Think about this: what if your anxiety and fear could be something you could leverage to give you peace and comfort? I know you are thinking, "How is this possible?" Most anxiety and fear from religious doubt comes from "what if" questions or "do I really believe 100%" or "did I really believe enough" kind of questions. I want you to think about this: we have the ability to deceive ourselves, and sometimes it is hard to really know what we believe/think. The pain you experience from these kind of doubts gives evidence as to what you truly believe. How so? The fact that you are so anxious about Christianity not being true or you faith not being real, etc., is evidence that your core beliefs are being threatened. That is amazing to think about! So...when you have fear and anxiety from these thoughts, rejoice in the fact that your true beliefs are being revealed. Overcoming these thoughts and fears will require a plan...and it is right here in Scripture for us!

It is amazing to think about that Paul promises the "peace of God" in these verses. He also promises that this process will "guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus" and allow "the God of peace to be with you." These are wonderful thoughts! Take a close look at the following information as you begin to learn how to understand and develop your plan.

1. Prayer - petitioning God for help with your anxiety. I had a two-fold process: 1) a regular time of prayer; 2) instant prayer for help during anxiety. Multiple Sclerosis affected a part of my brain that heightens anxiety and depression. I have dealt with both severely. These two times of prayer were beyond significant for my long term healing.

2. Thanksgiving and praise to God for who he is and what he has done through Christ. I also had a two-fold process for this. 1) When I woke up in the morning, I would not get out of the bed until I had truly thanked God for another day, strength, family, MS (yes, it is a true blessing), etc. 2) I also made a list of my favorite music that made it easy for me to praise him for salvation, guidance, strength, etc. I also found it helpful to write out my thanksgiving and praise to God. You can even use this to confront misbeliefs (see below).

3. Change your thinking (think on things that are edifying). This was the hardest for me, and it involves three basic actions:

1. This requires a conscious effort to change your thinking in the moments of anxiety. I had to physically remove myself sometimes (nature walk, bike ride, get around people, etc.), watch part of a movie, listen to music, call someone and talk about football, etc. - whatever allowed me to change my thinking from things that were anxious and depressing. Practically this means: do not think about things that bring anxiety...period. Stop researching (we discuss this in the next video). The day will come when you can, but right now you need to only think on things that are edifying.
2. Thinking on things that edify (uplift you, encourage you).  This seems simple, but it can be difficult. Simply put, think on things that center your mind on the implications of the gospel, i.e., things that help grow your faith. We can get into this later, but it is so important to allow your mind to be transformed by the Holy Spirit of God through the Word of God (Romans 12:1-2). Philippians 4 gives us the list of what is edifying. Make sure that you truly think on "these things," and there is no better place to do so than Scripture.
3. Dealing with misbeliefs. (This section is based on the book Telling Yourself the Truth by Backus and Chapian) Backus and Chapian define misbeliefs as: negative and distorted beliefs that we tell ourselves that become truth to us. These misbeliefs are the direct cause of emotional turmoil, anxiety, stress and destructive behavior. They go on to say that these can easily be (or become) negative, distorted and destructive self-talk with devastating consequences...and they are from the devil (James 3:15). These kind of thoughts are accepted by our flesh without question and create mental poison and great emotional distress/pain. We must deal with misbeliefs by doing three things:
• Locate your misbeliefs - be honest enough with yourself to admit that you are telling yourself lies. It may even be helpful to write down the lies when you are going through this process. Why? It is time to get tough on ourselves!
• Remove them - argue against them. This can be as simple as saying, "This is not true!" and/or "I refuse to believe this lie!"
• Replace misbeliefs with the truth - countering the lies with what is true (not what is opposite). What is truth? It is found within the written text of Scripture. So...all we say and do to combat misbeliefs must be in line with what Scripture teaches. A quick side note: this is where self-talk is so powerful. I know it sounds crazy, but it is necessary to overcome these dangerous misbeliefs. We will discuss this more as we help you with your Philippians 4 plan!

4. Living out your faith consistently. This is a significant step. Why? Jesus taught obedience based growth and discipleship. Notice the final part of verse nine: “practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” This presence of God is directly connected to “practicing these things.” How do you do this? There are two really important aspects of "practicing these things" that leads to a life of obedience and helps you tackle the daunting monster of anxiety from religious doubt:  

1. If at all possible, be a part of a community of believers. We call this community “church,” as we see in the Acts 2 and the early church history. If you do not have a good one to engage, we need to work on finding one for you. 
2. Another significant thing to think about in this step is the importance of Bible engagement. I know we discussed this earlier, and we have even offered you a method by which you can consistently do it (CORE Journal), but it is imperative that you actually make Bible engagement an important part of this step. Why? It is simple...you cannot obey that which you do not know.
   

Now is the time to take action! I want you to find a time when you can put down your phone, remove distractions, and write out what you plan is. In other words, I want you to develop your plan to implement these four things in your daily life. If you want to overcome your anxiety and fear, you will have to spend time daily in this process. It will amaze you what God will do in your life. Also, this plan will change as you implement it. If something isn't working, do not be afraid to to change something about how you implement one of these four things. If you want me to review you plan, send it to me. I will be glad to discuss it with you. Send Ron Davis my Philippians 4 Plan