“Just don’t worry about it.”
How many times has someone said that to you when your circumstances truly warranted a little bit of anxiety? If you’re anything like me, you probably thought, “Yeah, right. Easier said than done.”
By the way, it was probably a man who said it. My engineer husband seems to be able to simply tell himself not to feel a certain way and then follow his own advice. Good for him, but unfortunately he expects me to possess the same testosterone-based super power.
4 Actions to Reduce Anxiety
If you’re more like me and not able to turn off the worry quite so easily, hang in there. God’s Word gives us practical hope. Paul’s letter to the Christians in Philippi is heavy with talk of joy. It’s not because the Philippians were trouble-free; they were persecuted by enemies of the Gospel (Philippians 1:28-30). But Paul knew even in the midst of trouble, they could experience peace in Christ. One section of his letter in particular shows how they – and we – can overcome the worry in our lives.
4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
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. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:4-9
This passage highlights 4 specific actions we can take to reduce the worry and anxiety in our lives. Here they are:
- Choose Joy – We often face physical circumstances that would steal our joy. Thankfully, Christians can always find joy in our unchanging and eternal spiritual circumstances we have in Christ. (1 Peter 1:3-9)
- Practice Gratitude – The Bible repeatedly connects joy with a thankful attitude (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). God has always known what numerous contemporary studies have shown – gratitude increases feelings of wellbeing and happiness. So count your blessings!
- Talk to God – Our heavenly Father invites us to bring all our troubles and concerns to Him. He cares about each one, no matter how small. He has the desire and the power to meet our needs. Tell Him and trust Him to provide (Matthew 6:25-34).
- Discipline Your Mind – What we think about will impact how we feel and how we act (Romans 12:2). We can choose what to think about. And what not to think about.
This may take some practice. You may have to apply and then re-apply. But God has promised results. When we…
choose joy, practice gratitude, talk to God, and discipline our thoughts…
His peace will overpower our anxiety. His peace will guard our hearts and minds. We may not understand how it works, but we can benefit from His miraculous provision!
Have you found these actions to be effective in your own life?
I think men tend to let things roll off their backs. My husband is the same. I truly wish I could do it. I know through Christ I should. Phil: 4:13. I still struggle sometimes with it. I think it is a mother’s heart. I enjoyed the post.
Blessings
Diana
joeym11@frontier.com
Thanks for stopping by Diana! I agree about men being able to let things go easier. I’ve also learned that even when they don’t they tend not to show it but keep it bottled up!
My husband is very very sick. But before he lost his health completely we were full of bitterness and we fought a lot. Now people are shocked to see us sitting in the hospital bed laughing joking and smiling. In a waiting room many years ago a woman said to us if I didn’t know you were married I would think you were too long lost friends that had just found each other. That’s the best compliment we’ve ever gotten. We choose love. We chose love over our addiction. We chose love over family troubles. We choose love in our home. But without God love is not possible. My grandmother sent me a note about 25 years ago when I was still an active addict telling me basically what Paul said to the Philippians. She told me to think of all the people that love me and all the joyful things that have happened to me and remember them. She died a couple weeks ago at age 97 and I can assure you she is in Paradise. You see she walked her talk and I watched her do it without her even knowing. That is how I found Christ. I wasn’t looking up to heaven waiting for some vision. In my heart it occurred to me one day that Christ was in my beloved little cocker spaniel. Christ was in my son’s eyes. Christ was in my husband and even in his suffering. Finally Christ is all the things I love. I no longer look for a picture of Jesus nor do I look for proof that he existed or didn’t and the places he might have been. I love him because all the things I love come from him. People ask why God allows suffering. Try to find a person that is suffering and it won’t be hard to find them. Sit down and talk to them. I guarantee you they will share something that you never even thought about. If they trust in the Lord I can promise you they are suffering mean something to them. The more they suffer the more ready they are to meet the Lord. People that are dying begin to pull away from their loved ones. They don’t want to be touched so much and sometimes we don’t know where their mind has gone. Their pain is lessons and they are fading away and they don’t even realize it. I believe that half of them is already meeting the Lord. Thank you for allowing this long-winded comment LOL and praise the Lord in all that we do. This Sinners doubts are fading. I truly once was lost but now I have been found.
Ashley, thank you for sharing your story. Your experience with God’s faithfulness in the most difficult of times encourages others to look for God in the midst of theirs!
I try to challenge worries…for example, if I’m worried about x,y or z does that imply that I’m not trusting God with those things? It immediately prompts me to pray and thank God that HE is in control and I don’t have to be.
Amen!
My pastor said recently that worry is when we talk to others about “whatever” and concern is when we talk to God about it. (He said it better than this, but you get the drift.) I try to use this as a guide to help turn my worry into true concern. When I have concern, I’m acknowledging something is an issue or problem, but as I turn it over to Him in prayer, I’m also exercising my faith. Helps me anyway.
Kari, I love this: “As I turn it over to Him in prayer, I’m also exercising my faith.” Amen! Taking our concerns to Him is an act of faith. We trust He can and will help us!
Releasing worry to him sure does stretch our faith too!
Helps me..thanks for sharing.
A priest once told me 2 wake up tomorrow morning and every single person that I come in contact with I should treat them as if they will be dead at midnight. Enemy or friend alike. Think of how the last conversation you will have with that person will go. Even with my worst enemy I would not want to have my last words be harsh or judgemental bitter or angry. Even if they have wronged me ten thousand times the Bible tells me to allow it again. The words would not even be for that person per se it would be for the Lord’s Glory. When I do nice things for people I don’t like it is to glorify God because he had such mercy on me and continues to do so in all of my sins.
That’s truly a gracious, biblical attitude!
Worry makes me a big grumpy person and tends to make me withdraw from the world. I so need to do the 4 steps…….
My husband is the same….I struggle with worry though ….I needed this today!