Science confirms spiritual truth about anxiety

When it comes to controlling anxiety, science supports what the Bible has consistently taught each generation, throughout history. My friend and coworker alerted me to a truth about our brains that I knew I wanted to blog about. 

After reading several articles on the subject, I can honestly join the psalmist’s gratitude for God saying, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:14). 

I hope you will join me in that praise as you read this blog post! 

Scientific evidence about our “fearful and wonderful” brains 

There has been a lot of discussion and research about the increased anxiety that our culture, and especially our young people, are feeling right now. A 2022 Pew Research article states, “Experiences of high psychological distress are especially widespread among young adults. A 58% majority of those ages 18 to 29 have experienced high levels of psychological distress at least once across four Center surveys conducted between March 2020 and September 2022.” 

All of us experienced stress during the 2020 Covid crisis, but for many people, and especially young people, it can be difficult to move forward without worrying about future concerns. Interestingly, brain science continues to support the truth of Scripture as more is discovered about the unique ways we have been created by our God.  

A recent Mayo Clinic article reported, “Expressing gratitude is associated with a host of mental and physical benefits. Studies have shown that feeling thankful can improve sleep, mood, and immunity. Gratitude can decrease depression, anxiety, difficulties with chronic pain and risk of disease.” 

The Mayo Clinic article explains that the best way to control anxiety is to make use of the opposite side of our brain. While anxious thoughts occur in one half of our brain, thoughts of gratitude occur in the other. 

The article went on to say, “Remember that behavior changes biology. Positive gestures benefit you by releasing oxytocin, a hormone that helps connect people. Some people call it the love hormone.” 

Is it any wonder that Jesus said the most important commandment was to love God and the second was like it? We are also called to “love one another.” God’s word has always taught us how to live our best lives, with both health and happiness. 

It’s important to consider God’s word as scientifically accurate as well as spiritually sound. When we suffer anxiety, we need to quickly move those thoughts to the other side of our brain. Scripture teaches us how to do that.

Our God-given cure for anxiety 

The apostle Paul provided us with God’s cure for anxiety in his letter to the Thessalonians. Consider the science of the Mayo Clinic article in light of the inspired wisdom Paul wrote: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–22). 

God created our brains to function as they do and then gave us the wisdom of Scripture to help us know how to use our brains in the best possible way. Paul knew that the path to physical and spiritual health involved both gratitude and love. Remember that gratitude and anxiety occur on different sides of the brain. 

So, when we are anxious, it is God’s will that we: 

  • Rejoice always.

    The first thing to remember when our brains are consumed with worry or anxiety is that we are never without joy as well. Christians need never live a day of our lives without hope and a sense that our future is guaranteed. God must grieve those times we have allowed worry to control our thoughts rather than our faith. God created our brains to have a path from our worries. It is the road of rejoicing.
  • Pray without ceasing and give thanks in all circumstances.

    Even the worst moments of our lives can draw us closer to the reality of God’s power and presence. It is God’s will that we learn to trust his perfection and lean on his love, even in those anxious times. Have you expressed gratitude to God for his loving care during those difficult days of COVID? We should consider all we learned during those pandemic days and be grateful for the ways the Lord has been working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). Our normal routines stopped for a few months and gave us time to think about our priorities. Did we lose some of that perspective as our schedules restarted?
  • Do not “quench the Spirit.”  

    One great thing about anxiety is that it can often send us straight to God in prayer. We can always know that the Holy Spirit stands ready to speak, teach, comfort, and guide. He already has the answers we need; we just need to not quench his voice by focusing on all the world’s ideas instead.
  • Hold on to God’s word by testing all other ideas against its truth.

    The prophecies of Scripture were written to a specific generation, but the truth of those prophecies is for every generation. We need to “hold fast” to the wisdom of Scripture because it is “good.” At the same time, we should avoid anything that contradicts God’s wisdom. God’s Spirit will guide, but the Evil One will also make suggestions in an effort to distract us from God’s truth.

We are commanded to overcome 

God’s words to Isaiah remain his command today. He told the prophet, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:9–10). 

The apostle Paul told the Philippians, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7). 

God didn’t encourage us not to worry but rather issued those words as his command. He loves us and wants us to understand how he has wired our brains to function. When we worry, it is bad for our health and our relationships. We shouldn’t choose to live with our worries rather than God’s solutions for our worries. When we follow the commands of Scripture, we are taking the road that points us away from our stress and toward our hope. 

But God also created us with free will, the ability to choose. Are we choosing the path God has designed, the path that will move us away from our worries? 

We have a choice to make

Victor Carrion is an MD and a professor of childhood psychology at Stanford University. He was writing on the subject of anxiety when he made this point: “Thinking positively is not something that happens automatically. In fact, automatically we think negatively. That, evolutionarily, is what produced results. Negative thoughts are automatic thoughts, and positive thoughts need to be practiced and learned.” 

