4 Strong Strategies to Overcome Anxiety

Photo by Elisa Ventur on Unsplash

Anxiety is accelerating. Anxiety is being amplified by the news, social media, the economy, increasing secularization and the daily pressures of life. How can we possibly deal with all that stress?

Four powerful strategies help us reframe the sources of stress in our lives and anchor on the source of peace and joy.

For the follower of Jesus, there is a natural path to eliminate stress and anxiety from our lives. Here is how we do it.

Set our priority

Jesus made it so clear for us. When our life priority is right, he takes care of all our needs so we don’t experience that anxiety.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  

Matthew 6:25, 33–34 (ESV)

We need to focus on following Jesus. As we exercise our spiritual disciplines and continue a life of simple and faith-filled obedience we will experience God’s provision for us. And the more we do this, the more we reinforce the reality of Jesus’ promise to us.

Pray

The benefits of prayer are uncontested. When we pray, we activate our faith and remind ourselves of the awesome sovereignty of God. Expressing our concerns is a natural human response to challenging circumstances and events in our lives. Surrendering these things to God gives us peace and assurance. But we must truly surrender them. It’s no good if we surrender them and then gradually or immediately retrieve the source of anxiety or stress from the altar of prayer.

Think

We must ensure our thinking is right. We are not to dwell on and meditate on the difficulty or trial (also known as worry) but to meditate on things that strengthen us in the midst of storms.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Philippians 4:8 (ESV)

God’s Word is a good place to start in finding things to think about. The Bible is inspiring, instructive and transformational. Our thinking must be renewed and the source of that renewal is God himself and he does that work through his word.

Act

Idleness tends to negativity! When we are idle, we think about things and easily turn to those things that are troubling us. So it is important that we do something. Take a walk. Go to church. Visit a neighbor or friend or family member, volunteer, get involved in something productive. Do something!

Helping someone else is a great way to dispel stress and anxiety in our lives. And when you do this in concert with the previous three strategies, anxiety doesn’t stand a chance!

Your Turn

Take one step today to eradicate any stress or anxiety you may have in your life. Pray and ask God to help you be positive and strong in the midst of the storm. Claim the peace that Jesus is faithful to give you and trust that you will get through this.