OvercomingSample

Overcoming Anxiety with Peace

Practice High Thinking.

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Isaiah 26:3 NLT

For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.

Ephesians 6:15 NLT

Roman soldiers’ shoes were not like average athletic cleats. Their shoes were made of heavy pieces of leather or metal that were tied together with leather straps, and the bottom side of the shoes had sharp, dangerous, protruding spikes. These shoes were vicious weapons designed not for running but to give the soldier stability in hand-to-hand combat. They held the soldier in place during battle, making him virtually immovable.

Wow! Paul connects peace with this weapon.

In Ephesians 6:15, the phrase put on means to bind something very tightly to the bottom of one’s feet; the word prepared presents the idea of readiness or preparation. Together, the soldier was ready to face their opponent.

Paul uses this analogy to help us understand that battling anxiety in your mind is like fighting the enemy in close combat. If I have doubt, fear, or uncertainty, the enemy will use this to his advantage. I am to have the proper perspective, where I am standing in the peace of Christ, regardless of my circumstances. That is overcoming anxiety with peace.

David Jeremiah gives five questions that I have been reflecting on; they give me the proper perspective.

1) How am I praying?

I was given the acrostic ACTS many years ago for prayer—Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. In the words of author Daniel Henderson, you must first seek God’s face through worship and adoration before seeking His hand.

2) What am I thinking?

Isaiah 26:3 and Philippians 4:8 are commands, and I need to be aligning my thoughts through trusting God’s promises and seeing life through the lens of His Word.

3) Who am I following?

We are designed for community. I truly value those I can process with and gain perspective from. I find that we are all experiencing degrees of anxiety and it really helps to know that I am not alone. We encourage each other.

4) Where am I living?

I can only live in three places: the past, the present, or the future. I have peace through trusting God and receiving His peace one day at a time. God has placed us in the moment, bracketed away from the past and future. Jesus tells us not to dwell on tomorrow. Wanting to live in the future is about me wanting to be in control.

5) When will I find peace?

It will be when I practice the how, what, who, and where.

Our defeat or victory begins with what we think, and if we guard our thoughts, we shall not have much trouble anywhere else along the line. –Vance Havner

Let’s encourage each other to have the proper perspective.