Hope City Church

Feeling Anxious? Discover God's Peace | Ruben Valeny

• Ruben Valeny • Season 2025 • Episode 4

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Learn how biblical principles can help you hold onto thoughts that bring life, peace, and joy. Pastor Ruben dives into the power of our thoughts and how they shape our lives. Through insights from Philippians and Colossians, discover practical steps to secure your identity in Christ, face adversity, and replace anxiety with God’s peace.

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Ruben Valeny:

We cannot delete a thought, but we can replace those thoughts and we do that one thought at a time. How? Well, it's by the words from the Bible that we read over ourselves and speak over ourselves.

Phil Kniesel:

Hey, this is Phil Kniesel, lead pastor at Hope City Church. Thanks for tuning into our podcast. My prayer is that this helps and encourages you, gives you some practical ways to live out your faith, and ultimately fills you with hope. Enjoy the message.

Ruben Valeny:

Well, good morning everybody. If we haven't had a chance to meet yet, as it was mentioned before, my name is Reuben, and I get to lead our Young Adult Ministries called The Project. And, and it's been a tremendous journey so far. God's been really good to us, uh, with last weekend just seeing, like, over 1100 young adults, um, come into this building and just feel like a really great service, uh, and things like that. So God's been good. And, and I was a youth pastor here for a number of years, and if you were to ask me years ago, hey, would you be a young adult pastor, I would immediately say no. Because I thought they were entitled, I thought they were stubborn, and flaky. And now working with them for three years, I've realized, like, wow, like, I'm right. And But, you know, I love them. I love them. I'm just kidding. So if you are watching this Please still come to the project. Um, if you are, if you are new to, uh, this month, we are kicking off 2025 with a brand new series called New Year, New You. And, uh, we're tackling a bunch of different topics, and, um, a series is essentially a collection of talks, and underneath it has this underlying theme, and the theme is this. It's health along all lines of our lives. And the Bible has a lot to talk about, about the five specific areas we're kind of combing through. And that is our spiritual health, that's our financial health, that's professional health, that's our mental health, and also our physical health. And so if you've been tracking with us all month already, fantastic. If you're just joining us this week, I'm so glad. That you can come and make it this week. I want to camp on the topic of mental health and now, uh, across all our campuses, including this room, uh, let's just a bit of participation. Give me a hand if, um, you think of a worst case scenario every single time something bad happens to you. Anybody? Small hurdles. Okay, don't make me feel like the only one here, okay? So, anyway, okay, good. You're my people. As a small hurdle, my mind goes, worst case scenario. Like, when I was in school, I can correlate, like, losing my pen to death. I know you're laughing. You're like, Ruben, how does that correlate? Well, in my mind Losing my pen means I can't take notes. If I can't take notes, then I will fail. If I fail, I don't get a diploma. If I don't get a diploma, then I won't get money. If I don't get money, I'm gonna be skinny and ugly. If I'm skinny and ugly, I won't get married. If I'm not married, I'll be depressed. Depression is a sickness. Sickness leads to death. Yeah, my mind's a zoo. So, some of you guys have, like, young adults as kids, like, is this the one leading my children? Like, but in all seriousness, when it comes to When it comes to the health of our mind, I'm not going to tell you that everything in your life is going to be solved with mind over matter. But what I am going to tell you is that whatever you put into your mind really does matter. Now just before we move on, just a bit of a disclaimer, I know when we talk about mental health, it can like, bring up some sort of connotation of a sub variety of topics. And I do want to say that I'm not, I'm not going to be doubling down on specifics, like you know, depression, suicide, and disorders, although I believe that marrying the power of God with, you know, um, medication and professional help is a good thing and has It's benefits. We're not really going to be talking about those specifics this week. But instead, I want to ask a question for us to ponder on. And the question is, How do we think about what we think about? How do we think about what we think about? You know, reading through the scriptures is very evident that our mental well being is extremely important in our journeys with God. Never, I'm not sure if you've ever heard that expression called, uh, hold that thought. You know, hold that thought. It, it comes from Australian vernacular, which is to politely interrupt a conversation saying like, Oh, hold that thought. I need to take a phone call real quick or hold that