Jesus and anxiety

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

Matthew 6:31

Jesus’ command telling people “do not be anxious” does not sit well with today’s psychologized society. The first tendency of most people who have been taught that anxiety is an uncontrollable physical reaction and that science has yet to unlock all there is to understand about the physiological roots of emotion and fear would be to smugly laugh Jesus’ command aside. “Jesus was part of an ancient misunderstanding of human psyches.” “Do not be anxious? LOL! Jesus might as well tell us ‘do not breathe’!”

So this reigning psychological interpretative grid of human experiences combines with an age that has given us technology that creates unprecedented alarm and anxiety. We are contentious people, split over politics, opinions, ethnicity, and even the most basic of human differences, gender. We have instant electronic attachment to everything that is alarming. Our phones blare constant alerts. Provocative posts are meant to stir responses. Our politicians now deliberately poke and push to elicit fear, anger, and adrenaline! Our entertainment is loud and volatile. Relationships are so selfishly motivated that they are guaranteed to fail. Anxiety looms over everything… always under the surface… always around the next turn.

But Jesus is right! And the reason anxiety is not god is that Jesus is God! He is the Prince of Peace. Jesus is our Provision and our Protector. Jesus gives daily hope… daily help… a measured calm for the turmoil that rages around us. The secret to saying “No” to anxiety is saying “Yes” to Jesus. That doesn’t mean we won’t feel shaken from time to time. It means He is there when the fear comes and He is right beside us to take us beyond it. Anxiety and physical fear may still plague us, but they don’t have to control us. We have a Savior Who can handle our fear and increase our faith… He Who walks on water in the midst of stormy waves calls us to be “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).