Welcome to Part 2 of the God Meets You in Your Anxiety series. Be sure to catch Part 1 and Part 3.
Has anyone ever told you to rejoice during a rough day? Or even reminded you that the command to rejoice is one of the most repeated commands in the Bible? If you’re like me, you’re probably left wondering “What about when we are going through difficulty or a crisis? How do we consider this encouragement in scripture without spiritual bypassing? Do rejoicing and anxiety work together?
This is a month where part of our nation has undergone devastating natural disasters. Americans are in the middle of a divisive and terrifying election season. Parents and kids are struggling through the middle of the school year (it’s not for the faith of heart, especially in neurodivergent families). You are likely feeling at least one of the three common types of anxiety:
- General anxiety – an overarching sense of anxiousness to a diagnosed anxiety disorder
- Physical anxiety – your body’s response to stressful circumstances, can include the fight/flight/freeze/fawn responses.
- Specific anxiety – specific worries or concerns you may have.
In the middle of the stress and anxiety of life, rejoicing probably feels like the last thing you want to do. And even if you do pause to practice rejoicing, it may feel rote or fake.
I know I’ve definitely given the Apostle Paul side-eye for his continually chipper seeming words:
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7, NIV)
How do you feel when you read these words?
Perhaps like a failure, because right now your life is characterized by struggle, stress, and suffering rather than joy? Perhaps they seem like yet another “Good Vibes Only” sign, only with spiritual overtones. Maybe, these verses have been used to wound you in moments of pain by someone intent on spiritually-bypassing your hurt.
When Paul wrote these words, it was not to condemn his readers because we aren’t happy enough. He’s not telling us to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps and just tough-out rejoicing.
Paul writes from a place of deep personal suffering and perhaps even PTSD {7}. He wants to remind our weary, wounded hearts of the God who continually walks with His people through famine, plague, trauma, and death. His words “rejoice always” do not cancel out the fact that 50-70% of the Psalms were Lament— crying out to God about one’s pain.
So, how does the fierce acknowledgement of pain and suffering co-exist with the encouragement to rejoice? And how do we practically work this out in our own lives?
Rehearse the Nearness of Jesus
Perhaps you identify with my friend.
She looks at me from her place on the couch, indignation and contempt coloring her voice, “What?! Am I just supposed to be happy about the bad things that are happening to me? How can I rejoice in these circumstances?”
I’m sure you’d agree, the last thing we want to hear when we’re suffering or anxious is “Rejoice, be happy!”
I surely don’t!!
One night at my Community Group a friend with a very bubbly personality said, “Let’s go around and EVERYONE tell something they’re thankful for!!!”
Internally I groaned, “This is not what I feel like doing today. Don’t you know how long and hard my day has been? I’m tired. I don’t have the energy to rejoice.”
Perhaps what your soul needs in these moments is not a list of good things to be happy about. Instead, focus on the nearness of Jesus. You may not FEEL his nearness (though you may), but your feelings only reveal part of the picture. Paul grounds his encouragement to rejoice in the Lord’s nearness, in Jesus’ presence.
He doesn’t say, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I’m reminding you, that you better rejoice! Cause come on guys, even though you’re suffering the weather was nice and you actually had food to eat for dinner, so be happy about the good things!”
No, he says (and I paraphrase into today-ish English), “Rejoice in the Lord in every circumstance. Like a comforting parent, I’ll repeat myself, Rejoice! Be gentle with one another – don’t let conflict bring out the worst in you. Jesus is right alongside. No matter your pain, concerns, conflict, struggles, hurts – He’s right here. You don’t have to worry.”
This rejoicing isn’t a denial of the current circumstances, it is a recognition of the closeness of Jesus. His presence isn’t a threat: “You better shape up and be gentle and happy and stop worrying!” His nearness is the answer to the concerns of your heart.
Philippians 4:1-3 describes a conflict between two leaders of the Philippian church, Euodia and Syntyche. These women were having a disagreement or trouble getting along. This issue likely caused increased anxiety and worry both in their hearts and that of the church.
Paul enters the foray with the reminder that Jesus is near. They rejoice, because He is present with them. They are gentle, because He gives grace in the midst of worry and strife.
God understands what it’s like to feel multiple conflicting emotions at the same time. He’s not expecting rejoicing to cancel out everything else.
Remember, the encouragement to rejoice does not discount your pain.
Oh dear one, Paul is not suggesting that we just summon up feelings of “happiness.” He is not commanding us to cease feeling our pain and anxiety. We should feel sorrow, anger, and pain when sin taints or destroys the good in life.
Jesus was angered by the rebellion of Israel. He mourned with Mary and Martha over the death of Lazarus. Grief tinged His longing to comfort Jerusalem. (Matthew 11:20-24; 23:37; John 11:28-36)
God does not call you to leave your anxiety by the brute force of your will, or by disassociation and denial.
Instead, God calls us to add rejoicing to the mixture of emotions we are already feeling:
“Mixed emotions are the right response to the mixed world. Life in this world means the delightful glories of God’s handiwork always get the muck of sin and suffering spattered on them. We have no godly choice but to both mourn and rejoice.” ~Groves & Smith, {1}
Being in a place where you can feel multiple conflicting emotions at the same time is not a sign of mental breakdown, but emotional maturity. (Allender {2})
When Paul encouraged the Philippian church to rejoice when worried (link), he was in prison awaiting trial (Philippians 1:13-14). He intimately knew both suffering and the refreshment of the Lord. God’s grace had changed how he saw difficult circumstances.
Paul longed for the Philippian church, and YOU, to know the preciousness of walking with Jesus through suffering.
His tone here is not one of condemnation or making light of your circumstances. {3} To rejoice when anxious isn’t a call to cease grieving, it is a call to worship.
Paul says to us, “Look, dear one, at Jesus’ beauty! I don’t want you to miss this! Cry out in wonder at His glory!”
God meets us in our anxiety when we look up in the midst of our concerns to gaze at our Savior, when we bring them to lay at His feet, crying on His shoulder, longing for HIs hand to comfort in our hurt.
You can learn the skill of blending rejoicing with lament.
When your brain and body are anxious, you will find it difficult to access the logical part of your brain. This logical center of the brain is what helps you to think of things about which you can rejoice.
This is why we often react with negative emotions if we are told to rejoice when anxious. Our brains physiologically struggle to go there. The anxious brain is in self-preservation mode: conserving power and energy, looking for problems, and almost unable to find positive, joyful things.
Yet, Paul’s encouragement remains. He knows that the neuroplasticity required to rejoice while in pain will benefit our souls. Paul’s goal here is to disciple our emotions and brains. He’s not creating harsh demands, but offering frameworks for our benefit.
You get to participate in discipling your emotions through practice.
Just like other skills, when we practice rejoicing in the presence of Jesus, our brains find it easier to do when under duress. This lifestyle {see NOTE 4} primes your neural pathways to go down a path recognizing Jesus’ nearness, rather than a path of worry.
But, what about when we haven’t practiced rejoicing, or our worry has so flooded our minds that we can’t find anything about which to rejoice?
First, remember Jesus’ presence!
You are not alone. No matter the type of anxiety you are facing, Jesus says, “I will be with you.” [Link] Allow the indwelling Spirit to comfort your brain and body as you practice ruminating on the beauty of God.
Remember, we rejoice ultimately in God. Our gratitude is about Him, not our circumstances.
Second, borrow words from scripture.
Sometimes, when I’m in pain (emotionally or physically) I cannot think to rejoice (or really about anything besides the pain). This is where at times our modern, western prayer tradition of self-created prayers does us a disservice. You don’t have to come up with brand new words and prayers to rejoice.
Borrow the words of the authors of scripture, or books on prayer! Read and allow your heart to rejoice along with the words God has provided for you by His grace. He is not expecting you to make this happen in moments of weakness by yourself. He has bountifully provided scripture and the church to step in with words where we have lack.
Here are a few go-to passages that give ample fuel for rejoicing:
- Exodus 34:6-7a, “ And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.” (NIV)
- Romans 8:31-39, “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? 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, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NIV)
- Ephesians 3:14-19, “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (NIV)
- Philippians 2:5-11, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (NIV)
I wrote Exodus 34:6-7a on a 3×5 card and taped it to my kitchen cabinet, because that is where I most often find myself needing to practice rejoicing.
When you find yourself struggling to rejoice, choose one of these (or your favorite passage). If you can take a moment, write out that passage. If you can’t write it out, speak it aloud.
Download the free Scripture Breathing Exercises for more scriptures to fuel your rejoicing!
Third, spend 20 seconds focused on your topic of joy.
Really notice what your verse says.
Take at least 19 seconds to allow those truths to saturate your mind. It can take that long for our brains and bodies to register something good. Negative things are filed in our brains immediately, but we have to choose to dwell on the good.
Allow it to sink into your mind and body. This isn’t a process to rush through, but to savor.
Finally, repeat!
Remember, God is near to you. He walks alongside us to disciple our minds and emotions so that we can endure in diverse circumstances. We get to join Him in this work as we find ways to intentionally practice rejoicing.
In certain periods of my life, I’ve used the Rejoice Always: 100 Day Gratitude Journal. For example: When my kids begin quiet time, I would make myself a cup of tea and get out my printed copy of Rejoice Always. This gives me a set, practiced time to focus on rejoicing.
We, of course, don’t want to leave out rejoicing at just one set time a day, but having an intentional practice can fuel your heart for more spontaneous rejoicing throughout the rest of your day.
Get your copy of
Rejoice Always
as a PDF printable
or book (from Amazon.com).
As you walk through anxiety, be gentle with yourself and those around you.
Paul does not desire you to have a glib ignorance of possible problems or forced “happiness.” Instead, he invites us to partner with the Spirit of God as He creates in us “a humble, patient steadfastness, which is able to submit to injustice, disgrace, and maltreatment without hatred or malice, trusting God” in spite of all our suffering. {5}
“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” (Philippians 4:5, NIV)
God’s nearness doesn’t stop when you are anxious. His work in your heart, mind, and life doesn’t stop because you can’t see His hand at work. You can bask in HIs beauty, and trust your soul and future to Him, because He is good, even when circumstances are not.
So, what does gentleness practically look like when you are anxious?
Dear one, be gentle with yourself.
This can look like:
- Refusing to berate yourself because of the worries in your life. These are common to man.
- Laying your concerns at the feet of your Father in heaven (Philippians 4:6).
- Breathing intentionally. (Use the Scripture Breathing Exercises for help.)
- Letting yourself rest – patiently endure while you wait for the resolution to your problems.
- Talking with a friend or therapist about your anxiety or specific worries
- Doing a gratitude journal or other rejoicing practice.
Dear one, you are not ever alone in your suffering, stress, or anxiety. For years I’ve interpreted Philippians 4:5b, “The Lord is at hand (ESV),” as a warning: “Jessica, you better start rejoicing! You better be gentle! You BETTER stop being anxious – because God is watching you!! He’s gonna see the moment you mess up!”
Oh dear one, if you have read this verse in a similar way, breathe.
God is not standing next to you ready to slap your hand for your worries. This is a verse of comfort, not judgment. Jesus is near. He walks with you. He will never leave or forsake you.
Rather, as you read Philippians 4:4 hear: “Dear one, Look at how beautiful Jesus is! Look! You don’t want to miss this! Take that vision of glory into your daily life so that you can humbly endure trial while trusting God. Jesus is with you! Right now! And He’s coming again. Have hope in His presence.” {see NOTE 6}
NOTES:
{1} Groves & Winston T. Smith, Untangling Emotions, p. 45
{2} Dan B. Allender, The Wounded Heart. NavPress (1990), p.133
{3} “It is worth remembering that when Paul issued this call to rejoice he was in prison awaiting the outcome of his trial. . . . It is not as though the apostle is here inviting his readers ‘to see a silver lining in the ominous clouds of opposition and hazard that are approaching’. . . . further, this joy is not because ‘the future stands open’. Rather, the key to this rejoicing is its being [in the Lord], … which signifies that the Lord is either the object of their rejoicing or the ground and the one in whom their joy thrives (see on 3:1).” (Peter T. O’Brien, NIGTC: The Epistle to the Philippians, p. 486)
{4} The Greek verb in Philippians 4:4 for “rejoice” isn’t describing a one-time event. The very form of the verb indicates that Paul expects rejoicing to be an ongoing process and repeated action (Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, pp. 485 & 722)
{5} Peter T. O’Brien, NIGTC: The Epistle to the Philippians, p. 488-489
{6} There is a two-fold sense to the Lord’s nearness. He is nearby walking with them, and also returning soon eschatologically. Both parts bring empowerment and hope to His people. Peter T. O’Brien, NIGTC: The Epistle to the Philippians, pp. 488-490)
{7} Peter Yuichi Clark, “Toward a Pastoral Reading of 2 Corinthians as a Memoir of PTSD and Healing,” in Bible through the Lens of Trauma, ed. Elizabeth Boase and Christopher G. Frechette, 1st Ed. (Atlanta: SBL, 2016), 231–48.
