Anyone who struggles with anxiety needs to get a grip on the concept of \u201crumination\u201d. Here\u2019s how Oxford defines the concept: \u201ca deep or considered thought about something.\u201d The alternative definition is more graphic: \u201cthe action of chewing the cud.\u201d Rumination is when your mind chews on something over and over, like a cow constantly chewing the cud. And it\u2019s a classic symptom of anxiety.
\nMaybe that\u2019s what Paul is addressing in his famous \u201canxiety chapter\u201d in the Bible:
\nPhilippians 4:8 (NLT) And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
\nThis is healthy, godly rumination \u2013 the kind that leads to peace. The opposite is worldly rumination, and that\u2019s the kind that leads to anxiety. But before we drill down on the difference, let\u2019s take a detour to learn how the mind works.
\nThe brain is a complex organ. God designed it, and scientists are still trying to figure out how it works. When it comes to its impact on anxiety, authors Catherine Pittman and Elizabeth Karle make an interesting observation:
\nMany people believe that certain situations are the cause of their anxiety, but anxiety always begins in the brain, not with the situation. Anxiety is a human emotion, produced by the human brain, and emotions are caused by the brain\u2019s reaction to situations, not the situations themselves.
\nSo how exactly does the brain react to fearful situations? There seem to be two pathways. The logical pathway involves the cortex. If your anxiety is connected to a conscious memory or thought, the cortex is where it starts. Once the information hits the amygdala, that\u2019s when you actually feel anxious.
\nBut for some types of anxiety there\u2019s a shortcut. Amygdala-based anxiety skips the cortex altogether, traveling the pathway from the thalamus directly to the amygdala. This type of anxiety can be especially frustrating, because you\u2019re not sure where it\u2019s coming from or how it got triggered.
\nEnter the biblical solution. Long before science understood the cortex and amygdala, Paul offered a solution to the rumination that can drive us all crazy. Let\u2019s look at it again:
\nPhilippians 4:8 (NLT) And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
\nPaul is offering a solution that even modern psychologists would approve of: redirect your thoughts. Recognize the overreaction of the amygdala, and engage your cortex to activate the solution. Paul tells us to fix our thoughts on better things.
\nThen what? What happens after your get your thoughts right? Paul gives a simple answer:
\nPhilippians 4:9 (NLT) Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me\u2014everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
\nThis was more than a philosophy for Paul. He was actually living it, and he\u2019s inviting you to live it too. When you win the battle in your mind, you can win it in your everyday life. God made your beautiful mind, and you can learn to bring it into submission to him. \u201cThen the God of peace will be with you.\u201d
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