Religion & Spirituality:Christianity
Everything Christians Need to Know About Anxiety, Depression & Godly Joy
2024-03-07
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Related MessagesFor further thought on this, consider listening to the following sermons:
The Treasure that Allows Trust
The Lord of Night and Day
The Answer for Anxiety
Facing Our Fear with Faith
6 Sermons on the Life of Peace
The Wonder of a Believer’s Life
The Cry from a Storm-Filled Heart
Sovereign Grace & The Son of God
Joy in Our Sufferings
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Everything Christians Need to Know About Anxiety, Depression & Godly JoyWhat is anxiety? Why do so many people struggle with it? What should Christians who struggle with anxiety, depression, despair, etc., do when they find themselves emotionally battling these overwhelming feelings? How can we rejoice in life or have joy when our spirits or souls are downcast and melancholic? Is it wrong for a Christian to consider medication as a means to help deal with these things? Is there real help and hope for our souls when we’re weary and discouraged? Dr. Caldwell says that anxiety is a fear of the future, a dread of what might happen, of what might be, and the immediate answer to anxiety is to trust God. However, if you don’t know Him, you can’t trust Him. But for those who do know God, having been reconciled through Christ, it’s our faith in Christ that is the ultimate answer for our anxious hearts. This week on the Straight Truth Podcast, we’ve combined several past episodes to help Christians think through these questions. The answers shared are not meant to be exhaustive because, as Dr. Caldwell says, at the end of the day, the only answers for the soul that are final and sure are those found in God’s Word. But the aim is to help Christians think carefully and biblically about our thoughts, feelings, choices, attitudes, and responses to our emotional and spiritual battles. Join us as Dr. Richard Caldwell and Dr. Josh Philpot discuss and answer these questions and others in this special episode.
For Christians, dealing with these issues really must be a faith response that requires us to think through our lives with truth, requiring obedience in our thinking and choices and in terms of where our mind is going to go. God’s Word is real, it’s true, and it’s timeless. This is really good news. God knows us, and He’s involved in every detail of our lives. He knows what we are going through, and He cares for us with a love that is steadfast and faithful. God deals with us gently, patiently, kindly, and compassionately as He directs us back to Himself. He is not powerless in our situations and does not restrict Himself as it comes to them. The more we can preach these truths of God to ourselves, the more accurate our perspectives will be.
Dr. Caldwell says there is no doubt that we are physical creatures, and as a result, how we deal with and respond to issues in our lives can be physical in nature. He would never deny that there might be a time for someone to see a medical doctor to seek help for physical issues resulting from these things. However, we can sometimes run to the physical side of it too quickly. But we must not rule out there can be physiological problems that have medical answers. There are times when people can find themselves in such dark places that they are unable to reason; it’s in these times that medication can be helpful to get them out of that extreme darkness so that they can begin to think and reason clearly. So, there can be a place and time for medication, but for a Christian, it’s not in a way that this world views it; it’s not going to solve all of our problems. He reminds us that he is not a doctor but a pastor. He speaks as a pastor, an under-shepherd of God who cares for people and their souls. He takes people to the Word of God and deals with what he knows Scripture to teach as what’s behind so many of our anxious moments- a lack of trust in God. Dr. Caldwell says that 1 Peter 5 indicates that the root of our anxious hearts is pride. The reason it’s a pride problem, is because we cannot believe what the Bible presents to us about our God and be afraid. If God really is who He claims to be in Scripture, then we have no reason to be afraid.
If we read through the Old and New Testaments, we’ll find that God’s Word isn’t silent when it comes to the issues of anxiety, depression, discouragement, etc. There are multiple examples where the writers address and deal with these issues. They address people at the level of their thinking and regarding their affections, trusts, and faith. The answers they give are all the same. The answer is to go to the Lord, listen to His Word, recall His character, His faithfulness, and His past dealings with us and how He has cared for us, and then rejoice regardless of our circumstances. But in doing this, we are not aiming at some form of artificial encouragement. Joy is a choice we make; it is not determined by how we feel. Joy is determined by decision. In turning to the Lord and recalling His goodness and care for us, we choose to agree with God, believe Him, submit to Him, and rest in Him amid our circumstances. We go through what we go through because it is used to shape, mold, and form us into the very likeness of Christ. God’s goal for us is holiness, not happiness. We have been destined for conformity to the image of Christ. The Lord uses sickness, health, new life, loss of life, discouragement, despondency, depression, and many other difficulties of our lives to bring about our transformation. This is how Romans 8:28 figures into God’s plan. And yes, some of these things might be life-long burdens to carry. Some may even struggle their entire lives with depression and discouragement, like Charles Spurgeon and William Cowper.
Our flesh, our bodies, and our minds remain affected by sin. But as believers, we must take how we’ve been affected by the fall and glorify God by not allowing these sorts of natural wirings under sin to be what determines how we live. We are to take what we are going through and compare it with the Word of God, see the truth, grasp an eternal perspective, and bow to Scripture. We turn our focus away from us and away from our emotions to the Lord, and we find our joy and delight in Him. We can call these truths to our minds and receive real encouragement instead of some pie-in-the-sky positive thinking, mumbo jumbo. But God’s Word isn’t the only means He has given us for our encouragement. He has also given us the church, a local body of believers consisting of brothers and sisters in Christ who can come alongside us. They can pray for us and with us, as well as help us to preach God’s truth to our hearts.
Dr. Caldwell offers a few scriptural passages to help us preach the truth to our hearts and souls. Those passages are 1 Peter 5, Psalm 73, Psalm 42, and Psalm 43. Another helpful resource he recommends is his little book on Answering Anxiety, in which he exposits 1 Peter 5.
The Straight Truth Podcast: Christian Opinions in an Increasingly Secular World. Join Dr. Richard Caldwell, Dr. Josh Philpot, and their guests as they discuss news events, current affairs, and cultural issues from a Biblical point of view. Find the truth at www.straighttruth.net
The Straight Truth Podcast is a weekly opinion show hosted by Dr. Richard Caldwell and Dr. Josh Philpot. Straight Truth is available as an audio podcast on iTunes or as a video podcast through YouTube or Vimeo. The duration of the podcast is approximately 10 minutes. We release new episodes every Thursday.
The topics discussed in the Straight Truth Podcast are current events, matters that challenge traditional Christian values, and questions submitted by audience members. Dr. Caldwell, Dr. Philpot, and their guests seek to answer these questions with Biblical truths and from a Christian conservative point of view. The Holy Bible is the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God; it alone is and will be the basis and authority of
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Season 27 Credits Produced byJuan Carlos Claveria Executive Producers
Joshua Philpot
David Anders Hosted by
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