Hope for the Anxious
by Jonathan Pless
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:25-34)
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” (John 14:1)
“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.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange was happening to you.” (1 Peter 4:12)
“…fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
“Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” (Psalm 55:22)
“I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4)
Is it any wonder that the Bible speaks so often about fear, worry, and anxiety? Do these passages feel like a cool breeze on a hot day, or do they seem too good to be true? All of us experience the unsettled, anxious feelings that life in a fallen world brings. At times these feelings can be overwhelming, and they can take hold of us so strongly that we can hardly put one foot in front of the other. But the Bible has a great deal to tell us about fear and anxiety, and it is very good news.
A note to the reader: I’m writing today on anxiety, the kind of general worry, fear, or distress that we all experience throughout life and in various seasons. I am not writing on clinical depression or related conditions that affect many and require medical attention or counseling. In the past, I tended to combine and confuse the two. While I have never struggled with any type of mental health concern, I do not want to marginalize or trivialize those who do. Additionally, I am saddened that the church for many years has categorized anxiety (which everyone struggles with to some degree), with depression (which not everyone struggles with). So as you read, I pray this distinction will serve you and you will hear the necessary humility this topic requires of any who speaks to it.
Several years ago, there was a period of several months where I found myself dwelling intensely on my uncertain future. I was pretty sure who my wife was going to be (she is who I thought she’d be!), but there were so many unknowns. There were many unanswered questions and a lot of uncertainty about the future, which opened my mind to speculation and doubt. Towards the end of this time period, I started to allow anxiety to control me. My vision began blurring.
In that season, I remember my pastor preached on Matthew 14:22-33. This passage is about the twelve disciples in a literal storm. During that storm, the disciples’ focus was on the storm itself. It was big, it was bad, it was overcoming them and their boat. They couldn’t overcome it on their own. They were, to say the least, feeling anxious.
Some Causes of Anxiety
Misplaced Focus
Once Jesus showed Himself and Peter directed his focus to Him, everything changed. The storm didn’t, their focus did. Peter was consumed with Christ rather than being consumed with his circumstances. Because of his change of focus, they didn’t sink.
I was doing exactly what the disciples did in the boat. I was focusing on my circumstances and letting my emotions control me. I wasn’t keeping my focus on the only One who could save me, and I was being tossed to and fro by anxious and fearful thoughts. When given control, our emotions can blind us physically and spiritually. Things can go bad quickly. (Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Peter 1:5-9)
Misplaced Trust
Notice what Jesus did first in the boat. Jesus first rebuked the disciples' lack of faith. Their fear (or my anxiety) revealed a lack of trust in Jesus. If you label yourself a follower of Christ, you say you’ve put your trust in Him alone. Putting your trust in Him includes having faith that He knows what He’s doing. He has a perfect will and purpose for you and your life. Trust Him. (Psalm 9:10)
When we become consumed with fear and worry, it reveals that we have placed our trust in something other than Christ. If I don’t get that promotion, if my kids don’t stop misbehaving at school, if my friend doesn’t forgive me for the thing I said - all of the things that cause legitimate concern can snowball into anxiety if we forget that God is our sure and steady foundation no matter the circumstances.
Unconfessed Sin
Anxiety may also be the result of unconfessed sin. Those of us who put our trust in Jesus have His very Spirit dwelling within us, instructing and correcting us when we begin to walk in the ways of our flesh and desire to ignore our sin. God is perfectly holy, always morally pure, and He hates the sin that binds us and blinds us to what is True. What we are experiencing as anxiety could be God’s merciful call to recognize ways we have wandered from Him and turn again to His grace to walk in righteousness.
If we take stock of what is causing our anxious thoughts and find that we are harboring some sin we hoped no one would discover, we can take tremendous comfort in the fact that we have a Savior who is ready to forgive. 1 John 1:9 says that if we confess our sin, He is both faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us - that is because Jesus has already paid the penalty for them! When we do find that we are anxious over unconfessed sin, we can run to Him immediately, confident that He will forgive and receive us because of Jesus.
Cure
The cure for our anxiety, overwhelm, and stress involves shifting our dependence. Think about it: why are you anxious? You’re most likely focused on your problem, your life, your situation. You’re not concerned with others and definitely not depending on Christ. We must shift the focus off of ourselves and onto the only One who knows how to heal and help. We must realize that no matter how long we’ve lived, no matter how many things we’ve experienced, no matter how many times we’ve dealt with the same situation, we are always dependent.
“Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.” (C. S. Lewis) Our dependence on the Vine must restart every day. The moment we draw away from the Vine is the moment we begin to wither and die. (John 15:5) We need not only simply know in our minds. We must live, without fear, because of what God is capable of. We must have faith He can, has, and will do His perfect will in our lives. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Conclusion
We must always be overwhelmed with the Lord. When we’re overwhelmed with His glory, presence, and love, we forget our circumstances and problems. We, in a sense, get out of the boat. It didn’t make sense for Peter to get out of the boat, but he did. Peter became overwhelmed with Jesus. He forgot the present circumstances.
Jesus is more than worthy to be trusted, no matter how difficult or nasty the storm becomes. Because of the cross, we know that He is eternally for our good, and loves us more than we can imagine. Jesus has never given us a reason to doubt. Focus on Christ Jesus. He is the only unchanging (Hebrews 13:8), righteous (Psalm 145:17), sovereign (Psalm 115:3) being that you can put your full, complete, eternal trust in.
Isaiah 14:24 says, “The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, ‘Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand’”. Nothing is random or comes by chance, especially not in the lives of believers. He “purposed” it. This word purposed means to “deliberately resolve to do something”. God has resolved to do what He will do, and nothing and no one stands in His way. “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please” (Isaiah 46:10). This is our powerful, purposeful God who is in control of everything. This reality should bring us great comfort and help to alleviate our fears.
The Four Questions
One helpful tool to process and deal with these struggles is to work through what we call The Four Questions. It’s a tool to help us remember what is true and to apply the good news of Jesus to all of life. These aren’t exhaustive answers, but I hope they help point you to the hope we have when we face fear, worry, and enxiety.
Who is God? He is unlimited in power, unrivaled in majesty, and not thwarted by anything outside Himself, our God is in complete control of all circumstances, causing or allowing them for His own good purposes and plans to be fulfilled exactly as He has foreordained. He is also kind, generous, and loving - He is our good Father and worthy of our trust.
Who am I? I am a created being, fully dependent on God as my source of strength and comfort, and limited in my knowledge and wisdom. Though I may become anxious about my circumstances, I can always come to the Father for forgiveness and restoration.
What has He done for me? God sent His son, Jesus Christ, to take my penalty. He paid my wages by dying a death I deserved on a cross. He defeated sin, death, anxiety, Satan, etc. when He rose again three days after His death. Though He is away now, he has sent His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to dwell inside of us. The Spirit comforts and guides us, always empowering us to produce the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
What should I do? “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.” Psalm 37:4-6 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10
Be encouraged, believer! We serve a God who knows us and loves us. Let this drive away anxiety and free us to fully trust our Savior.
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” (1 John 5:14)
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)