Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 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. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:4-9 NIVUK
When I was a teenager, a really negative event took place. I was out walking our dog when a man appeared from nowhere, pushed me against a wire fence and started hitting me with a large kitchen knife. He only avoided seriously injuring me because he appeared not to know what he was doing with the knife and because someone coming out of a nearby pub scared him off.
I was terrified. But what made it much worse was that this happened on the route to my church. When I got home I thought over what I could do. I was naturally an anxious person. But avoiding this place would seriously lengthen my route to church.
There was only one choice to make. I had to face my fears. I had to keep going back there until they subsided.
I think you can imagine what that felt like. I went back there every day, day after day, my heart pounding in my chest, my thoughts racing, my palms sweaty. My eyes would scan every possible angle to see if the knife-man was coming again. It was awful.
Even though I was really afraid, it worked. I got control of my panicky fears. I could face going there again.
Our thoughts are one of the most important battle grounds of this outbreak. But not only are we promised victory, the Word of God even tells us how to do it. If we strengthen these traits of joyfulness, reasonableness, prayerfulness, thankfulness and mindfulness, even though it will take considerable effort, then we will find victory. We will gain divine peace that transcends all understanding. Why? Because it appears in situations where we should not at all be peaceful.
We are all human. We all feel anxiety, lack of self-worth, feelings of insecurity, worry... it's time to be honest about our struggles. I've felt them as much as anyone else. But here we have the path to certain victory. Here we have the way to experience peace that transcends all understanding. Yes, it takes effort, sometimes even through gritted teeth. But if we step out in faith and courage and stand guard over the innermost rooms of our mind, then will win. So will you do it? Will you enlist as a soldier in the battle for your own mind?
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