thought. I need to run to the washroom real quick. It's taking this, um, this, this thought and intentionally storing our thinking in a specific area. And I love that expression because it correlates perfectly with the point that I want to make, um, this week. And it's that when it comes to mental health, you can't control the thoughts that come into your head, but you do have the power in how you hold those thoughts. Hold that thought, you know? And so why is mental health so important? And what can compromise our mental health today? Well, Jesus says himself in Mark 12, 30. He says, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Notice that he could have said, love the Lord your God with everything you have, but he made it a specific point to kind of divide up all those areas. So us today, even in 2025, the readers can intentionally look at those specific areas in our lives, because although they're different categories, they do intertwine and they do overlap, meaning that your mental health. can directly affect your physical health, your emotional health, and your spiritual health. And so, there are some things out there that can, that can compromise your mental health today. And it's that we live in a comparison culture, and we live in a narcissistic world. Right? Like, I love social media, but I know it can't hurt me. Someone once said that, um, comparison, uh, kills contentment. And I, and I agree with that. Because I know how it feels when I compare my behind the scenes with your highlight reels. Right? Like, I didn't know how unhappy I was until I knew how happy you were. Right? It's a game we play. It's this, it's this vicious cycle. And when we constantly think about that, our minds can be pulled in so many directions. We also live in a narcissistic world. Like, do you know who the god of North America is? It's ourselves. It's ourselves. Okay. Close. But I've realized that we don't make good gods, right? Because instead of looking out or looking up, we look in and we look for answers to our own selfishness and our own selfishness always has a path of sabotaging our thinking and making it completely exhausted. So how do we respond to this? Well, let me just say. Before there are some people in this room who had a specific way of thinking maybe has been toxic Maybe it's been negative for a way of life. It has been so ingrained in you and you're thinking How can I get out of this pit? Let me say to you that it will not be easy It will not be instant But I believe with my whole life That through the power of God that we're able to make this new groove that we're able to build and form these new habits We cannot delete a Thought, but we can replace those thoughts and we do that one thought at a time. Hold that thought. Hold that thought. How? Well, it's by the words from the Bible that we read over ourselves and speak over ourselves. It could be the spontaneous drives in the car where you start blasting the worship music. It could be the phone call that you make with your small group or a mentor and tell them what's actually going on in your life. It's a moment of reminding ourselves that we were built for purpose, that we were not built to sulk in our negative thinking, but we're made for more, we're made to thrive and not let that negative thinking derail us. And so it's so easy, and I mean it's so easy, for us to camp in the thoughts, uh, stressful thoughts, worry filled thoughts, like thinking, Why did they not invite me to that? Or, Why don't I have this? Or, Why wasn't I born into a better family? Or, Why did he or she get that promotion? Or, Why can't we go on a vacation? And all of a sudden, if you're camping in those thoughts, we're just allowing ourselves to be victims. We're allowing ourselves to be hurt. But we're not alone in this. Not in this room, neither in the Bible. We see through the scriptures that there are multiple characters where we can see glimpses in their journeys of mental health. And one of the people I want to camp on is Paul. Paul is a pretty known and popular figure even beyond the Christian world. And we can learn a lot about the complexities of his life and the journey that he has gone through about our thinking and renewing our thought patterns and our minds. Now, in case you didn't know, he's written over approximately two thirds of the New Testament. And out of all the literature that he's written, um, he's written a few books called the Prison Epistles. And they're exactly what they sound. They're letters written from prison. Now think about that for a second. Just being in prison. I have not been there personally, but I can imagine. Just being incarcerated, trapped, his physical body in a jail cell, but also his mind. Being pulled apart in so many different directions, distorted type of thinkings. But Paul, for the man who he is, puts pen to paper and writes these beautiful words and beautiful letters. And out of it, we get books like Colossians and Philippians. And I want to take a small glimpse into those two books right there. But as we read it, check out the power of his mind and thinking. It says in Colossians 3, since then you have been raised with Christ. Set your heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Listen, it says, set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Another book in Philippians. Again, written from a jail cell. 