Theology & Life

Anxiety is something we all deal with to varying degrees. It’s a universal problem, and Christians are not exempt. We have conversations, events, and other debacles all around us that cause anxiety to flare up in our hearts. So, there are certainly many times we understand exactly what causes anxiety.

But many times we become anxious and are left wondering, “Why am I so anxious?” Problem is, we don’t know ourselves as well as we should. Or, sometimes, we don’t attempt to figure why we are anxious.

There are many different reasons why you might be anxious, but let’s go over three of them. Please note, the topic of anxiety is difficult. None of this is advice to either get on or off medication, but solely focused on the biblical command and how we, as Christians, ought to navigate our anxiety from this standpoint.

Lack of Faith

In Matthew 14:28-33, Jesus comes to the disciples while walking on water. It is one of the more glaring instances of Jesus’ divinity, not only because He’s performing a miracle of walking on water, but how He identifies Himself: “Take heart. It is I. Do not be afraid” (v. 27). The phrase “it is I” could also be translated as Jesus saying “I AM”—a clear of Jesus claiming to be God in the flesh.

As Peter hears Jesus call to him, he steps out of the boat and, for a moment, walks on water (v. 29). But once he “saw the wind,” he became afraid and started to sink. And as Jesus reached down to lift him up, He said, “O you of little faith, why do you doubt” (v. 31)?

Jesus makes a direct correlation between Peter being afraid (or anxious) and doubting that God will allow him to walk on water. Peter allowed the fear and anxiety of the wind crashing in around him to cause Him to doubt Jesus. His fear of the elements superseded His belief in Jesus’ protection and word.

Christian, we’ve all been through this. We become anxious about something and ultimately—if we’re honest—it’s because of a lack of faith, or that we’re doubting God and His Word. Our unbelief in the protection and care of God causes anxiety and fear to swell up in our hearts. We must self-reflect when we become anxious and ask, “Am I believing God? Do I truly trust Him? Or am I doubting?”

Need for Control

God is in control, and we are not. Many times, however, we act as if we are the ones in control—we are the sovereign ones. When that happens, our anxiety runs amuck. Of course, we weren’t designed to be in control, so when we operate as though we have control, things go haywire and our heart rate skyrockets. We are mere creatures. God is in control as the Creator.

When we look at our life and see everything crumbling, we become anxious, afraid, and possibly confused. Our belief that we are somehow, in the end, control of anything is what causes our hearts to go into a tailspin of anxiety. Sure, there are things you, as a human being, control in certain circumstances—you drive yourself to work, you pay bills, you are responsible for x, y, and x—but in the end, God orchestrates all things. Ultimately, we can be responsible stewards of what God has given and things could still go awry within His providence. In those moments, do you become anxious because everything is supposedly out of control, or do you trust that God has a plan?

Fear of Man

How does the fear of man lead to anxiety? “We fall into this,” Derek Stone wrote in an article at the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, “when we desire the approval of others so much that we seek to please them more than God.”

In other words, when we would rather please people than God, our anxiety erupts when we’re not even pleasing people anymore—let alone God. We must, as the Apostle Paul wrote about in Galatians 1, be concerned more about pleasing God than others.

The Bible talks about fear of man elsewhere, too. Scriptures calls it a “snare” in Proverbs 29:25. We fall into this trap when we become too concerned about others thing. And when that concern boils over, that’s when anxiety grips our heart and we need to repent of people-pleasing.

One area in which it is quite easy for anyone to become anxious is evangelism, for example. We desperately want to share the gospel with others, but we fear their reaction. We are afraid they’ll lash out, become violent, or something in between. Put simply, we cannot let that fear supplant our desire to witness to them. We must obey the Great Commission (and we must not be anxious)!

Be Anxious for Nothing

Jesus doesn’t want us to be anxious. He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). We have absolutely no need to be anxious about anything. There’s no event, no conversation, no controversy that Jesus says, “You can be anxious about this one—it’s scary.”

In the end, we’re told not to be anxious because God is sovereign over all things. As Martin Luther wrote, “Pray and let God worry.” Don’t let your anxiety get to the point where it suffocates prayer. To the contrary, make sure your prayer life suffocates your anxiety. Give all your cares to God.

It’s important to remember that our anxiety won’t necessarily go away. There will always be situations that cause our anxiety to increase. That is life in this sinful world. Anxiety is not necessarily sinful by itself, as it is a mere emotion. The problem lies in two areas: (1) what causes your anxiety, and (2) how you respond to your anxiety. For both of these, we must rely on the Lord.

Just like with any other sin, we must kill it. Mortify it. Put it to death (Romans 8:13). Pinpoint why your anxiety comes up and focus on how to overcome that by the Spirit’s power. The glory of Jesus and the gospel is worth it. The way we do this, in part, is by keeping our eyes fixated on God.

John MacArthur wrote:

A basic principle of spiritual life is that we are not earthbound people. Fully trusting our heavenly Father dispels anxiety. And the more we know about Him, the more we will trust Him.

The deeper you know and trust God, the easier it is to rid yourself of anxiety. We were created to know and be known by God. If we are in Christ, we don’t have to be riddled with anxiety and fear and worry. God’s got us. Believe it.