In the first part of this blog, I laid a foundation on the subject of anxiety. If you have read it, I believe it was a tremendous blessing to you. But if you have not read it or listened to the podcast, please do. Click here.
The mind is the main battleground of the enemy’s assault. It is the battlefield where we win or lose in the battles of life. What I am sharing here is akin to the weapons of our warfare. They are not of the flesh, but they are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4).
If anxiety, worry and fear are strongholds in your life, you can pull them down. Yes, you can pull them down!
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ -2 Corinthians 10:3-5, NIV.
The temptation to be anxious will always present from time to time in your life. The spirit of fear will rear up its ugly head, but you do not have to fall for it. You can eliminate or stop anxiety on its tracks when it attempts attacks against you.
Here are some actions you can take whenever anxiety, worry or depression attempt to overwhelm your heart and mind.
- Do not be Alarmed or Panicked:
Do Not Be Afraid of Sudden Fear: Do not panic or give in to your fears, for the breaking apart of the world’s system is destined to happen -Matthew 24:6, TPT.
In our world today, cable news and social media are rife with terrible things that are happening, and the analysis of their implications could elicit sudden fear.
The times are desperate. Believers are becoming afraid and alarmed. But these things ought not to surprise us, nor should they cause us fear. God’s word says we should neither panic nor give in to fear.
There are things about which we ought to be angry and not fearful. Anger is a godly emotion. Every right-thinking Christian should have anger and a passionate loathing against evil and not the fear of it. (Psalm 97:10; Proverbs 8:13)
It is anger against evil that helps us take appropriate action against it (Mark 3:5). Fear will make you cower and become depressed. When you are angry, direct that energy appropriately, not destructively (Proverbs 25:23; John 2:15-16). Do not forget that sometimes, you need to pull down to build up; to prepare to fight to have peace (Jeremiah 1:10; Ecclesiastes 3:1, 3).
There is negative anger which is destructive. The word of God warns us not to have it as part of our lives. Do not accept it. The Bible says it is a fool that engages such anger. The wrath that has neither control nor a righteous basis is enslaving (Psalm 37:8; Proverbs 14:29).
Panic is a manifestation of confusion. I hear believers who say they are scared of what might happen to them on account of the things going on in our country, Nigeria, and the world, at large.
The Lord has told us these things will happen, but that He would be with us and never leave us, nor forsake us. Because of this assurance, Paul says, we should not be afraid of what man can do to us.
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He, Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” -Hebrews 13:5-6, NKJV.
Earlier in the book of Proverbs, we find these words of assurance:
No need to panic over alarms or surprises, or predictions that doomsday’s just around the corner because God will be right there with you; he’ll keep you safe and sound -Proverbs 3:25-26, THE MESSAGE.
As a Christian, you have not been given the spirit of fear, but of power, of love and a sound mind. The Contemporary English Version puts it this way:
God’s Spirit doesn’t make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power, love, and self-control -2 Timothy 1:7, CEV.
Ask God to help you discipline your mind, to concentrate on Him and on the fact that He is present with you and not on your fears. Let Him guide you to take appropriate actions and create solutions to the issues causing you anxiety. Do not be alarmed!
- Take No Thought:
In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus uses this phrase about four times: Take no thought! He is emphatic about us dealing with worry. He says we cannot change anything by worrying about it (Matthew 6:27). In other words, worry is a waste of precious time.
Worry is evidence we are not trusting in the Lord. Rather than being productive, it is destructive. Do not accept thoughts of worry or fear into your mind.
There is another way to look at this. Thoughts always come to our minds, and they include good and evil thoughts. We can control our thoughts and decide what it is we want to maintain in our minds. We have a choice.
The enemy would make you believe you have no control over the thoughts that come to your mind. That is false. God who gave you control of your hands and feet also gave you control of your mind.
Because God has given you control of your mind, you can resist wrong thoughts and take good ones to retain. Do not try to empty your mind of thoughts. Simply substitute bad ones with good ones.
We can keep our minds stayed on God and His Word, and this is what we ought to be doing. Isaiah 26:3 says, You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
You should see worry and anxiety as mental and emotional issues that have their root in the spiritual. Take God’s word and fill your mind with it.
For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart -Hebrews 4:12, ASV.
Meditate on God’s word and not the challenges of life. This is how we guard our hearts and minds:
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life –Proverbs 4:23.
Oh, la, la! I have run out of time! Okay, this is what we would do. I have five other points to share, they are:
- Grow Your Faith from Little Faith to Great Faith
- Engage Prayer and Supplication with Thanksgiving
- Put on the Garment of Praise
- Talk with Someone, and
- Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness
Let us talk about them in the next blog. I can assure you it will be worth the wait. Until then, do not forget to keep living, loving and learning.
Photo by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash
