When faced with a worrisome situation, no matter how hard I try, no matter how many times I lay my worry down, I pick it back up and can’t seem to stop the anxious thoughts from overtaking my mind. Am I alone here? Anybody else?I recently read this very familiar passage in the Bible and the Lord revealed more to me than I had originally understood:  "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4:4-9You see, I never made the connection between rejoicing and thinking on what is true as an antidote for anxiety. I know, I know, the verse certainly speaks of being anxious for nothing, but I compartmentalized the passage as three separate practices for maintaining the mind of Christ in my daily walk. I saw it more as a means to obedience, and it certainly can be applied that way. However, in this most recent read-through, I saw the passage in its entirety as a whole, teaching on ways to overcome anxious thoughts.I’d like to unpack this very freeing passage by showing you three ways we can overcome anxious thoughts by applying Philippians 4:4-9 to our lives:Photo Credit: ©Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas/Pexels