Countdown to Your PWP Project: Overcoming Anxiety

May 17, 2018

Macey McCune is a graduating senior at Boyd High School in Boyd, Texas where she played varsity volleyball, basketball, golf,… Read more Countdown to Your PWP Project: Overcoming Anxiety

Macey McCune is a graduating senior at Boyd High School in Boyd, Texas where she played varsity volleyball, basketball, golf, and track. Her first PWP Project experience was 2016 in San Diego. She returned to San Diego last summer, and this year she’ll be serving as a SportQuest Intern, which will  once again  include helping with the San Diego project. Macey’s favorite things to do are spending time with family and friends, playing sports, and journaling. She is heavily involved in various aspects of leadership at her school and has a huge passion to follow Christ and make disciples.

 

I was 16 when I participated in my first SportQuest PWP Project. Although I had been on three other mission trips with my church before, SportQuest was the first trip that pushed me outside of my comfort zone and challenged me to tell my story. Up until that point I was not very good at sharing my feelings or my testimony. When I heard that we were going to have to share our testimonies within our sport groups, you can imagine the amount of anxiety and fear that came over me. I’ve always been a super social person, but I had never been asked to share my story until that moment. The first thoughts that came into my head were:

What you have to say isn’t important. No one will relate to your story. The other athletes have a “better” testimony than you.

Then I read Philippians 4:4-9.

“4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me–practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

 

The book of Philippians is a letter written by Paul to the Philippian church, which was one of his most beloved communities. Throughout this book Paul addresses fellowship, suffering, and finding joy in day-to-day situations. I want to focus on verses 4 through 9 and share briefly what I’ve learned from each verse in this passage.

  1. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice.” You may not always be able to rejoice in the circumstance, but you can always rejoice in the Lord.
  2. “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand.” Do not live lavishly, avoid extremes in fashions and trends, and don’t demand your self-centered rights. Why? Because the Lord is close to you, present with you, aware of your conduct, concerned about your relationship with others, available and willing to come to your aid and assist you.
  3. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God.” Learn to give God all your concerns, doubts and worries, cast ALL of your cares on Him, and He will take care of you. (Psalms 55:22)
  4. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” His peace WILL keep you from worrying. His peace surpasses all of our understandings and all of our earthly anxieties. Laying all of our worries at the foot of the cross takes it off of our shoulders and gives it to God. He carried it all for us and can handle whatever we give Him.
  5. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Instead of focusing on what causes you anxiety and worry, focus on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, commendable, and excellent. Be one of those people that see the good in every situation.
  6. “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Take action, be doers of the word, not just hearers. The word of God will hold no value unless put into action. When you do that, you will experience the God of peace with you.

Reflection Questions:

  • When you think about your upcoming SportQuest project, do you feel anxiety or fear?
  • Are you trying to carry all of your worries on your own shoulders instead of giving them to God?
  • Are you letting your fears/anxieties stop you from sharing the Gospel? If so, what step could you take to overcome that?
  • What are some ways to practice thinking about things that are true, pure, and worthy of praise?

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