Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow / Livestream
As a Grand Canyon University student two decades ago, Josh Watt was concerned about the clothes he wore, obsessed with eventually finding a job that would earn him lots of money and wondered if he would meet a coed he could say "hi" to.
Times have changed, Watt pointed out. Mental health is at the front of conversations, with people speaking more openly about the issue and seeking professional help. Even the theme of the film "Inside Out 2," the highest grossing animated movie, focuses on the anxiety of a teenage girl.
“This little pesky, crooked-toothed person called anxiety is the main character of the movie,” Watt, lead pastor at Redemption Church North Mountain, told students during Monday’s Chapel service at Global Credit Union Arena.
But, Watt points out, anxiety is used in the movie as a gift given to the girl to help her spot danger.
“Here’s my general concern as pastor – you can have all the conversations about all the emotions being played inside and out,” Watt said. “And you can have that entire conversation without ever bringing God into conversation.”
Watt cites Matthew 6:25, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, what you will drink, nor about your life, what you will put on is not life more than food and the body more than clothing.”
As a pastor, Watt sends people to doctors, psychiatrists and therapists frequently because of the complexity of mental health.
“However, as we’re looking at anxiety, I do want God’s Word to at least be allowed in the conversation for us to come in and speak into this,” Watt said. “Anxiety is His most important gift to us other than His son, Jesus.
“ … Anxiety is not a modern issue. It’s a human issue.”
To prove Watt’s point, anxiety is mentioned frequently in the Sermon on the Mount from more than 2,000 years ago.
Satan, according to Watt, is a deceiver who wants a disconnection from the Bible and to spin anxiety negatively.
Anxiety can serve as a fog that alerts you to something you want to be protected from and could be a good thing, whether it’s a snake, an abusive relationship or something you know can bring danger.
That anxiety, like fog, can get so thick that it takes over everything, said Watt, who adds that is a good thing but has limits.
“Jesus is talking to a lot of you in this room,” Watt said. “That’s the pain point in your life. That should make you at least pause and think, ‘OK, maybe God sees me.’
“No problem is too small for God, not even anxiety,” said Watt, who adds that the Bible, “the most important book in the universe,” addresses anxiety in three chapters.
“No problem is too big for God. He sees you.”
Watt referred to some GCU students on the “Struggle Bus” because they feel left out of every social situation they have tried to insert themselves into and that God speaks about the things they are dealing with.
But not all anxiety is bad, according to the Bible. Watt shares a story about Paul leading and shaping lives.
“If you’re in any job that cares about humans, you’re going to have anxiety, and Paul says that’s part of loving others,” Watt said.
Furthermore, there is no need to be anxious for tomorrow. “Tomorrow will be anxious for itself,” Watt said.
If a student is worried about something pertaining to life for their future, Watt said Jesus would say to take a walk and look at a bird, citing Matthew 6:26.
“Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
Matthew 6:28 refers to Jesus suggesting to his followers not to get consumed with material items because God will provide them. Lilies neither toil nor spin, and that Solomon was not as well-dressed as the lilies.
“Listen, anxiety is not a bad thing,” Watt said. “It’s a gift from God, but if it stays internal, and it never points us elsewhere, it’s not being used how God wants it to be used.
“Jesus tells all of us, ‘Hey, don’t be anxious about your life. In your future. Go look at a bird and be reminded of My love. Look at a flower and be reminded of My care for you. And seek the Kingdom of God, and everything else you’re worried about will be added onto you.”
Next Chapel speaker, 11 a.m. Oct. 14, Global Credit Union Arena: Jason Fritz, Illuminate Community Church
GCU News Senior Writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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