Anxious For Nothing: Why God’s Truth is the Remedy for the Anxious Heart
I don’t think I’d be exaggerating if I said we may be one of—if not the—most anxious generation in history.
The statistics prove it.
The impossibly-fast pace of our world screams it.
But while this wrestle with anxiety has been intensely crippling our present generation, it’s really an ancient problem.
Anxiety isn’t as much of a mental health crisis as it is a human crisis.
Everything that plagues the mind, I believe, is the fruit of what has blackened the heart: fear, sin, brokenness and shame.
Therefore every generation, every man, woman and child, has had to wrestle with this age-old monster.
This is important because if Jesus were to enter our proverbial chat, I’m sure his response would be the same as we see it in the Scriptures.
He’d see our frantic freak-outs and meltdowns.
He’d listen—patiently and quietly—to our erratic ramblings over what’s keeping us restless and afraid.
Then he’d likely tilt his head to the side to gently look at us, with eyes of empathy + a smile of compassion.
He’d lay his hand upon our backs that’ve been hunched with the heaviness of worry.
And he’d speak these words that would give our heaving hearts the rest they’ve been searching for:
“Do not be anxious. Your Heavenly Father knows everything you need.”
Tune in to our discussion + prayer session on reclaiming your mind from anxiety.
Today’s Meditation
Matthew 6:19-34 + 1 John 4:18
Jesus is no stranger to the struggles of humanity.
But when our modern minds initially encounter these words of wisdom from the mouth of The Ancient of Days, we may find ourselves scoffing at the simplicity of Jesus’ words, offended at their presumed insensitivity or rejecting their relevance.
Reading these familiar verses with fresh eyes, I realized that if Jesus is instructing—or rather, commanding—us to not be anxious, that must mean that in him, we have the power to do so.
He’s not being insensitive to our troubles. Jesus is well aware of them + has lived acquainted with them, as he’s shared in our suffering and endured it all.
However, he has overcome every possibility of earthly trouble—sin, severance from our Heavenly Father, the invisible forces of spiritual darkness, and death itself.
So if the One Who Has Conquered It All is encouraging us to not be anxious, that should tell us that we have more power + authority over anxiety than we think.
The lie of the anxious heart tells us we’re powerless, hopeless victims who have to bow to every whim and wave of our thoughts + emotions.
But the truth is that in Christ, we can be conquerors too.
So if we grab hold of anxiety’s intrusive thoughts and look them in the eye, we’ll actually realize it’s fear that’s staring back at us.
Our emotions, like the “check engine” light on a car, can be helpful indicators that expose what’s happening beneath the “hood” of our hearts.
So whenever anxiety is on the rise, our soul is attempting to expose a fear that’s been lurking, one rooted in an untruth we’re believing about God and/or ourselves.
Jesus exposes the roots of our anxiety by addressing the misaligned values of our hearts—what we treasure + value, what we focus upon and who we worship.
Wherever anxiety is present, you’ll find a heart or mind that has exalted the values, worldviews and priorities of earthly society above God and his heavenly kingdom.
The fears we’re tormented by are exposing unbelief, where there’s an area of our hearts that is unconvinced of the truth, goodness and trustworthiness of God’s character + nature.
But when we strengthen our faith by steeping ourselves in God’s word + clinging to Truth, anxiety has to bow when we stand on who he is and what he’s said!
As you read + meditate on today’s verses I want you to ask yourself:
When does anxiety usually arise in your heart?
What do you think your fears are trying to convince you to believe about God? About yourself?
What if God is really as loving, good and present as he says he is? How could taking him at his word affect your life?
What intentional steps can you take to grow your trust in God?
God’s perfect love evicts every fear.
It’s time we believed God, and lived fully persuaded by the truth of who he is.
And as we fix our eyes upon his beauty, we’ll be transformed into joyful, peace-grounded, love-anchored people who cannot be shaken by the curveballs of life.
Missed out on a Bible meditation from this fast? Catch up below!
When we empty ourselves upon God, we can be filled to the full with life.