Selected Scriptures: How to Fight Anxiety

Anxiety is a sin that often goes unnoticed as well as unfought. However, it is also a sin that has the capacity to cripple our spiritual lives more than we could ever know. Therefore, we must fight anxiety. But how? The following formula is something that has helped me over the past year. I hope it can benefit you too. In order to fight anxiety, we must...

1. Stop

2. Breathe

3. Remember

4. Pray

5. Thank

Step 1.. Stop. Anxiety lingers in the land of chaos. You cannot always stop the chaos, but you can stop yourself amidst the chaos. Put the phone down. Take a coffee break. Be still and know that he is God (Psalm 46:10).

Step 2.. Breathe. Breathing requires that you stop talking. Don't utter words to God of things that you cannot understand, that are too wonderful for you that you cannot know (see Job 42:3). Don't complain, Don't question. Don't argue. Just Breathe. Just as you rely on the unseen air that you breathe, rely on the unseen plan of God that you live.

Step 3.. Remember. Oftentimes, we don't need to be taught new things; we simply need to remember what we already know. "Take care lest you forget" (Deut. 8:11). But what are we remembering? The great promises of Christ, that is, that he is causing all things to work together for the good of those who love him (Rom. 8:28).

Step 4.. Pray. Cast your anxieties upon the one who cares for you (1 Pet. 5:7) while you let your requests be made known to him (Phil. 4:6). Pray that your circumstance may change, for there is nothing wrong with doing so--even Jesus did this in the Garden (Luke 22:42). Nevertheless, above all else, pray that God might condition your heart to find faith and joy in his will for your life, whatever it may be. Pray "nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42).

Step 5.. Thank. "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thess. 5:18). It is God's will that you give thanks to him in every situation. Let not your petitions be without thanksgiving (Phil. 4:6).

So, the next time you are anxious... STOP. Breathe. Remember. Pray. Thank. It's a simple and biblical formula that will hopefully allow you to cripple anxiety, that is, before it cripples you.