Ukraine and beyond: how to live in an anxious world

I was in Hungary in August 1989, just a few months before the Berlin wall was torn down.

Budapest was full of East German citizens clamouring for visas to cross to the West; the paperwork was not forthcoming, so one day hundreds of them just went to the Austrian border and walked across. Armed guards looked uncomfortable, but no-one opened fire. The Cold War was over.

History is full of delightful moments when people think ‘At last we can build a golden future!’ But hopes like that will always evaporate until the day ‘the kingdoms of the earth have become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ and he will reign forever.’ (Rev.11:15).

The golden dream of August 1989 slipped gradually through our fingers. Now Putin has invaded Ukraine and the underdogs are fighting back. Western governments are making decisions that will have momentous consequences. After two years of pandemic, on the back of steeply rising prices, the future is very, very uncertain.

Uncertainty nurtures anxiety. Sometime before he wrote his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul had a terrifying experience. He does not tell us what it was, or how long it lasted, but he does tell us how he felt. He says he was in despair (2 Cor. 1:8-9).

On top of this he was anxious that his relationship with that church might have broken down completely. His last letter to them was ‘tough love’ and Paul was afraid he might have gone too far. ‘I had no peace of mind,’ he says. He couldn’t rest until he was sure the Corinthians were still his friends (2 Cor. 2:12-13).

Anxiety is an equal-opportunity mental health problem, affecting believers as much as anyone else. There are times in the Christian life, sometimes quite extended times, when we do not feel safe even though we know we are safe. As we emerge from the pandemic, referral rates for depression and anxiety have doubled, young people are especially vulnerable, and more people in your church will be suffering.

Prayer and medical help

What did Paul do when he was anxious? Well, he prayed, but he tells us that prayers don’t always get the answers we want (2 Cor.12:8-9). Sometimes God says to us: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness’. I have a feeling that one of the reasons Paul wrote 2 Corinthians was to give himself a good talking to – just read that letter through slowly and see what it says to people who feel weak, worried, or depressed. It is wonderful; Paul was preaching to himself!

Prayer is good, and the gospel brings peace, but some of us may need help from a doctor. We need to be careful not to dismiss this as spiritual failure. Sensitive believers may feel that they are letting God down by using medicine to control anxiety and we might need to remind them that God, in His common grace, has given wisdom to help us with mental health issues. Diet, exercise, cognitive behavioural therapy, psychotherapy, and medication – all have their place. They are gifts of God to all humanity, and we would be unwise to reject them.

But some of God’s gifts – His special grace – can only be felt by those who are in Christ. Paul wanted us to know that anxiety (suffering) is redemptive, it helps to perfect us. It teaches us to comfort others (2 Cor.1:3-4), it teaches us to trust God more (2 Cor.1:9-10) and that God can powerfully use us when we are weak (2 Cor.12:9-10).

Finally, remember that God’s word addresses our fears. Take a passage that speaks to them and dwell in it. Learn it by heart, pray through it, soak yourself in it and let it wash through you. Your Bible was written by people living in anxious times – they proved that it is good medicine!