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A 3-Step Plan to Battle Anxiety
The world in which you live is awash in anxiety with over 40 million Americans struggling. The apostle Peter struggled too. In a 1st-century letter to his friends he offered his three-step secret to battle it.
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of GodâŚcasting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:6-8).
Trust God: It may not feel like he cares, but he does.
Anxiety comes when I believe I have to carry the burden alone. My thoughts whisper to me:
Even those closest to you do not understand this like you do.
This is easy to believe because others donât appear to be as burdened by your very real circumstances. This presumption is evident in the disciples when they face a violent storm on the Sea of Galilee. Mark recounts the story:
âAnd a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, âTeacher, do you not care that we are perishing?â (Mark 4:38)
Notice how quickly the disciples went from fear to a perceived flaw in the character of Jesus!
They wrongly assumed that if he cared he would do something to change their circumstances. When youâre bailing water for all youâre worth, itâs easy to assume that God doesnât care about you.
The Bible doesnât question the reality of the storms that come into your life. It doesnât call you weak because youâre afraid. Instead, it tells us to do something with our worrisome thoughts and fear: cast them on the Lord. Take your anxious thoughts and throw them at the feet of the God who cares. Obviously, such an action will require a great deal of trust in the Lord.
Step one: When anxious thoughts arise, review the character of God and remember that he truly cares. Trust him.
Humble Yourself: It may not feel like pride, but it is.
While it may come as a surprise, humility is an important part of overcoming anxiety.
We worry about all kinds of stuff, like job security, our kidâs success, the dreaded doctorâs call, or conflict among friends. Prior to the reminder to trust God when weâre anxious, Peter gives a different command: âHumble yourselvesâŚunder the mighty hand of God.â
There is a common feature in most of the things we are anxious about: we can’t control the outcome. When we are not walking in humility, we are susceptible to the false belief that we can control our circumstances. Simply put, such a thought reveals a prideful spirit. We think we can do what only God can do. Thatâs why Peter warns us, âhumble yourself under the mighty hand of God.â
While ongoing anxious thoughts may not feel prideful, they are.
The point of the context is this: if you are unwilling to humble yourself before God, you will be unable to cast your anxieties upon him.
Step two: In preparing to face anxious thoughts, walk in humility. Reaffirm that God can control what you can’t.
Guard your thoughts: It may not feel harmful, but it will be.
Most of us who struggle with anxiety find that we also struggle to control our thoughts. No stranger to suffering, Holocaust survivor, Corrie Ten Boom once said, âWorry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear.â
Peter gives each of us a dire warning: âBe sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devourâ (1 Pet 5:6).
The Greek word for sober-minded (some translate it self-controlled) occurs only four times in the New Testament. Each time it is in the context of suffering. We should expect that when we face a trial itâs going to be difficult to think clearly. In this context, it is a crucial reminder to see your battle with anxiety as a spiritual one. Be alert. Be vigilant. The devil is active and aggressive.
The root word behind âsober-mindedâ is used elsewhere to avoid drunkenness. The comparison shouldnât be missed. Â Just like being under the influence of alcohol can impair your thinking, so can being under the influence of worry.
Your anxious thoughts consume your thinking. Worry makes it hard to think in terms of biblical priorities (Matt. 6:33). Like an addiction, such thinking becomes difficult to break. Weâre charged to be sober-minded. In order for an alcoholic to be victorious in his struggle, he must learn to say ânoâ to the next drink. The same is true of the anxious person. He must learn to say ânoâ to his worrisome thoughts.
Each of us must be watchful, aware of when a plan for the future morphs into worrying about it.
Step three: Before anxious thoughts arise, be vigilant. Learn to take your thoughts captive.
Our struggle with anxiety is ultimately a struggle of belief, and thatâs why we affirm: Casting all your anxiety upon him, for he cares for you. Â Following Peterâs 3-fold plan is the first step in the process of overcoming anxiety.
Phil Moser is a pastor and author of the Biblical Strategies series. and 4M Training for Men. This post is taken from his book Safe in the Storm: biblical strategies for overcoming anxiety. His books are available on Amazon and at biblicalstrategies.com