Many times our anxiety is caused by the uncertainty of our future. We stress about things that haven’t happened and may never happen. The other side of anxiety focuses on the past. For me, it’s the future. My past is just that, my past. For the most part I don’t live there any more. However, the future is my anxiety. This at times robs me of the present. When living in the future we miss what is happening today. We may know and understand today's happenings, but we don’t truly experience them. When this happens we might overreact, or underreact. If our anxiety is rooted in the future, we need to reverse course and start living in the present day. I know from experience how hard this can be. But let’s consider the words of Jesus.

Chaos: a complete state of total confusion, disorder, and lack of organization. This is sometimes how anxiety feels. The sense that everything is out of control. Thus creating a fear of the future. There is so much in this world that appears to us as chaotic. Society seems to be disorganized, messy. When the external chaos begins to creep into our lives we get anxious. It starts to upset our equilibrium, and we either get depressed, anxious, or both. Depression and anxiety are partners. They usually live together, walking hand in hand. Deal with one, you’ll more than likely deal with both. There are many ways to deal with these two cohabitators. Medication, therapy, relaxation techniques are a few. But there is one that many fail to recognize. The one many people fail to see is in plain sight in the Bible.

Is it possible to have peace in a world full of worry, stress, and anxiety? The answer is “yes.” Peace is a state of harmony, quiet, or freedom from inner distress. Another word we can use for peace is serenity, which means a state of being calm, peaceful, and free from stress or anxiety. You’re probably thinking there’s no way a calm, peaceful state can be achieved. I get it! I have struggled with anxiety for several years. However, I have been slowly discovering a certain peace that has seemed to elude me in the past. This peace isn’t something I have discovered in this world. It’s a peace rooted in Jesus.

Anxiety weighs us down and does harm to our mind and body. There is little good that comes from anxiety. Anxiety has a negative impact on our cardiovascular system, immune system, digestive system, and our sleep and energy. There is really no part of our body that continued anxiety doesn’t impact. As for our brain, anxiety impacts our ability to think logically, plan, and it weakens our self-control. Jesus tells us, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34). Those of us who struggle with anxiety tend to be either worried about the future or the past. This makes it hard to focus on today.

We have reached the end of Paul’s anxiety reducing list of things to think about. This in Philippians 4:8 includes things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. To be praiseworthy means to deserve approval, admiration, or commendation for an action, quality, or effort. Things that are praiseworthy can be found in our society easier than the others. If a child receives a perfect report card in school it is praiseworthy. Healthy relationships are praiseworthy. Even a promotion can be viewed as praiseworthy. However, these are all temporary. The excitement eventually goes away and we are back to searching for something that is praiseworthy. However, there is someone who is praiseworthy. Someone we can focus on day after day.

As we near the end of Paul’s list of things to think about instead of those that cause our anxiety, we find another word that I think is over used for things that aren’t truly excellent. There are times when others might accept our invitation, or agree with us, and our response is “excellent.” But what makes it excellent? Is it extremely good, of the highest quality, or better than most? Probably not. It’s probably our over reaction to a normal occurrence. So, we must ask ourselves what is truly excellent? What can we find in our society that is truly excellent? I wish you the best of luck trying to find things in society that are truly excellent. However, there is one thing that is truly excellent.

As we continue to look at Paul’s list of things to think about in order to overcome our anxiety, we have reached things that are admirable. Admirable means deserving the highest esteem. It has synonyms like awesome, worthy, excellent, and impressive. Admirable is yet another word that has lost significance in our society. It is used sometimes for commonplace things. “Dinner was awesome.” “Your work is admirable.” “That was an excellent movie.” But do these things really deserve such a description? Are they deserving of such high esteem? So the question is, where do we find something or someone that is deserving of high esteem? I think we can find some things around us that are admirable, all of which are things of nature. And by the way, all of them were created by the one person who is truly admirable. God! So where do we look to find something or someone that is deserving of the highest esteem?

What do you find lovely? What do you see around you that is pleasing? Pleasing is a synonym for lovely. I think sometimes we use some words lightly when we describe something or someone. My wife is lovely. My daughters are lovely. My retirement is lovely. They all bring my joy. The true meaning of lovely goes beyond simple physical looks. It describes a soft, graceful beauty that touches the heart and mind, combined with inner kindness, warmth, and a gentle spirit that makes someone or something a joy to experience. Based on this definition, what can you find in society that is lovely? With some much ugliness in the world, it can be difficult to identify something lovely. All this ugliness can contribute to our anxiety.

