Live Free with Josh Howerton - Replacing Anxiety With Peace | Ep. 64 | Thursday May 4, 2023

Episode Date: May 4, 2023

We all desire peace and freedom from anxiety, but what needs to change? Pastor Mike shares about a simple habit that can drive out worry: a gratitude list. Amazing things happen when gratitude swells in our lives. Will you put this habit into practice? For more information, text DRIVE to 20411.

Thanks for tuning in to today's daily drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, text Drive to 20411. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. welcome to the podcast wherever you are with you driving to work school you're working out taking a walk eating a donut sipping on a latte man whatever you're doing super grateful that we can do this together thanks for tuning in and you know we try to keep these pretty short because i know uh it's a time commitment for you

but i i really do hope that you're finding these things helpful my name is mike by the way we've been tracking through a letter in the new testament section of the bible called philippians and we are in chapter 4 in the middle of one of the richest pastes of scripture in the entire Bible. I told you the last time that these few verses have been my go-to for my struggle with fear and worry and insecurity and anxiety, and I've been praying that you would begin to experience a sense of calm in your spirit. I really like the way the message paraphrase translates these verses, don't fret or worry.

Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your words. your concerns. Before you know it, I love this, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. And man, it is. We've borrowed a little lacrosseic from Max Lakato where he uses the word calm to unpack what we what to do when anxiety starts to rise up in you. We said the letter C stands for Celebrate God's Goodness. Paul says in these verses, rejoice in the Lord always, I say it again.

Rejoice, in other words, shift your focus to his presence, his provision, his greatness, his kindness, his unfailing love for you, much, much more than just don't worry, be happy. Instead, find your joy in him. The letter A stands for Ask God for Help, and we unpack this in our last episode where Paul writes, don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need. Talk to him. Just talk to him about what you're feeling.

Unpack your heart. Be real with your life. your emotions, your fears, your anxious thoughts. And when you do that, did you catch how he says to do it with Thanksgiving in your heart? So you get real practical, and the letter L in the word calm stands for list things you're grateful for. I believe gratitude is one of the most powerful ways to drive out fear and anxiety. Those of you in recovery, you know the power of making gratitude list. When those old fears, resentments, desires, appetites, anxious thoughts. start to come back around, you start making your gratitude lists.

And I've talked a lot about this on this podcast before, but the practice of gratitude really has been key in my life in replacing anxiety with peace. And I try to do it every day. I use the ABCs as the framework. I work through, first of all, the attributes of God. I go almighty, benevolent, caring, divine, eternal, father, all the way through the alphabet. Then I go through things in life that I'm grateful for. It could be apples, never avocados.

They're gross. It's like eating baby food. Bacon, Christmas, dogs, escalators, frisbees, all the way through. Then I'll go through a third time and just with the names of people that pop in my mind. And sometimes I'll do that while I'm driving. Sometimes I do it when I'm lying in bed

or taking a shower or I'm out on the wall. Sometimes I just go somewhere special and I just start writing whatever pops in my head, just thanking him. We lived in Ventura, California. for eight years. And my favorite spot to do this was to go to a secluded beach and just do a gratitude list.

And I know you might not live by a beach, but as the commercial says, find your beach. So whatever that place is, I would take my laptop and I would just start riding. One day I was sitting there writing a gratitude list.

And I look up and there's a dad and a little boy. We're like the only ones on this beach. I'm sitting back in the dunes and they're playing in the water. And this dad was a big old dude. He's all tatted up, and they just kind of ripped, looked like a tough guy. He's got this little boy, probably three or four years old. He was scoop him up. They were running to the water, and they were both screaming with the light. The waves would hit him. The little boy would just crack up laughing, and the dad would just,

you know, cover him up and let the wave wash over. And then they'd go back to the shore. They'd run back again, hit another wave, and the little boy would crack up. It was just, it was really fun watching them. And as I was watching them, in writing my gratitude list. I felt like God spoke to my spirit and say, see those guys, that's you and me. You have no idea how many waves I have shouldered for you in your life. I love, I love doing life with you.

And I got super emotional sitting there. And then I kind of felt the Holy Spirit prompt me, go tell those guys. Go tell that dad. It's like, uh, okay. So I got up and I walked down to the water. I said, hey, man, excuse me, I don't, I hope you don't think I'm like weird stalker guy sitting back here, but I couldn't help but notice. Dude, you're a good dad.

He got kind of choked up. He goes, well, thanks for telling me that. Yeah, I don't need to be weird here, man. But I sit back there just kind of praying, talking to God about my life and thanking him for stuff. and you guys just gave me a picture. It was God by saying, you see those guys? That's how much I love, love you.

Dude, I just want to thank you for giving me that picture today, that I know that God loves me the way you love your little boy. And, man, that was just a cool moment for me. And he's starting to tear up. And I'm thinking, are we going to hug it out here on the beach or something? And we just say, I'm going to go back in my chair now. You guys keep on playing. But, man, it was a powerful moment for me.

And it happened right. in the middle of a significant gratitude list I was just making that day. See, when you practice this, when gratitude starts to swell up in your heart, it just settles you down. As the Thanksgiving goes up, the anxiety goes down. Let me just read those words one more time. And I pray with sinking in your heart and maybe guide you throughout the state of day. Don't fret or worry.

Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good will come and settle you down.

It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. And I hope you have a great day today. See you next time. Thanks for tuning in For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services

on Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 9.30 and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out? For more information about all digital ministries of Lake Point, text drive to 20411.