Philippians 4:8, “And now dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
Anxiety is the most common and biggest struggle people deal with. When anxiety takes residence, worry and then depression normally result. Be alerted to recognizing Satan’s tactics. It is a sure sign that Satan has used his weapons of temptation to play havoc in your life with guilt, shame, frustration, and failure. He did it first with Eve in the garden, and he hasn’t stopped ever since, planting divisive seeds of doubt in our mind, will, and emotions, which is our heart. As Louie Giglio has said, “Don’t give the enemy a seat at your table.”
During my lifetime, I have only known three men who never had any problems with anxiety. One was quite well known, who was John MacArthur. He even said he and his wife, Patricia, never argued because he believed so strongly in knowing and understanding God’s sovereignty. Honestly, I find that amazing. He taught that if one wants to be free from anxiety, one’s theology needs to be grounded in God’s sovereignty and repentance and having an active trust in God’s providence. Food for thought.
Everything starts in our heart (mind, will, and emotions). We must examine our motives and think biblically all the time. We have biblical examples such as David prayed to God in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Paul taught in Philippians 4:6, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Then Peter declared in 1 Peter 5:7, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” And now look what Paul transparently wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:28, “And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.” Paul carried strong compassion, empathy, and concern for the young churches, worrying about whether they would stay true to the gospel and free from false teachings and inner strife. Then in 2 Corinthians 1:8 we see that Paul experienced despair as he states, “We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God.” Note that Paul doesn’t talk about all of the details, just that they thought they were going to die and realized it was out of their control. They stopped relying on themselves and recognized that their hope was in God’s rescue (2 Cor. 1:10), which did take place.
So, the next time you feel ready to panic instead of first running to your best friend and complaining, as I have been guilty of, try praising God for His faithfulness, grace, and mercy. This shift can help one feel hopeful, reminding of His loving kindness and promises, which can bring comfort during anxiety. Then put the expected results of your burden in God’s hands.
I don’t have all the answers and fail many times. Old habits are hard to break, as anxiety is the most common struggle we all face from time to time. But work at being God-dependent and not people dependent. Transform your thinking by God’s Word; be set free, as it declares in Philippians 4:8: “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
Listen to Charity Gayle – I Speak Jesus (Lyrics) ft. Steven Musso.