Anxiety and The Promise of Peace
By Alex Siemers
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry 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.
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:4-9
Universities are increasingly anxious places. Even before the pandemic’s onset, many were ringing the alarm bells due to rising levels of anxiety and depression among college students. And the past two years (yes, it’s been two years) have just accelerated those trends. Many explanations are proffered as to why this is so: the relentless pressure to secure meritocratic success, the ubiquity of social media (which encourages comparison of oneself to curated, unrealistic ideals), the lack of coping skills among young people—to name a few possibilities.
Yet those in college are not unique. Many adults have anxious thoughts about themselves: Am I doing well in my job? Should I move to a new place? Does my spouse still love me? Why haven’t I heard from my friends in a while? Does my life have a purpose?
Look too at the world around us, and there is no shortage of issues to quicken anxiety. Will Russia’s invasion of Ukraine lead to even larger-scale conflict? Will inflation keep rising, will there be another housing bubble, will there be a new variant to stretch this pandemic even further?
For us, then, Paul’s guidance in his letter to the Philippians—don’t be anxious—seems striking in its difficulty. How does he suggest we go about not being anxious? Well, the most obvious way is by making our requests known to God. Do that, Paul says, and the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds. And if the Philippians keep on doing what they’ve learned from Paul, the God of peace will be with them.
Sandwiched right between those promises of peace comes verse 8: “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Taking this guidance in context, Paul seems to be suggesting that what we think about can lead us in a more anxious—or a more peaceful—direction. Well before the introduction of cognitive behavioral therapy, Paul here links up our thoughts, our feelings, and our actions.
So what are we to think about? If I turn my thoughts toward myself, I quickly realize that I am frequently dishonorable, unjust, unworthy of praise. The fiefdom of my own head is all too often plagued with selfishness, pride, and other sinful shortcomings. And if I turn my thoughts toward the world, I quickly encounter falsehoods in the form of conspiracy theories on social media; injustice in the forms of racism, homelessness, and human trafficking; mediocrity in our governing institutions. This is not to disparage the truth, justice, and excellence still to be found in the world. But it is to suggest that Paul might well be directing our thoughts elsewhere—namely, to the person and work of Jesus Christ.
When we think about the person and work of Jesus, we are immediately confronted with and by one who is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. Jesus describes himself as the truth (John 14:6): he is called “Faithful and True” (Revelation 19:11), and his work on the cross tells us the truth about ourselves and the world. Jesus is worthy of all honor for his work on the cross (Revelation 5:9-12): he is (in Karl Barth’s idiom) the just judge who was judged for our sake and in our place (Romans 3:21-26). Jesus is the one who is well-pleasing to God (Luke 3:21-22) and whose single offering “perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). He is commendable because he suffered unjustly (1 Peter 2:19-22) and through his work has “obtained a more excellent ministry” (Hebrews 8:6). And Jesus is worthy of all the praise he will receive when every knee will bend and every tongue confess that he is Lord—precisely because he “humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5-11). There’s not an adjective on Paul’s list that fails to apply to Jesus. And we would do well to think more about his person and his work each day.
This thinking about Jesus should occur both individually and communally. Regularly gathering with other Christians—whether in churches, in small groups, or over meals—can help direct our thoughts toward that which is true, just, and excellent. We often need others to point us to Jesus when we are feeling stressed, distracted, or hopeless. And we too can offer that same assistance to others when they need us.
Thinking about the person and work of Jesus also propels us outward—the thinking ought to lead to doing, as Paul’s counsel makes clear. Though Jesus is certainly more than an example for Christians, he is that, too. Reflecting on him who is true, honorable, and just can inspire us, by God’s grace and with the Spirit’s assistance, to be true, honorable, and just in turn. And it can allow us to exude a calm and faithful presence for those around us—whether in university classrooms and corridors, in workplaces around the country, or with our families at home.
Yes, there is cause for worry in the world today. But thinking more frequently and more deeply about Jesus might just provide God with an opportunity to shape us into less anxious and more faithful disciples.
Alex Siemers is a 2021 graduate of the Washington University School of Law and a current law clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.