum

(6 minute read)

Please note: This is part 2 of a two-part blog post. See part 1 here.

Your Brain Can Change

We all have habits of thought, i.e., patterns of what we think and what we choose to dwell upon. We cultivate these habits, for better or worse, over months, years, and even decades. Say, for instance, that you experienced a significant abandonment in your early years. This is a tragic scenario, but not uncommon. You might, as a result, tell yourself daily that another

abandonment, maybe by someone you love, is just around the corner.

Give it enough time and you will develop a mental habit—a tendency to anticipate

abandonment. It will hurt. It will skew your perception of other people. It will make the world a

dark and foreboding place. Few things in life effect our wellbeing more than our habits of

thought. For those who struggle with chronic anxiety, they often seem inescapable. The good

news—praise God—is that our mental habits can change. Yes, our brains can morph.

Scientists call this neuroplasticity. It’s the ability of our brains to adapt to new information and

experiences. Dr. Grace Tworek explains:

Neuroplasticity speaks to the flexibility and adaptability of our brain throughout

our life. It’s how we grow as people. … Morphological alterations and structural

changes occur within our brains. New synaptic connections form between the

billions of neurons in your brain as you take in information. It’s a constant

process.

Translation. Your brain has been formed according to the inputs it’s been fed, i.e., the ideas,

images, and messages we’ve entertained over the years. Many of these have left us fearful,

depressed, and troubled. Welcome to modern living.

The Insidious Habit of Merimna

Let’s talk specifically about anxiety and the mental habits that cause it. The New Testament

word for anxiety is merimna (see Matthew 6:25, 31-33; 10:19-20; and Luke 10:41-42). To be

anxious in the Bible is to be distracted from the present moment and, instead, preoccupied with the “what ifs” of life. What if I lose my savings? What if my health fails? What if I end up alone?

The anxious person is drawn in many directions. He or she is concerned well past the point of

usefulness or benefit. It’s now a life of excessive worry.

Anxiety. Catastrophizing. Obsessing. Worrying. What an insidious family of mental habits. They rob of us the present moment, because we live constantly in a worrisome future. They steal our joy, because we are distressed over what might happen. They shroud us in darkness, because we are too distraught to see God’s light. Anxiety is a major spiritual problem. It’s a vexatious mental habit. What are we to do? Is there any hope?

Guardian of Our Souls

Absolutely, there is hope. Hope abundant. Gospel hope. God has wired us such that the

detrimental habits of our minds can be undone. Even more, they can be replaced with habits

that foster attachment to His goodness, truth, and beauty.

Of course, this reality does not preclude the necessity of psychiatric medicine and therapy.

Those are often crucial. Biochemical imbalance is real. Having said that, we can also focus so much on medicine and therapy that we forget what we, as practitioners of spiritual formation, are called to contribute to an anxious world.

Namely, we are called to help people meditate on the reality of God. We are called to exemplify a life saturated with His beauty and goodness. We are called to demonstrate the power of a mind renewed (including via neuroplasticity) by God. We are called to proclaim that renewal of our mental habits is possible when we set our minds on Him.

The Church has a significant role to play in shaping healthy mental habits. We have the words

of the master Teacher, Jesus, and those who followed Him. We have the words of life to renew minds that are plagued with anxiety. Let’s explore a classic text, Philippians 4:6-7:

6  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with

thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  7  And the peace of God, which transcends all

understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Paul implicitly recognizes what many of us know firsthand. It’s awfully difficult to stop being

anxious by a mere act of will. “Oomph your way to peace,” is unreliable, impractical, and makes for terrible advice. That’s why Paul doesn’t stop at, “Don’t be anxious.” Rather, he invites us into a host of renewed practices and mental habits. Paul, although unaware of the wonder of neuroplasticity, was way ahead of his time. Through him, God revealed highly sophisticated psychological truths.

First, the opposite of anxiety is not anxiety’s mere absence. After all, a six-pack of beer will

(temporarily) get rid of it. Rather, it is peace, what the Bible calls shalom. Shalom is both the

absence of strife and the presence of wellbeing in one’s mind, heart, and spirit. God’s desire is

not simply that we be free from anxiety, but that His shalom would envelope and extinguish it.

Second, likewise, the opposite of anxious mental habits is not superficial distraction (imagine

the well-meaning, yet flawed, advice, “just think about something else!”). Rather, it is the

presence of mental habits that attach us to the Guardian of our souls. It’s clear from this

passage, and many others, that non-anxious habits of the mind are characterized by

communing with God, expressing gratitude, and trusting in His provision.

New Mental Habits

The primary task of spiritual formation, as it relates to anxiety, is to leverage God’s gift of

neuroplasticity, i.e., new synaptic connections, to foster redemptive habits of the mind. This is

arguably what Paul means when he says:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a

living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not

conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:1-2)

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is,

seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3)

Our task as spiritual leaders, then, is two-fold. First, we must expose devious mental habits for what they are. Dark. Destructive. We must study and reflect on how mental habits of worry and fear decimate the souls of those we serve. We must teach others, unabashedly, just how inimical these mental habits are to life in God’s Kingdom. They are lies. Demonic falsehoods. Yet, God is stronger than the darkness. He offers hope. Anxious people ache to hear something hopeful.

Accordingly, second, we are called to teach people not only how to shun destructive habits, but also how to foster new ones that bring God’s shalom. We must be strategic, prayerful, and intentional about this. Suppose, for instance, that we taught others how to pray for surrender and quiet trust whenever worry arises. Instead of defaulting to racing and obsessive thoughts, suppose people knew how to replace those thoughts with prayers, like this:

God, I feel uncertain. I feel insecure. I feel trapped. I know that you are with me. Help me to

know that you are with me. Give me rest in your guardianship and love for me. I give the worries in my life to you. Amen.

Or imagine if we helped people memorize key passages to recall when anxiety strikes, like

these:

I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm

16:8)

Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. When I

said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great

within me, your consolation brought me joy. (Psalm 94:17-19)

The same goes for lectio divina, solitude, fellowship, and the like. These rhythms, among other things, instill within us new mental habits. In an anxious world, what could be more powerful than helping people think deeply and consistently about God, His guardianship, and His Kingdom? We can walk in shalom instead of anxiety. Jesus is the way. It’s tragic that we are often so distracted that we miss this calling.

Leaders, we have a tremendous opportunity. The hour is dire. Our mental health crisis is

crippling. Yet, God is powerful and faithful. We are the keepers of a high calling. As it relates to anxiety, that call is to foster key spiritual disciplines with a view to how they help us build

renewed mental habits and, ultimately, renewed spirits.

God longs for us to know that our future belongs to Him. He keeps us safe and secure, no

matter our circumstances. It’s high time that people from all walks of life discover this reality.