AUTHORITY OVER ANXIETY

Many people experience anxiety and pressure when they face many challenges, and among the areas are relationship, health and feeling of uncertainty concerning the future. But in a world filled with worries, the Bible has the best solution to offer. This solution is for those who have an established position in Christ and are ever willing to walk in the perfect will of God.

Reference: Philippians 4:6-7 New International Version (NIV) 'Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.'

The life of faith can be filled with challenging experiences and these challenges are sometimes evident in the things we care most about. Nevertheless, to exercise absolute authority over anxiety, there are two levels of Biblical prescription in the above verses. The first two are guaranteed steps for reaching the third level, which is the peace of God.

The first level is: Get rid of anxiety. Do not be anxious about anything. Do away with anxiety and live without worry. Anxiety is possible but in Christ we've been given the authority over anxiety. Anxiety is a weapon that keeps you fearful, paranoid, or uneasy in any given circumstance but Isaiah already noted that no weapon formed against you shall prosper or succeed (see Isaiah 54:17). Once you acknowledge this truth, your authority over anxiety will come alive and this authority will position you to be in total control of the situation.

The second level of prescription is: Pray. By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, you can present your requests and concerns to God. In any given situation, you can replace anxiety with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. They are proven antidotes to anxiousness or stress. Instead of entertaining anxiety, humbly present the case before God and gratefully approach Him with a heart of thanksgiving. Mature Christians thank God while presenting their concerns because of what Christ has already done for us on the cross. By doing so, they enforce the help they need in areas of concern. This is the best Christian prescription to anxiety in all areas of life and it means that we can live a worry-free life.

The third level is the result of the prescriptions: Peace of God. With a proper presentation of our requests to God and focus on thanksgiving, we can experience the peace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. God's peace is supernatural and unexplainable and that's His first response to our requests. Once the peace of God is installed, it saturates your heart and becomes operational within you. Then it will guard your heart and protect it at all costs and second, it will influence your thoughts positively and set your attention on positive results - in a way that weapon of anxiety can never prosper in your mind.

Remember the 2nd verse (Philippians 4:7 NIV) says, the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.' So this peace is not just designed to guard the heart, it also ensures a mind controlled by God.

Scripture Reading - Isaiah 26:3; Psalm 29:11; John 14:27; 2 Thessalonians 3:16; Colossians 3:15; 1 Peter 5:7.

Guided Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank you for your peace which transcends all understanding and has made its abode in my heart. Your peace is more than my personal horizon, higher than my comprehension and extremely powerful; dynamic in its working. I take advantage of its presence to live supernaturally above anxiety and to demonstrate the glory, wisdom and excellence of the divine, in Jesus' Name, Amen!