The Scripture as Cognitive and Spiritual Therapy

A couple of weeks ago, I took part in a workshop dealing with anxiety in children. The workshop discussed signs and symptoms of anxiety in children and suggested ways this anxiety could be managed within an educational setting. One of the techniques centered around cognitive thinking and developing the frontal cortex of the brain to manage the fear and anxiety responses of the children. The more I listened and thought about what I was hearing, the more it dawned on me that the Scripture has much to say about cognitive formation, especially in response to anxiety. There are constant admonitions that we are not to fear, that we are to cultivate the disposition of faith and of trust, and that we are to constantly devoted to prayer, and to seeking God's interventions in daily living.

I discussed this briefly with the school's superintendent, a lady who has been schooled in both behavioral and psychological interventions. The verse I referenced specifically was Philippians 4:6, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God." Verse 7 follows with the temporal result -- though this did not come to me at the time -- "and the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Here is God's solution to fear and to worry and to anxiety. Pray. Pray, with every kind of prayer, and pour out your heart's concerns to the Lord. But we are not only to pray, we are also to give thanks. Consider your blessings, focus on the positives, give thanks for the benefits that God has already given, as well as those for which he is currently providing.

It is most helpful to also take note of what God has done in the past. Here is a great portion of the Scripture as well, the recitation of all that God has done in the past. Sometimes it is hard to understand how an given story of the past applies to the present; but it applies in at least this one way, it is a recitation of God's faithfulness throughout all of humanity's generations.

Yet, it would be wrong to reduce the Bible to simply a manual of cognitive therapy solutions. For the truth about humanity that is so often displayed in the Scripture is the fact that goes contrary to human nature to implement these solutions apart from a complete transformation of the human spirit. In other words, this is not simply mind over matter. It is not simply a matter of cognitive self-deception, or a method of learning to rethink and/or reframe the realities of the human condition. Faith in God cannot be feigned. Biblical faith is not merely rethinking, it is total dependence upon a true and living God who not only reorients our thinking, but also rescues us from situations where there is not human solution.

Scripture states that we walk by faith not by sight. What we see and understand from our human perspective will often be incongruous with faith. Often times, in fact, what we see and understand will be far more congruous with fear and uncertainty. There will be many situations in life where anxiety is actually the most cognitively rational reaction. Yet, these are the times we faith gives us the certainty that we can have confidence in God even in the face of outright disaster. Faith teaches us that God will come through in the end, as he is the only one who is faithful.

This kind of faith requires an intellectual overhaul which is a result of a spiritual transformation. The Scripture refers to this as renewing your mind, allowing your understanding to be overhauled by the Scripture. This is the heart and the essence of the spiritual battle; for it is then and only then will you gain any true victory over fear and anxiety. And while our human fears may not melt away, they will be overshadowed by God's promises of joy and of faithfulness and of peace. And, as the Scripture has already spoken, the peace of God will come in and act as our guard; and our minds will be shielded, and we will cease to give into panic.

So, I would propose, that this is the ultimate solution to the problem of anxiety in children. We should teach them to hope in the Lord, and to constantly rethink both their rational and irrational fears in light of God and his faithfulness. This is the solution not only for anxiety in children, but also to both anxiety and depressive disorders.