Attacking Anxiety

Attacking Anxiety (Philippians 4:6&7)

No one is immune to anxiety. It is an equal opportunity troubler. It will knock on all our doors sometime during our lives. Guys who ride motorcycles tell me there is an old saying about falling. "It's not a question of 'if' you'll fall but 'when' you'll fall." So it is with anxiety. If it hasn't come to visit, it will.

Like many things in life, each of us can choose how we experience anxiety. Our society has become what many call a "victim" culture. That mindset has invaded the Christian culture. All of us know people who live life anxiously and see themselves as victims of the circumstances that create the turbulence they feel. Too many of us do not realize we can proactively attack anxiety and send it on down the street.

Consider the Apostle Paul's words in today's text. He instructs us to choose a proactive stance against anxiety. The Apostle assumes anxiety will come, but he tells us it does not have to live with us. He gives us an alternative that assures us we can know the absence of anxiety.

In simple words, we attack anxiety by taking every issue to God. If financial worries produce anxiety, take them to God. If you struggle with temptation and feel anxiety, take it to God. If you see some crisis hanging out there on the horizon of your life, take it to God. The Apostle tells us that nothing is off limits. Rather, "in everything" go to God "in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving."

We can't stop with the instruction, however. Paul gives a powerful promise to go with the instruction. When we take to God the issues in our lives that feed anxiety, the Apostle promises us a solution. The simple solution to anxiety is God's peace. This peace is the very same peace that God lives with every day. It is so powerful and beyond our normal experience, that Paul says it "surpasses all understanding."

This very same peace that God knows every day "guards our hearts and minds." It doesn't allow anxiety to live in our lives! The word "guard" means to "stand sentinel." God's very own peace stands sentinel at the door of our lives and refuses to allow anxiety access! We're not strong enough to ward off anxiety. That is why we need God's peace to stand sentinel.

So, when anxiety comes knocking at your door, remember that you can attack it before it settles in for a long stay. You have an open invitation. Take everything to God. Talk to Him about the issues and claim the promise of His peace. Expect that peace to stand sentinel. Trust me when I tell you. Anxiety cannot get near you when God's peace stands sentinel over your life. -- John Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Toms River

God's WORD for TODAY: Psalm 94-96; Proverbs 16; Romans 15:14-33

Great Quote: Forgiveness is our command. Judgment is not. -- Neil Strait