With everything going on in the world, does it continually make you anxious?

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

Anxiety in Greek means dividing and fracturing a person’s being into parts.

We’re literally, and figuratively, worrying ourselves to pieces from the inside out.

What does all this anxiety do to our joy? Mine joy goes right out the window.

There are so many things in life we have no control over. We can’t control what the politicians dictate. We can’t control an epidemic or how others respond to it. We can’t even control a loved one.

However, we can control one thing–ourselves.

Let’s go back to anxiety.

The mind (or our thoughts) is connected to the brain. The brain controls the body.

We physically feel what we’re thinking!

Because of this, anxiety stems from anxious thoughts. When our thoughts are anxious, we physically feel the anxiety in our bodies.

The reverse is true too. If we’re thinking peaceful thoughts, we feel peace. Joy-filled thoughts, we feel joy. Loving thoughts, we feel love.

If the anxious thoughts are making us feel anxious, how can we stop thinking anxious thoughts?

2 Corinthians 10:5 AMP
We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ,

In this scripture, we’re instructed to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Notice, it doesn’t say Jesus takes every thought captive to His obedience.

It’s OUR job to take our thoughts captive.

How you may ask? Here are three simple steps that will help you take your thoughts captive.

1. Awaken It

The first step to taking our thoughts captive is to awaken our minds to what we’re thinking.

The average person thinks 50,000 thoughts per day. Some of us are above average.

Are those 50,000 thoughts serving you or not?

Many of us consider thinking background noise while we engage in other activities.

Have you ever lived or worked near a train track or airport? Noisy isn’t it? After a while, you forget that loud noise is even there. It becomes white noise.

Every area of our lives is touch by our thoughts. No thought is neutral. They are either serving us or they are not. They are either giving us peace or they are not. They are bringing us joy or they’re not.

Start becoming aware of what you are thinking and how those thoughts are affecting you both emotionally and physically.

For one week, I did an emotional journal. It was broken into 30-minute segments of the day. Each half-hour slot, I tracked how I was feeling and why. Good and bad thought patterns became apparent in no time.

You might try keeping a log for a week. Track what you feel and what thought made you feel that way.

Even tracking your emotions and thoughts for a day will bring more awareness.

Remember, we can’t fix what we don’t know is an issue.

2. Examine It

Step two, we need to examine thoughts that are causing us pain, anxiety, or any other negative emotion.

Hold that thought up to God’s Word.

Philippians 4:8 NIV
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.

Look at the thought and ask yourself if it is true? Is it pure? Is it noble? Is it a lovely thought? Is there anything excellent or praiseworthy about that thought?

If your answer is yes, then it’s a thought you should keep.

If your answer is no, then proceed to step 3.

3. Exchange It

We can’t think a negative thought and a positive thought at the same time.

To take the thought captive that is dragging us down and stealing our joy, we need to exchange it.

The most important part of this step is to figure out what positive thoughts you are going to exchange that negative thought ahead of time.

It’s hard to come up with a positive thought when we’re in the throws of negativity or on an emotional rollercoaster. If you come up with the thought ahead of time, you’re prepared and ready for when that negative thought comes.

List out the most common negative thoughts you experience regularly. Then, next to each thought, write a corresponding positive thought you want to exchange it with.

Bonus, you learned what these are by becoming aware of your thoughts in Step 1. 😉

Now, when that negative thought comes, exchange it with the positive thought.

You can exchange the thought in your head. You can also exchange the thought by speaking the positive thought out loud.

Our words are powerful. So, when you hear yourself speak the positive thought, it gives you an extra mental boost.

One more quick tip.

You will not do this perfectly. You will have up days and down days. You will have good moments and bad moments. We all do.

Give yourself grace. The key is to keep moving forward. Keep awakening to your thoughts. Keep Examining your thoughts to see if they’re serving you’re or not. Keep Exchanging the negative thoughts for positive thoughts.

“By grace, each morning is a new dawn.” - Tommy Newberry in the 40 Day Joy Challenge course

By following these steps, you will learn to take your thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ, let go of the anxiety, and experience more joy in your life because of it.

Discussion

What’s one are you are going to use these three simple steps to let go of the anxiety?

I use these in all area but especially regarding my health. I had a friend a few years ago pass away from cancer. It was the first person close to my age that experienced that and it rocked my world. I have to daily work on awakening, examining and exchanging my thoughts in this area.

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How To Let Go Of Anxiety In Three Simple Steps