Peace for Anxiety

Brother/Sister what anxieties are you carrying as you walk in this morning?

Maybe it is the everyday variety of worry over the upcoming busy schedule, job stress, or finances being tight. Or perhaps it feels more overwhelming as you watch a loved one struggle with failing health, are burdened by the grief of wayward children, feel crushed by the weight of unmet expectations or perceived failure, are concerned that your marriage is hanging on by a thread, or just feel crippled by personal anxiety that makes walking out the door and facing the world seem insurmountable.

Christian, when the inevitable waves of fear and doubt crash into you, where do you turn? As Jesus is teaching his disciples in John 16 he tells them that “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world”. He promises both the inevitability of struggle and difficulty in this life, but also offers the solution. In our own strength, the troubles and anxieties of this life will crush us. But, for those who have set their anchor in Christ, we share in the victory he has already obtained and have peace In Him. Peace for our worried and anxious souls. Peace that doesn’t come from a removal or escape from the circumstances around us, but a peace that provides hope and promises safe passage through the storms of this life to an eternal future. Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you, as we are told in 1 Peter.

Church cling to this promise. Rejoice in a savior who has already won the victory. Meditate on the truth of Scripture to calm your soul and redirect your focus to Christ. Paul instructs the Philippians in chapter 4 to “not be anxious about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. We fight anxiety with prayer. We bring our struggles, fears, and doubts to the throne of God, and in exchange we are given peace beyond comprehension. We have a heart posture of thankfulness and gratitude at the very idea that we have direct access to Almighty God through the blood of Christ, and the result is that our affections (heart) and our thoughts (mind) are supernaturally guarded from the hopelessness that the world would drown us in.

So Church, when you are tempted to doubt, when your sense of anxiety threatens to overwhelm. Remember that Jesus has overcome the world, and through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving experience the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.