What is your first thought when you think of something pure? Pure is an adjective that means not mixed or blended with any other substance or material. It also describes things that are clean, free from sin or moral fault, absolute and complete. We will find very few things in this world that are pure. As humans we are imperfect. Because of this true peace will never come by looking for purity in an impure world. Our search for something pure in this world is futile. It’s a search that leads to frustration and anxiety. One of the things that apostle Paul tells us to think about during our anxious times are things that are pure (Philippians 4:8). Where do we turn to find purity in an imperfect world?

The word right has several different meanings. However, when looking at our anxiety, the definition we want to guide us is correctness. Correctness: Free from error, true, or conforming to facts. How we see things matters. The problem is we don’t always see things correctly. We look at things through our worldly lens instead of a heavenly lens. The earthly lens is tainted by our imperfect minds. Many times our thoughts aren't based on facts, thus they are not free from error. Because we are prone to faulty thoughts and opinions, we must align ourselves with what is right in the eyes of God. We should turn our attention to God for what is right.

Noble isn’t a word we hear much these days, at least not here in the United States. It’s kinda sad because it describes someone or something with high moral character, a grand appearance, or a high birth rank in an aristocracy. Unfortunately, when most of us hear the word “noble” we think of someone with a high birth rank. I think it’s important to understand what it means and how it’s meaning may be able to help us with our anxiety. When our anxiety grips us we aren’t thinking about positive things. Everything running through our minds is negative. The worst of possibilities. In order to overcome our anxious times we need to start thinking about positive things.

Artificial Intelligence, fake news, biased news reporting, cosmetic surgery, and scams fill our society. It seems there are few things in society that are true. Yet, we all seek what is true about the world around us. Part of the anxiety problem in our society is caused by not knowing what is true. Anxiety rises when truth is hard to find. Anxiety is caused, in part, by not knowing what is true. It is fueled by fear. Fear of not knowing. When the truth is hard to find, we get anxious about the future. In Philippians 4:8, the apostle Paul provides us with a list of things we should be focusing on to help relieve our anxiety. The first thing on the list is to focus on what is true.

What we think about during our day will have an impact on our attitude. Chuck Swindoll said, “attitude is 10% what happens, and 90% how you react to it.” Our thoughts and attitude go hand in hand. So if we focus on negative things we will have a negative attitude, positive thoughts will produce a positive attitude. It’s what the apostle Paul is telling us when he wrote, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2). Research shows that thinking positively changes our mood. Check out Dr. Amen’s research on this matter. Paul mentions our thoughts others times in his letters. One particular time is found in his letter to the followers of Jesus in Philippi.

Being still is a challenge for me. I fidget and my mind races with many thoughts. The sad part is, I don’t really know what it’s like being in the present. Always thinking ahead, always replaying the parts of the past. I miss many things happening in the here and now. In conversations I am thinking ahead as the person is speaking. Thus missing part of the conversation or not truly comprehending the message the other person is delivering. Unfortunately, this includes God. How much from God am I missing out on? What about you? Can you relate to what I’m saying?

The grip of anxiety. Maybe you know the feeling. There are plenty of things in our life that can produce anxiety. Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress, involving feelings of fear, tension, and worry. Anxiety isn’t necessarily bad. At times it can work to our advantage. However, when our anxiety is present long term it’s an issue. I am writing this with an anxious mind. My thoughts are racing. They are swirling around uncertainty. My anxiety has ramped up with many decisions that need to be made. I try to sit still but the quiet eludes me. Why do we get anxious?

Anxiety is my tormentor. It comes when I feel like I’m losing or have lost control of a situation. In years past I, while I was still drinking, control was my friend. Or so I thought. So now when a sense of losing control hits me I get anxious. The thing is my anxiety does nothing for me. What it does is put me on edge and makes me irritable. I get nothing positive from my bouts with anxiety. I’m not talking about normal stress. I’m talking about anxiety that shuts me down. At times I even stop talking to people in an attempt to regain control. Truth is, I control very little in this life.

Anxiety is something everyone experiences from time to time. Anxiety is a normal human response to stress. This kind of stress isn’t bad. Anxiety acts as your body’s built-in alert system. In healthy doses, it boosts motivation, sharpens focus, prevents procrastination, and keeps you safe by preparing you to react to threats. However, chronic anxiety is harmful physically and mentally. Chronic anxiety on the other hand is a persistent, excessive state of worry or fear about everyday situations that disrupts daily life. Symptoms include: