The Lord really spoke to me through Pastor Doug’s message last Sunday on “Overcoming Anxiety” in Philippians 4:6-7.
I read through the context of Philippians 4, perusing through all of Paul’s letter to the Christians in Philippi. I received so many thoughts and truths to continue overcoming the anxious thoughts and stress I was (and am) dealing with!
Our thought life has a lot to do with our emotional and spiritual life. What we allow to live between our two ears can build us up or break us down. I’ve been allowing scenarios of my and my family’s future to affect me. I’ve found myself getting weighed down, agitated, and emotionally and verbally short-fused with myself and my wife.
Reading through Paul’s letter to the Philippians, I discovered so many gems to help me overcome my anxiety. Here’s one of the passages that touched my heart:
“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Philippians 3:12-14 NLT
What principles do you see in this passage that may help you overcome anxious or troubling thoughts? I encourage you to look through the four chapters Paul writes to the Philippians. You will glean a lot! I’m looking forward to unpacking a few of my findings with you this Sunday!
