Krista Michelle Ministries

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Finding Peace In Anxiety

There are a lot of people and places telling you how to handle your anxiety so you can find some peace. Some work and some don’t. All are temporary fixes and will only mask your feelings. There is truly only one way to battle your anxiety. You must go to the source of all peace and use the weapons you have been given to fight your anxiety.

Philippians 4:6-9
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

According to these verses, your only source of peace to overcome anxiety is God alone. In verses 7 and 9 we see that the “peace of God” guards you and the “God of peace” is with you. It is God’s peace alone that will safeguard you from the anxieties of life. This doesn’t mean you’ll never have to deal with anxiety or worry again but when God is your peace, He won’t allow it to take hold of your life. 

I want to spend a few moments on the word “guard.” This image of guarding your heart and mind is two-fold. First, it tells of a guard posted outside the gates of a fortress to protect you. But then also it means that God is building a fortress around you to protect you.  When God’s peace builds a fortress around you then no matter how He chooses to work in your anxiety there is peace.  If He takes away the anxiety – there is peace. If He allows it to linger – there is peace. Because the peace God gives is not an absence of the conflict going on around you or the source of your anxiety but the absence of the conflict and anxiety inside of you.

A while back there were some things going on with my family that caused me to become very anxious. I was so anxious that it consumed my thoughts and at night I couldn’t sleep. On one of the nights that I couldn’t sleep, I tried counting. That did not work at all. So I chose to start quoting scripture in my mind instead, starting with Philippians 4:6-9 and then any other verse that came to mind. Within minutes, I was asleep. I couldn’t even tell you how many verses I said before I was out like a light. I slept the whole night and when I woke the next morning there was peace in my heart. 

That didn’t mean the anxiety from the outside didn’t try and creep in again. The external circumstances leading to my anxiety were still there. But instead of listening to the fear, I read my Bible, prayed, and quoted scripture to myself. And the “peace of God” guarded my heart and mind. His Word built up a fortress that didn’t allow the anxiety in. And the “God of peace” was with me helping me to be on guard. 

God was with me in those moments of anxiety and He is with you too. And He has given us the weapons we need to fight the anxiety…His Word and Prayer.  I want to share how to use these to find peace. 

God’s Word

First, you need to be in God’s word daily for at least 15 minutes reading, studying, and applying it.

Let me give you a few ways to do this…

  1. Devotionals on the YouVersion app

    A few suggestions 
    * Read the bible verse from a physical bible, not the app because it is important to know where the scriptures are in your bible.
    * Have a journal to write down thoughts: what stood out to you? How can you apply it?
    * Write out the verses that really stuck out to you as you read.
    * Do it with friends. It’s always good to have accountability.
    * Don’t start with a devotional on anxiety because it will cause you to focus on your anxiety. Instead, choose something that will help you know more about God or grow in other areas of life like trust, obedience, love, etc.

  2. Bible Studies/Devotionals

    Purchase a Bible study or devotional. Here are a few suggestions…
    * Daily Steps for God Chicks by Holly Wagner
    * Beautiful Encounters by Erin Davis
    * In Her Shoes: Walking in Virtue by Krista Michelle

  3. Study a book of the Bible on your own. 

    Check out my Study the Word blog for details on how to do this and where to start. 

Being in God’s Word daily is going to help you grow in your relationship with the Lord. It is going to show you more of who He is, how He works in your life, and what He wants for you as a believer. Knowing these things is what will become your weapons to fight against anxiety. 

Second, you need to be memorizing His Word. Most of our anxiety comes from our thoughts and the things we dwell on in our mind. But Paul tells us in Philippians 4:8 to think about what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. You can’t create those kinds of thoughts. They only come from God’s Word and you can only think on them when you understand it.  Memorizing the truths from God’s Word is what gives you the right things to think about when faced with the anxiety in front of you. 

Here are some tips for memorizing God’s Word…

God will give you peace in the midst of anxiety if you will spend time with Him, memorize His Word
and pray.

  1. Memorize one to two verses a week. 

  2. Write the Bible verse down.

  3. Put those verses where you can see them.

  4. Set reminders to stop and repeat them daily. 

*Each week add a new verse to the ones you’ve memorized and take time to quote them all during the week. Maybe with each reminder, you quote 2-3 previous verses and the new one you’re learning. 

Prayer

Philippians 4:6 tells us that when we are anxious, we are supposed to go to God in prayer, making our request known to Him. I encourage you to go to Him with honesty and share what is making you anxious. Ask Him to help you fight it with His Word that you’ve memorized. Even ask Him to remove it…trusting that if He doesn’t, He will give you the peace you need to make it through and to fight it with His Word. And then thank God for hearing you and for answering your prayer.

You don’t just pray once, but pray as many times as you need to pray so that you are able to give it to God and not dwell on it. It could be daily or even hourly at first. Just don’t quit no matter how long the reason for your anxiety lasts. Keep going to God as often as you need to.

Krista McBroom