Philippians 4:4-13
Adapted from the final Sermon on the subject of Anxiety
We’ve taken two weeks to explain anxiety…
we have learned that it affects anyone, but often females and teens
we learned that it is a type of fear – a fear of “what ifs” or fear of the perceived, but not the tangible
we learned that it can affect not just our mind, but also our body
we learned that it occurs by trauma, by abuse, by instability in our life, or even by daily events that build a wall over time
we learned that anxiety is often a result of improper thinking, or improper responses to circumstances…Therefore it can be conquered
we learned drugs won’t cure it, but sometimes medicine has to be used in conjunction with counseling.
we learned that anxiety is not logical, but it is a real problem and we ought to help people and be compassionate toward those suffering with it.
There are various forms of help, but none will be as effective and long term and complete as when you couple it with the help you get from God. Any of these various ideas we mention, will always be more effective when we have the Lord’s help through the process.
1. Figure out your anxiety: the type, the cause, the affects, the frequency, the feelings, the triggers etc…
(study yourself) Sometimes there are deep rooted and unresolved problems that need to be identified
2. Keep a journal: keeping track of your personal life can help you identify what’s causing your anxiety and what seems to help you feel better. Writing things down helps you let out the thoughts, and feelings, like air pressure in an over-inflated tire
3. Know what calms you: prayer, verses, a story, music, a person, establish a routine that you can mentally walk through to calm yourself down
4. Find Allies To Assist You: ally yourself with God, Parents, godly friends, pastors, counselors, find people who will understand and help you. Support is a great need to recovering from any trouble in life….anxiety is no exception.
5. Rejoice: rejoice in every victory, no matter how small – Philippians 4:4
6. Get exercise: exercise will strengthen not only your body, but heart and soul, it will promote a happy spirit
7. Make sleep a priority: do what you can to make sure you’re getting enough sleep to feel rested, when we are tired we tend not to care as much, we give up easier, we lack as much spirit to fight the good fight, because we are fighting fatigue
8. Eat healthy. healthy eating will affect our thinking. Focus on fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains and fish (brain food) stay away from processed, canned, boxed, fast foods
9. Stay involved in activities: isolation makes anxiety worse, so be socially involved, go to church, work, school, interact with friends, ministry’s, get yourself busy serving the Lord…go soulwinning, nothing is so exciting as helping someone get saved.
10. Follow Biblical principles: Realize these truths, and internalize them, think on them, and make them personal to you, Realize who you are in Christ, and see who God is to you, also what he can do for you
A. Pray: learn how to cast your burden on the Lord, learn how to draw nigh to God, learn how to rest upon his strength when you are weak.. Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Be not full of care….Do this by prayer and supplication and thanksgiving and the result of spending much time in prayer is the peace of God.
God’s peace will work to protect your mind…it will keep you safe
B. Find a verse or a couple of verses that can be your “go to passages”, to meditate on them when anxiety comes, God’s Word Has Power – Life Altering Power
I can through Christ…. Phil 4:13
Ps 34:4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears
C. Practice biblical thinking: Phil 4: 8 – practice having good thoughts, and making your mind dwell on good, not bad. Our thoughts are a result of what you see and hear and do and say and read, So…shut off soap opera’s, TV, news, talk radio, and other things…tune out all those things that are negative, upsetting or troubling, don’t sit there with nothing and let your mind wander freely…an idol mind is the devil’s workshop!
D. Remind yourself…God Protects his people: Ps 27:1 ¶ The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Ps 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?Pr 3:25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. 26 For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. 2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Reminding ourselves of God’s presence, and power will help us gain the strength and faith to conquer anxiety
E. Listen to Godly Christian Music: this calms and helps your mind, body and spirit…music is a spiritual and powerful medium, it has the ability to change your mind, mood, spirit, thoughts, it affects all of your person…body, soul, spirit…just having it playing in the background at times…is a good idea
F. Do a Bible Study on things that conquer fear?
1. Faith conquers fear – so increase your faith
Matthew 6:25-33 Take no thought – is the same greek word as “careful” in Philippians – means don’t be anxious
2. Peace conquers fear – so be filled with God’s peace
Philippians 4:7 peace is a fruit of the Spirit, so be filled with the spirit of God. By yielding and being filled with the Spirit – you can have peace from God. John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
3. Love conquers fear – be filled with Gods’ love
1Jo 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. If our love for God, or man is wrong – it will make us feel afraid, unstable.
4. the fear of God prevents the fear of man
Hebrews 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Remember…..Where anxiety, and unhealthy fear comes from… not God… 2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. We must recognize that the fear/anxiety we experience is not of God, it is in the mind, or maybe even an oppressive spirit
This will not be an easy process, but if you fight with the courage of Joshua, you can overcome and conquer this enemy.
– Pastor S. Borner