Goliath Must Fall.

Philippians 4:4-7

Verses revolving around development and growth. Verses that reign true. I want to break these verses down and really go through them so that whoever may be struggling with anxiety can comprehend that it doesn't have to have a firm grip on you constantly.

Verse 4 says, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice." When we rejoice in the presence of Him, who He is creating us to be, and what monumental things He is doing in our lives, He can move the largest of obstacles. Even when we don't see the progress in our own situations, others CAN. Others often times notice circumstances in your life before you do. And when someone tells us the goodness they see coming out of our bad, that is something we can take comfort and rejoice in.

Verse 5 says, "Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand." Another translation could be let your gentleness be known. Let others see through your rejoicing how steadfast in the Lord you are. Be gentle and kind. When that radiates out of you despite your circumstance, it is seen that God is at work; the Lord truly is at hand when He gives us the strength to show gentility.

In verse 6 it says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." This is the biggest part of these four verses and is a meaningful one at that. I have struggled with anxiety since 8th grade, and it is something that can take a toll on you. When anxiety attacks are experienced, they are different for everyone, but in short they can cause your mind to be flooded overwhelmingly with thoughts, what-ifs, and too many things outside of your control. You overthink. Your mind becomes a whirlwind of horror and you feel trapped; surrounded even. BUT (and I cannot stress this enough) GOD. We must look higher than our problems, and in the wise words of Louie Giglio, once we look above the darkness of what we think is surrounding us, GOD is surrounding IT. He is in and around all of our situations, even when we don't see it. He doesn't want us to be anxious for anything because of this! He wants us to bring all of our struggles to Him, not only that but everything! He wants to hear from us daily. With earnest and humble prayer He wants us to come to Him and bring it all to His feet. Whether we are rejoicing or fearing, thankful or unsure, scared or care free; He wants our requests in all aspects of life to be made known to Him. Even though He already knows all of these things about us, He enjoys hearing our voice; He did create it of course. Ask for peace even when your peaceful. Ask for joy even in times of joy. Count the blessings you DO have and rejoice in the good seasons of life as well. Be thankful even when it's tough.

Finally, verse 7 says, "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." This one is really about reaping the benefits of prayer. Bringing it all to Him, (even if it isn't immediate) will bring peace later on. He does not want us to worry/have anxiety because it solves nothing and causes complacency. That is where Satan wants us; stuck in the middle without us realizing it. If we just call on His name or use phrases like, "in the name of Jesus" or "I rebuke you Satan" they can change things in an instant, I know from experience. The Lord calms my anxiety attacks and Satan flees in fear of the power God has over both me and him. God protects our hearts through our prayers and develops us into having a discerning and sound mind. Take into account this does not happen overnight, it takes time just like any other kind of relationship and I'm working on my relationship still too. It's not perfect, not even close. But even though we fall short, he astounds us with things we can't even wrap our brains around and surpasses all our needs through pain. He uses our broken pieces to make a new thing.

All of this to say that the Goliath of anxiety must fall. In order for us to have a heart of joy and let our gentleness be known, we need to sometimes be brought to the end of ourself and know that in the midst of our fear and anxiety, it is temporary and we are growing stronger through it. I love the lyrics to the song Beautiful Things by Gungor: "You make beautiful things out of the dust, you make beautiful things out of us."

I know its a little impossible to take my word for it, and even in my life now it's hard for me to even trust in this fact, but what I've come to know is that experiences do change your perception of things. So even if you don't get this or believe in what I'm saying at all, maybe you'll go through a low season down the road and remember this post. Maybe you won't. Or maybe God will call something to your attention and it will all click. That is my prayer for you; that the anxiety giant will fall in your life and you will become open to trusting in the good plan He has built and gain insurmountable peace.

Stay Encouraging. Be Strong.

mw