In so many ways we have been raised to worry, and experience has taught us to think negative thoughts. Most of our parents were careful to warn us of the dangers in this world. We can be grateful that our heavenly Father taught us how to overcome the worries of this world. But Carrion’s words above point to the truth of Scripture. The path away from our anxieties is a path we must choose each day. It won’t be our natural instinct; it is a Spirit-directed choice. 

Before you close this article:

  • Take a moment to pray and seek God with the gratitude he deserves. 
  • Then, consider those things you are anxious about. 
  • Then, choose to praise God for all you have, all you have learned, and all you can faithfully hope for in the future.

That will enable your thoughts to move away from your worries and toward God. 

Aren’t you grateful that God wired your brain with the road of praise and provision? 

We truly are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” 

His works are wonderful, and our souls can know that well. 

Wishing You an Un-Hallmark Mother’s Day

I reserve the right to gripe just a bit about Mother’s Day. Woodrow Wilson wasn’t thinking of preachers’ wives when he signed a bill making the second Sunday in May an official celebration of moms.

Sundays were always “work days” at our house. I never went to a Mother’s Day buffet that wasn’t picked over and depleted of the good stuff. I rarely received a Mother’s Day card that didn’t come with a soggy envelope that had been hastily “sealed” right before being handed to me.

I heard wonderful sermons extolling the value of a holiday for moms, but my husband, Jim, raced out the door early every Mother’s Day morning, preached three sermons, and then napped most Mother’s Day afternoons.

A statement of fact: preachers’ wives get the shaft on Mother’s Day.

Another statement of fact: most of us wouldn’t have it any other way.

Except maybe the whole “buffet” thing.

The untold un-Hallmark truth about Mother’s Day

Your preacher will probably talk about Anna Jarvis this Sunday. Mother’s Day was her idea. Anna’s mom had passed away, and Anna wanted to celebrate her mother’s life. So, Anna worked hard to establish a day that would celebrate moms.

But, did you know that Anna Jarvis quickly became disgusted by the way the florists, card companies, and restaurants turned the holiday into a commercial opportunity?

In fact, she eventually spent most of her personal wealth in legal fees trying to lobby the government to remove the Mother’s Day holiday from the American calendar.

Anna Jarvis never married, never had children, and died alone in a sanatorium. (I bet you won’t hear that in your Sunday sermon or read it in your Hallmark card!)

The un-Hallmark joy of Mother’s Day

About now, you’re probably worried about this blogger. Don’t be. I have solidly adjusted my expectations for the holiday. In fact, it happened the first Sunday after Ryan (my oldest) was born.

Jim left the house that Mother’s Day afternoon to get me a card. Picture the drugstore shelf at 2:30–3:00 on Mother’s Day afternoon.

Let’s just say I don’t have that card framed or taped inside a scrapbook somewhere.

This year I will celebrate Mother’s Day with my mom. She and I will drive out to our sweet chapel service at the lake. Jim is out of town this Sunday, so I will be speaking at the service for him. Both my boys will celebrate their wives this Sunday—after they come home from serving at their respective churches. This preacher’s wife will probably just eat leftovers with my mom before we drive back home.

But, I will come home, put my feet up, and know that my un-Hallmark Mother’s Day was exactly what it should be.

Sundays—even Mother’s Day Sundays—are about worshipping God, not moms.

I’m a blessed mom

My favorite Mother’s Day quote is from Jill Churchill: “There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.”

I’ve often said that parenting is the most difficult job I’ve ever loved. I’ve made some wrong choices as a mom, but I did teach my boys that worshipping and serving the Lord was the most important choice for Sundays.

I doubt I will ever have a Hallmark Mother’s Day. The president would have to change the holiday to every second “Saturday” of May. (I’m thinking that the card companies and florists have more money to lobby the government about that than I do.) I don’t want to be like Anna Jarvis and fight for something that doesn’t really matter anyway.

This Mother’s Day, my joy isn’t the result of anything that could be purchased in a store. My joy is knowing that my day will be quiet because all of my “guys” are busy doing what the Lord has called them to do this Sunday.

It’s always been that way, and I pray it will continue for every Mother’s Day Sunday of my life.

As for me and my house . . .

I grew up with those words, and I still stand on them.

Joshua was instructing the families of Israel to go to their land and establish their homes. One of the last things he said to them was, “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:14–15).

My greatest joy and blessing this Mother’s Day isn’t a gift, a card, or a bottle of perfume. (But, for my three guys, in case you are reading this, I like Amazing Grace by Philosophy.)

My great joy and blessing this Mother’s Day is that I have been married to a wonderful husband and father for almost thirty-nine years who loves the Lord and loves me. And I have two amazing sons who love their wives and children—and their mom.

My family knows this Sunday is about serving the Lord’s expectations instead of Hallmark’s.

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”—even on Mother’s Day.

I wish all you moms an un-Hallmark Mother’s Day this week.

But, I do hope you will enjoy a good buffet. If you’re not a pastor’s wife, you’ll probably get there early enough for the good stuff!