How To Deal with Anxiety as a Christian
I just became aware that the YouVersion Bible app tracks the verses that are shared, bookmarked, and highlighted. According to that data, the top 10 verses that people engaged the most with during 2023 mostly had to do with fear, worry, and anxiety.
My guess is that this will be true at the end of 2024 as well. I was talking to one of our leaders at church last week, and he was telling me about how many people in his small group were dealing with real anxiety over finances right now.
Inflation is high. Groceries are expensive. Insurance premiums are skyrocketing. Mortgage rates are some of the highest numbers we’ve seen in 20 years.
Many are struggling to pay their bills and wondering how to make things work.
Aside from the anxiety over finances, we continue to live in an unstable world. There’s a lot of unrest in certain parts of the world, and many wonder if we are headed towards another major world war. We even just experienced an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate here in the U.S.
On top of everything else going on in our world, let’s not forget that social media isn’t helping with our anxiety struggles. We compare ourselves to others and often feel like we don’t match up. We see others having fun and feel like we are missing out. We post something and receive negative comments or don’t get very many likes. All of it feeds the negative receptors in our brains and we feel the waves of anxiety.
So, what do we do? How do we deal with all of this fear, worry, and anxiety as a Christian?
Well, first, let me say upfront that these can be very serious mental illnesses that may require professional counseling and/or medication to treat. Please don’t shy away from getting that help if that’s what you need. Trust the Lord to provide the right direction and to open the doors along that path.
Today, however, I want to point you to what the Lord says about these areas as you keep your eyes fixed on Him for your next steps on how to deal with anxiety as a Christian.
CAST YOUR ANXIETY ON JESUS
In 1 Peter 5:7, the apostle Peter tells us how to deal with anxiety in our lives. Here’s what he says:
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
(1 Peter 5:7)
Jesus cares deeply about you. His depth of love for you was so deep that He gave His life so that you could have complete forgiveness in Him and be in a forever relationship with Him.
He is big enough to handle your anxiety. You are a finite, limited being. Jesus is eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. He is a big God and can carry your anxiety for you.
That’s why Peter says to cast all your anxiety on Him. Not some of it, but all of it.
We often hold on to our anxiety because we feel like we have to fix whatever it is that is causing the anxiety. The anxiety is driving us to attempt to control everything around us so that we will find rest.
However, you aren’t God, and neither am I. He is in control. Only He holds all things together.
Therefore, as we cast all of our anxiety on Him, He will give us rest. That’s what He Himself even said.
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
(Matthew 11:28)
As our weary, burdened, and anxious selves come to Jesus and cast all of our anxiety on Him, He will give us rest.
As a matter of fact, Jesus is our rest. He is our peace. He is our life. Therefore, cast all your anxiety on Him.
PRACTICE GRATITUDE
I read a few articles online from people who said that through scientific studies, it’s been determined that anxiety and gratitude cannot coexist in the brain. And everything we read online is true, right?
I’m not a brain scientist, but the Bible told us way before the technology for brain scans existed to not be anxious about anything but with thanksgiving to present our requests to Jesus (Philippians 4:6).
Jesus created our brains. I bet He knew that anxiety and gratitude couldn’t coexist in our brains at the same time.
Maybe that’s why He inspired Paul to write this in Colossians 4:2…
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.
(Colossians 4:2)
When we pray, we are setting our minds on Jesus.
When we give thanks to Him in prayer, we are focusing on the good things about who He is and what He is doing in our lives even in situations that aren’t always good.
As we give thanks to Him, we are setting our minds on Him and His activity in our lives and we begin to experience the life, peace, and rest that we already have in our union with Him.
CONCLUSION
Jesus is aware of all that is going on in our world. He knows everything that you are dealing with in your own life too. He stands ready to carry your anxiety and to provide all that you need. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
If He will make sure that even the sparrows across the planet are taken care of (Matthew 10:29-31), then He will certainly meet all of your needs and provide for you.
As a matter of fact, He is constantly providing for you if you are in union with Him. Therefore, practice gratitude. Get in the habit of thanking Him for all that you do have in Him rather than focusing on all that is causing you anxiety.
Experience His life, provision, peace, and rest that are always there in your relationship with Him.
