Overcoming Anxiety With Peace | Bible Study | Mike Prah

Dec 21, 2022 | by Mike Prah

OVERCOMING ANXIETY WITH PEACE | PHILIPPIANS 4:6-9 | Mike Prah

INTRODUCTION

The Bible teaches that life apart from Christ has no deep peace. And yet, we live in a world that makes deep peace elusive at best and – sometimes – feel impossible. In those times, we might think that anxiety is the only option.

FIVE Cs OF ANXIETY

Change | Conflict | Criticism | Concerns | Crisis

BIBLE PROMISES OF PEACE

“The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.” Psalm 29:11, NIV

Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. Psalm 119:165, NIV

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3, NIV

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33, NIV

Most of God promises are conditional promises. How can we as believers receive or obtains God’s promises of peace to overcome anxiety?

KEY VERSE:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:6-9, NIV

The conversation of peace and anxiety naturally brings up the subject of prayer.
How does prayer factor into living an “overcoming” life of faith in God?
How do you use prayer to live more courageously in the world?
How does the discipline of prayer give you a lifeline when things get rough?

TWO ASPECTS OF PEACE: PEACE WITH GOD & PEACE OF GOD

PEACE WITH GOD

Peace with God is an objective peace. It doesn’t come from within ourselves. It’s not something we can obtain. It is something we are freely given. It is a gift from God — a gift given by Jesus when He saves a repentant sinner.
We know that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins on the cross, and when we repent and trust in Him, He is faithful to forgive our sins and save us. Jesus absorbed the wrath of God that should have been ours.
He made peace WITH God for us and He gives us that peace in our salvation.
This peace is a fact, not a feeling. It is free and it is forever and can never be destroyed or even diminished. It is a secure peace with the Almighty God of all creation because of Jesus’ finished work.

“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.” Romans 5:1, NLT

“Through Christ, God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. 21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now He has reconciled you to Himself through the death of Christ in His physical body. As a result, He has brought you into His own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault.” Colossians 1:20-23, NLT

PEACE OF GOD

The peace of God is a subjective peace. We have it when we experience the peace that comes through trusting Jesus. This peace is also a gift from God. It is given to us by God, freely and generously.
It produces in us a feeling of wellness, but it is something that we must actively pursue.
When we keep our eyes on Jesus and rightly remember Who He is, what He has done for us, and who we are in Him, we experience the calm, and peace, of resting in Him.
It is a choice to keep our eyes on Jesus, our hearts devoted to Him, and our minds continually being renewed in His Word.
That is how we receive the peace OF God.
When we keep our eyes off Jesus, and are not devoted to Him, and don’t feed our hearts with prayer, and our minds continually with the Word of God, then, we allow anxiety and fear to set in, we lose focus, we become disheartened, and confusion abounds. Then the flow of God’s peace to us is blocked and our joy is diminished.

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27, NLT

HOW TO OVERCOME ANXIETY WITH PEACE

1. PRAY PROACTIVELY

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6, NIV

“Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” Luke 18:1, NIV

2. THINK POSITIVELY IN THE WORD

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8, NIV

"Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. Psalm 119:165, NIV

3. LIVE PRODUCTIVELY

“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:9, NIV

CONCLUSION

It is in a posture of surrender, dependence, and faith in God do can we effectively 1) Pray Proactively, 2) Think Positively in the Word, and 3) Live Productively, for believers to conquer anxiety with God’s peace.