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. A man in prison, writing these letters, encouragement to us today in 2025, how could it be? How could it be that he would write these encouraging words to the readers today from a jail cell? Well, friends, it's because he thought about his thinking. And he was able to hold his thoughts. And further on, there's two specific things we learn from Paul, dealing about the idea of mental health. First, Paul teaches us that when we're able to hold our thoughts, we're able to confidently face adversity. Paul writes in Philippians 4. 13, For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. I'm not sure if you realize this, but life's It's hard sometimes, eh? And it's more than we can bear sometimes. And in those moments, worry and fear and stress can cause us to open ourselves up to all types of thinking, even to the point of thinking and believing whether God is good or not. And so what I'm trying to say is that when we're able to hold those thoughts and give it back to God, then we're able to not look at God differently because of our circumstances. But look at our circumstances differently because of God's. And so yeah, maybe I don't have a clue, but I'm not going to trust the circumstance I'm in. I'm going to trust the God who's been good and faithful my entire life, seats taken on the throne of my heart. And so what I'm also trying to say is that we're going to doubt our doubts. And believe our beliefs, not the other way around. And it's going to drastically change how we, how we face adversity in our thought life. Because I'm going to preload that God's got a plan. I know He's good. I know He's faithful. I know He will get me. I don't know how. I don't know when. I don't, I don't know why. I, I feel crazy for even believing in this. But I'm not going to trust the circumstances around me or my own thought patterns. I'm going to trust a God who's sovereign and holy. Why go through the hard times that you're going through? Well, maybe, maybe, just maybe that God wants to make you more like his son and daughter. Maybe in the moments that are hard and difficult, he wants to release this new True, true type of joy. Maybe he wants to sculpt you and alter you and change you and make you to the person he's called you to be so by the time we get to heaven at the end of our lives, we can look back and say, thank you God for those hard times because through those hard times, you were like the surgeon cutting away the tumor. It was hard. Yes. It was painful. Yes. But what surgery isn't? But on the other side, we have this wholeness. Freedom, health, peace, and joy. And then finally, Paul teaches us, um, that when we're able to hold our thoughts, it changes how we experience anxiety. This is what it says in Philippians chapter 4, it says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And then what? Then the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. And I'll have you know that he does not use the word feel here. He does not say feel anxious for nothing. Like he's not commanding us to do what is impossible, because if he were, it'd be unrealistic. It'd be uncomfortable and it'd be cruel. But Paul himself, if any character in the Bible can have the walk out to talk about being overwhelmed and anxious, it's Paul. And he's written it in his letters multiple times to the readers that he has been overwhelmed. He has been overloaded, even to the point of despairing life itself. But yet he says, be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, give your requests to God, and then guess what happens in return? He gives you the peace. The peace comes from God, that surpasses all understanding. Meaning what? Meaning like, I don't get it. Like, I don't get why I'm feeling this way. This thing usually freaks me out. Usually this thing causes me to, to stumble and wonder. This thing usually makes me feel crazy, but for some reason, my heart is feeling peaceful. It's feeling grounded and I can't explain it. That is a supernatural peace from God that could protect your hearts, that could protect your mind. And let me remind you, you can't delete a thought, but you can replace a thought. And those anxious thoughts can be. Let me say this with confidence. Can be banished. Like darkness is banished when you walk into the room and flick on the lights. Well, Ruben, this makes me feel anxious. This makes me feel panicky. This makes me feel, uh, terrified. And I get it. You have a nervous system. And when that nervous system is out of whack, that's called anxiety. But having a nervous system is good. Like, for example, if a bear comes at you. Yeah, I said a bear. We live in Alberta. If a bear comes at you, your nervous system's like, Hey, buddy! You should wake up! That's a good thing to have. A little bit. But When it's inappropriate, when it overwhelms, that's