Peace: Overcoming Anxiety and Conflict

by Jack Kuhatschek

Overview

How can you experience the “peace which transcends all understanding”? How can you guard your heart and mind from the stress of everyday life? This Fruit of the Spirit Bible study explores God’s prescription for peace. It helps you discover how you can cope with anxiety, how you can feel safe in God’s care, and how you can live at peace with others.The eight-volume Fruit of the Spirit Bible Studies series not only helps you discover what the Bible says about the vital traits that the Holy Spirit produces in believers, but also moves you beyond reflection and discussion to application. Designed for use in small groups or personal devotions, the interactive format will help you grow in your ability to reflect the character of Jesus.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310238690
Publisher:	HarperChristian Resources
Publication date:	08/13/2001
Series:	Fruit of the Spirit Bible Studies
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	64
Sales rank:	930,227
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.21(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jack Kuhatschek is executive vice-president and publisher for Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is the author of numerous Bible study guides and the books Applying the Bible and The Superman Syndrome.

Read an Excerpt

Peace

Overcoming Anxiety and Conflict

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By Jack Kuhatschek

Zondervan

Copyright © 2001 Zondervan
All right reserved.
ISBN: 0-310-23869-2

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Chapter One

COPING WITH ANXIETY

Philippians 4:4-9

Garrison Keillor, author of Lake Wobegon Days, writes that his greatest fear as a child was of getting his tongue stuck on a frozen pump handle. The older boys told him that if he touched his tongue to a pump handle, the only way to get him loose would be to rip his tongue right out of his mouth or else put a tent over him until spring.

We all suffer from fears and anxieties of various sorts. Yet if we fail to deal with our anxieties, they can cripple and immobilize us. In Philippians 4, Paul gives us a prescription for inner peace.

Warming Up

1. What sorts of things make you feel anxious?

Digging In

2. Read Philippians 4:4-9. Paul begins by telling us repeatedly to "rejoice in the Lord always" (v. 4). What does it mean to rejoice in the Lord?

Why is this kind of rejoicing possible in any circumstances?

3. Why is prayer (v. 6) our first and best defense against anxiety?

4. Why is it important to be thankful in the midst of our requests?

5. Paul compares the peace of God to a sentry guarding our hearts and minds from anxiety (v. 7). Why do you think Paul adds that God's peace "transcends all understanding"?

6. Anxious people can become obsessed with negative thinking. How can focusing on the good things in verse 8 free us from the grip of anxiety?

7. Give specific examples of the kinds of good things you might think about to combat anxiety.

8. According to verse 9, what is our third defense against anxiety?

9. How can observing the godly example of others and putting into practice what we see bring greater peace to our lives?

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Peace by Jack Kuhatschek Copyright © 2001 by Zondervan. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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