Reprieve From Anxiety

How do you gain peace? The holiday season seems to be full of anxiety and stress. If only there were a secret formula to get rid of anxiety...Actually there is, and it's not a secret. God commands us to not worry, but He also tells us how to do that. The following is an excerpt from my recently published book about trading anxiety for peace...

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 NASB

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Do not worry about anything. This is a pointed command that is followed by a substitute. Instead of worry, pray to God; tell Him your grief and praise Him. He doesn’t just say don’t worry and leave it at that. He tells you what to do instead of worrying: give it to Him. Entrust Him with your fears and troubles and then let Him take care of them. One important part to note is to do it with thanksgiving. This changes our attitude from fear (which shows a lack of trust in God and His ability and willingness to help us) and possibly grumbling to one of gratitude, which shows dependence and trust in God. Also, praise is one of our most powerful weapons. God inhabits our praise, and if He is “inhabiting” us, then Satan is expelled. When we are praising God, Satan is bound and paralyzed. His ability to lie to us and make us doubt God is incapacitated. There is a promise that follows the command: if you place your worry and trust in God, His peace (which is so great we couldn’t even imagine it) will guard our hearts and minds. Against what? More doubt and fear. If we stay focused on God with praise and thanksgiving, and entrust Him with our fears, He will protect us from becoming bogged down with worry and fear again. If we are focusing on Him, no bad thought can enter our minds. It’s like a force field; as long as we stay inside the force field, we can’t be hit by Satan’s arrows of fear, but as soon as we remove ourselves from God, and stop trusting Him, we will be vulnerable to fear, worry and doubt again. Stay in the force field! Trust God and allow His peace to envelope you.

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