referred to the anxious panic that we report feeling. And when that, in those moments, what we're experiencing is this anxious flood that is targeting our nervous system. But if we have a nervous system, then we must have the opposite, which is a peace system. A peace system. And yes, that involves seeking medical help, or pastoral guidance, um, or involving people in your life. Because guess what? You have a soul. And your soul affects, um, tremendously your experience in this life. And you're gonna have to realize that a component of giving, of taking care of your mind, and renewing your mind, ought to be given to God, and involving His strength. And His peace. And so when we're able to do that, we're able to realize that we won't be able to drift away. We're not be able to drown because God is so faithful. And so if you'd be willing to give over the precious bandwidth of those stress filled and worry filled thoughts, and instead choose to respond with prayer, choose to respond with worship, choose to respond with gratitude, you will see that peace system kick in. And the nervous system won't be able to dominate your life and hold you hostage anymore. And so through Paul, we learned that when we're able to hold our thoughts properly, we're able to face our adversity and beat anxiety. So let me ask you again, how should you think about your thinking? Well, through Paul's example. We have four practical life lessons to help us in our thinking. Number one, is negative thoughts can't lead to a positive life. I think that's pretty self explanatory there, but it's a great reminder for you and I. It says in Colossians, um, three, like I mentioned before, If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on this earth. In Romans, written by Paul again, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Trust God, yes, but also use common sense. Like, we gotta trust God, but also follow suit in our thinking. Oftentimes, our humanity, by default, will just drift towards negativity. Like, I can guarantee everyone in this room didn't wake up this morning, looked at themselves in the mirror, and says, Hey, I hope you have a terrible day today. Who did that? You need prayer here later, but we didn't do that because our natural bent towards our flesh and narcissism and Selfishness will cause us already to have a day that we never wanted. What's the reward for it more negativity friends? Guess what? It's more negativity to what you look for You will find what you're searching for you will see more of you are in charge of the thoughts that are in your head You can't stop what shows up in your head But you do have the power to how, how you, um, let those thoughts sit there. There's a difference, listen, there's a difference between thinking and thinking about. Like a thought can come into your mind and you're thinking it, yes. But now you have a choice to let it dwell there and stay there. This helps me understand more when I understood Stanley Professor Arnold's Wiki's theory on the frequency illusion. And let me give you an example. Think about the last big purchase you made in your life. And for me, it was a car, okay? I'm gonna upgrade from a small hatchback to an SUV. Thought, hey, I'm gonna get a Hyundai Tucson. It's great, not really, not really popular out there. It's kind of dispersed. Thought it'd be a great potential for a car for myself and my wife. Guess what happened the next day? I saw a Tucson. And another one. And another one. And another one. And then what happened five minutes later? Saw another one. There are no more Tucsons, uh, more created than there were yesterday. But my brain and it's selective thinking has dwelt upon it because it's been dwelling upon it I think about it more but unfortunately the frequency illusion if we're not careful leads to a confirmation bias Meaning like oh if I see more of that then it must be fate, right? It must be fake. Oh my gosh. I talk to young adults all the time. That's what, that's how they deal with girls and guys. Oh my gosh, this girl I see all the time. It must be faked. It must be God. No. Slow your roll. That's creepy. But then that frequency illusion leads to confirmation bias. Then it leads to the self fulfilled prophecy. And all of a sudden we are just living. In this, uh, uh, in this, in the negative sense, when we dwell on the negative thoughts, it just confirms more and more things, so to speak. And we're just living in this perpetual vicious cycle of our own stress filled thoughts. The word for more negativity is more negativity. And here's how it looks. If you go to work thinking, they were mean to me today, they'll mean, they'll be mean to me tomorrow. So when you go to work the next day, whatever they say, whatever they don't say, whatever you laugh about. Whatever they don't laugh about, whoever they invite to, whoever they don't invite to. Friends, that just sounds exhausting just talking about it. Like, you're just hoping to get hurt. Like, you're just waiting to get wounded. But, could be other things. Like, oh, that negative thing that my spouse did, or that experience I had at church, or in small group, or this drama. Like, we're just kind of like staring at it, and our brains are going to dwell on it, and all of a sudden we're going to be camped in this rock bottom pit of these toxic filled thoughts. That could, that could be bad news, but there's good news as well. Like, what if we looked at signs of beauty? If you didn't look at the worst examples of humanity, if you just looked for the best, if you looked for the praiseworthy? Like, believe it or not, there is good in this world. God is at work in your life and around your life. There is someone who is nice. There is someone who is generous. There is someone who is loving. And all those things, all of a sudden, it's going to be brought out of you. And so listen, I'm not talking about positive thinking as a replacement to God. I'm talking about positive thinking as a response to God. Third, you cannot worship and worry at the same time. Right? Well, you can't be accidentally negative when you're intentionally being positive. Like, the math is not math in here. It says in Philippians 4, 8, I mentioned it before, Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, if any of these things are excellent or praiseworthy, Think about such things. If we think about it, we're going to continue thinking about it. So instead, why don't we replace our negative thoughts with something positive, or praiseworthy, or excellent. Like instead of pouting, what if I'm praising? What if instead of I'm complaining, I'm practicing gratitude? What if instead of being critical, I'm encouraging people? I won't be able to do things my flesh wants me to do because I'm too busy doing the thing God's called me to do. And so, we learn that, so far, negative thoughts can't lead to a positive life. We know that when we look for, you will find. And we know that you can't worship and worry at the same time. And then finally Live life in community. I know it sounds a little bit preliminary, but it's a great reminder for everyone in this room. And, and, and some of you probably know this, and I shared this illustration with my young adults, but in case you didn't know, the largest tree in the world is a redwood tree. And it can grow up to over 380 feet tall, and live to close to 2, 000 years. And it's crazy to think that these trees can like live as long as Jesus. But anyways, you might be thinking, how did these trees like withstand the weather patterns, the, the storms, the season changes and things like that. Well, the answer is in the roots. And you're thinking like, oh, the roots must be super deep. Actually, no, it's just 6 to 12 feet deep. Well, they must be huge and thick and, and, and, and strong. Actually, no, they're just an inch in diameter. How they survive the test of time is actually they grow out. And redwood trees grow in what we know as family circles. And the roots get connected. to the other tree's roots. And they intertwine, and they're connected, and they hold together. And so if you were to take out a redwood tree, you gotta take out the whole circle of redwood trees. And so it's not about them, like, standing together, it's what they're networked to, it's what they're connected to. Like, they can even send nutrients to each other. Like, so the sick tree and the elderly tree and the baby tree can get some nutrients. Friends, these trees are up in small groups. Why aren't we? I don't get it. It's not too late for you to sign up. Plug. There you go. But listen, there are no successful Christian islands out there. And so don't let the enemy think he has a shot to take you out when you know that you are not alone, but you are intentionally being propped up by the people around you. Live life in community. And so like I mentioned at the beginning of this message, what goes into your mind really does matter. Can we really live out what Paul has written? To live life thinking of holy and pure thoughts we can and we will And my hope for you, church, is that we can change how we think about our thinking. And so we learned this morning four practical lessons. Number one, negative thinking can't lead to a positive life. What you look for, you'll find. You can't worship and worry at the same time. And live life in community. Now let me just say that this is not a once and done formula. This is something that ought to be practiced day in and day out. But guess what? Anything that's worth it, Can be worth the sacrifice and worth the work because if we're able to kind of move forward in this not totally nail it We'll be able to live life being drawn into a bigger picture. That's beyond ourselves We won't be able to let those things sure negative thoughts can come that we won't let those negative thoughts derail us We won't let those negative thoughts paralyze us and cripple us and stop us from doing the things that God has called us to do so Remember, Hope City, that I'm praying for you, we're constantly praying for you, and love you, and know that as you hold those thoughts, let's get those thoughts back up towards God. I'm going to invite you to stand, and I would love to pray over you. And as I pray, you know, I want to pray a prayer that has kind of two camps, two categories. For one camp, maybe you're in this room, and I've gone to church for a very long time, um, and, and you are a Christ follower, but yet you're still being, you're still being pulled back and crippled a little bit by this negative thinking. Know that, and I know it sounds kind of corny and cheesy to say, but like, But the power of God does have, is the power to free you. I believe that in the name of Jesus that your chains and the way of thinking can be broken. But there has to be this portion of like, okay, I'm going to worship God with everything I can. I'm also going to put the work behind it. How crazy it is to have working hands collide with worshiping hands coming together. I'm going to trust God. I'm also going to roll up my sleeves and get to work. Know that I'm not going to be this fanatic of just, I'm just going to let go and let God. No, that's, that's. Wishful thinking. Yes, trust in God. Believe in Him. Worship Him with everything you have, but also realize that you have a job to do. That we have work to, to, to surround ourselves with the right people. To consume things that will be filling our minds with positivity, not negativity. And to surround ourselves with people that will speak into our lives. And so, I want to pray for you and kind of camp there. And then another camp is maybe you're coming to this church maybe a couple times. Maybe this is your first time. Maybe you're spiritually curious or want to know more about Christianity. And you're thinking like, wow, the way of Jesus actually does make sense. And it does. And let me tell you straight up, that if you accept Jesus, I'm going to tell you that life is not going to get easier. Not a really good sales pitch, but I will tell you, that when you accept Jesus into your life, you will never have to live life alone. That God is going to hold your hand every step of the way, and through the thick and thin, through the mountaintops and valleys, you have a God that will allow you to be reminded of your destiny, of your freedom, your purpose, and what He has in store for you in eternity, post this life. That's the beauty of Jesus. That's the beauty of the gospel, to know that Jesus gave up His life so you can have one. And so, with that, if you want to join me in that prayer, collectively, we will pray together on that. Let's pray. Thank you, Jesus, for our time together, and I pray for every single one in this room. I pray, Jesus, that you would, um, just consistently renew our minds. Father, I pray for freedom in this place this week. I pray for those who um, who maybe feel trapped and kind of like in shackles and chains of their negative thinking. I pray, Lord, that those will be loosened. I pray, Lord, that there'll be freedom in their mindsets and how they think about things. I pray that when they leave here, they'll be a different person. Not because of a, of a thing they did or an application form they filled out, but because of your transformative power from the inside out. I pray, Lord, that as we leave here, that you'll protect our minds. I pray, Lord, that we'd be reminded Philippians 4, 8, that we would think about holy, lovely, pure, admirable things, things that belong to you. And so Father, I pray for the other side, that the Lord, they maybe want to accept you for the very first time. And so we collectively as a room pray together this, Jesus, we invite you into our hearts. We confess and believe, and we make you the Lord and Savior of our lives. And from this day forward, our words are not our own, our life is not our own. We submit to you and give it over to you. We, I don't want to live for the Reuben life anymore. I want to live for the Jesus life. So whatever that is for you, you can insert your name there. But from this day forward, I will choose not to sulk in my negative thinking, but choose to serve you and as a byproduct, have my mind filled with peace. So as we leave, may you go before us. May you protect people, may you anoint people, and may we realize and be reminded that we ought not to be Christians only in this room. But may we walk out these doors and exude the light of Christ, the light of you, Jesus, to the people in Edmonton, in our home. So God, would you go before us, in Jesus name, Amen. Amen. Just a quick reminder, as you pray that salvation prayer, just real quick. And if you had a chance to pray that Salvation Prayer, I would encourage you and challenge you to actually, um, scan the QR code that's on the screen or on some of the cards in the back of some of the seats. It kind of gives you the ABCs and what to look for as you follow Jesus and also gives you a chance to connect with one of our pastors. If you need prayer for anything whatsoever, we would be happy to do so. We have a prayer team to my right and your left at the front here and you can come up as you choose to do so. But other than that, on behalf of the staff, we love you. We pray about you constantly, and uh, we're excited to see you again as we finish off our series next Sunday morning. God bless you guys.