There is a recipe in the scriptures that will teach you how to begin to overcome your worry, fears, and anxieties. It is found in the book of Phillipains.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philipians 4:6-7
We have read this verse many times before, but I think that we tend to overlook one important component. We will discuss this component in a moment.
When we read these passages we focus on the line “be anxious for nothing”. Then what most of us tend to do is say “well that simply is not possible. There is no way to be anxious for nothing“. What we fail to realize is that we did not read half of the recipe for removing worry from our lives. The vital component of treating our worry problem is found in the use of a thankful attitude.
The Bible does not say that we will magically be anxious for nothing. But instead, we must combine “casting care on Him” through prayer with an attitude of thanksgiving, and this is what begins to reduce our worry.
The attitude of gratitude is the vital ingredient that we often forget when we seek the help of God. We forget to be thankful for all the many things we already have and instead begin to focus on our current problems. Then we ask God to fix it without first remembering all the times before when He has fixed problem scenarios in our life.
The way we can be free from worry is to combine prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.
What you must do in your prayers is to first be thankful for what God has done, then ask for His help. Then by being grateful, your worry diminishes automatically. This is one of the overlooked truths in the Bible.
If you find yourself worried, first take time to be thankful. Gain some additional perspective about your situation. It is likely not nearly as bad as you think.
Combine this thankfulness with the stoic exercise of negative visualization. That is where you imagine what it would be like if you were in a terrible situation. When you think about what it would be like to be in a worse situation than you are in now, your worry reduces. And not only does your worry reduce, but your thankfulness increases as a result.
What we are beginning to learn is that gratitude actually rewires the mind. And how beneficial it would be for us to cultivate this attitude. If you become a grateful person, people want to help you and do more for you. But no one wants to help a person who is ungrateful. This is why you must learn to have a thankful attitude.
If all you do is develop an attitude of thankfulness, your worry will reduce significantly.
Here is your exercise:
- Think about what is worrying you.
- Think about a few items you are grateful for in your life.
- Finally, think about what it would be like if your situation was far worse than it is. This will also increase your thankfulness naturally.
With this exercise, you can drastically begin to reduce your worry. It is not an emasculated way to approach life. No, everyone loves the person who is thankful and grateful. Incorporate this tool into your daily life and watch your worry decrease.
Your goal should be to make an attitude of thankfulness your constant attitude. Never find yourself without thankfulness and your worry will disintegrate.
Read about how to control anxiety.
One thought on “Overcome Worry with This Tool”