Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite request), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
(Phil. 4:6-7 AMP)

How many days do you wake up with anxious thoughts on your mind? In the past, I spent a lot of time and energy worrying about all kinds of things, and scriptures like the ones above convicted me. Then I came to realize that when Paul, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, wrote, “Don’t fret or have any anxiety about anything,” he meant don’t fret about anything at all! Why? Because whether it is just a little anxiety or a huge phobia, fear in any form will make us miserable.

The foundation of God’s kingdom is love, and we need to believe in His love in order to operate successfully in the kingdom of God. In Ephesians 3:14-17, Paul prayed a special prayer. He prayed that the believers in Ephesus would know and experience the love of God like never before. Earlier in my walk as a Christian, I tried to imagine being so peaceful that nothing would bother me or cause me to be anxious. But after attempting this and failing, I asked in prayer, “How, Lord? I know nothing is impossible to You, and You wouldn’t tell me to do something if it wasn’t possible, but this really seems impossible! You know how terrifying this world can be. Have You read the news lately?”

In verse 6, Paul doesn’t just tell us not to fret; He also gives us something to do to defeat fear, worry, and anxiety. Instead of worrying, we are to pray, telling God about our concerns and needs. When we pray, we should also be thankful for what He has already done. That’s why we make our requests known to God in faith. We do so knowing that He loves us, will protect us, and is willing to give us solutions to our problems.

The next verse points out the power of our salvation. Do you know what the power of our salvation is? It’s God’s love. He revealed His love for us when Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Now we can pray to Him without being afraid of Him. He breathed His Spirit into us and gave us a new spirit and a new life. We now have the power to overcome temptation because God sat us right next to Jesus and gave us His authority over all the power of the enemy. All these things make up the power of our salvation, so we have no reason to be fretful or fearful.

When we are assured of who we are and what we have in Jesus Christ, our worries subside, and we walk in wholeness, which is nothing missing or broken in our lives. This peace is so great that we may not fully understand it, but we can still have it. Being assured of who we are and what we have in Jesus Christ gives us peace that passes all understanding.

Paul also taught us how to replace the anxious thoughts with faith-filled thoughts. In Philippians 4:8, He said whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of a good report— whatever is filled with virtue and praise of our God—these are the things we are to meditate on. If we want God’s peace to continuously flood our souls and drive out all worry and fear, we need to make a commitment to meditate on the good things found in His Word. Ultimately, we will experience tranquility in our souls.