Morning, Noon, and Night
Week three - A Healthy Soul
Proverbs 4:23 and Philippians 4:5-9
Anxiety is the defining experience of our contemporary culture - we are living in an anxious age.
Barna study in 2019 of 15,000 people in 25 countries found that “one of the central aspects of the experience of young adults around the world is anxiety.” (and that was before the pandemic)
*Huge clarification - difference between the individual mental health challenge of anxiety, which a minority of individuals in every culture experience, and the systemic anxiety that our contemporary culture is collectively experiencing, creating, and perpetuating
Mental health is a real thing and not something we just pray away.
Systemic anxiety -
We’ve transferred our connection from central institutions to networks
Organizations and institutions contain boundaries and borders. However, in a network, there are few boundaries. Networks bring what was far close and what was formerly outside inside. —Mark Sayers, “A Non-Anxious Presence in an Anxious Age”
We’re going, going, going morning, noon and night trying to do enough and to be enough - and we’ve had enough!
Our overwhelming response to this systemic anxiety is self-care, when what we really need is
- Self-care is about
Doing what feels good
Taking time for me
Comfort is not the goal, has never been the goal -
Jesus - “In this world you will have trouble…” (John 3)
Paul - “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…” (2 Timothy 3:12)
- Soul care is about
soul - your inner life, the part only you and God know about
Self-care at its best actually is soul care, but at its most popular self-care distracts us from our soul and pushes us to do the things that numb us and distract us, take us out of ourselves and not into ourselves
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. —Proverbs 4:23
*What starts in our soul works its way out into our behavior - this is why a healthy soul is so, so important. We’re not at risk of rotting from the outside in, we’re at risk of rotting from the inside out.
BUT, this is not a behavior contest…God is primarily interested in helping us deal with the root layers -
The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. —Philippians 4:5-9
Soul care is about rooting ourselves, grounding ourselves, in the presence of God.
Our world needs people who have been with God.
A non-anxious presence requires the presence of God. —Mark Sayers
Our anxiety or lack of anxiety cannot be based on the opinions of others or the circumstances in our life
Again, “in this world, you will have trouble…”
When we’ve been with God, we’re not thrown with every circumstance or trial that comes our way. Our ability to practice patience and kindness isn’t determined by someone else’s behavior. We build a root system that keeps us from giving up or losing compassion when difficulty comes.
Paul to Timothy - (2 Timothy 3-4)
Keep your head in all circumstances
Endure hardship
Be rooted in the Word
Pursue godliness
Flee from evil desires and godless chatter
- Before you pick up your phone in the morning, pick up your Bible and sit with God
- Build a network, invest in a network that is slow to speak and quick to listen (small group)
- Fill your life with whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable