What does God want me to know about my anxiety?

What Does God Want Me to Know (And to Do!) About My Anxiety?

Posted on by Michele Morin

Sunday Scripture

A letter from the IRS claims space in your mailbox.

The doctor orders more tests but is light on details or prognosis.

Your boss hints that your performance might not be measuring up.

Chances are just the suggestion of any one of these scenarios is enough to make your stomach churn and your mind go into overdrive. The symptom on everyone’s list these days is anxiety. The good news is that anxiety is nothing new, and it’s not a mystery to God!

I am praying through the psalms right now and have been surprised at how many of them positively bristle with symptoms and signs of fear, uncertainty, and even anger! Likely the best known example comes from David’s pen:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.”

Psalm 139:23-24

What God Wants You to Know About Anxiety

Whether your anxiety is chronic and clinical or situational and seasonal, it comes as no surprise to God. Like David, you can acknowledge God’s omniscience, open your soul and your will to his searching and compassionate eyes, and receive his partnership in whatever situation is triggering your anxiety.

Was David’s anxiety a sin? We honestly don’t know the context of Psalm 139, although it certainly doesn’t sound like the writing of David the shepherd boy. More likely, he is a grown man remembering God’s words to Samuel: “The Lord looks at the heart” and marveling that God knew him so thoroughly.

We do see clearly here that David did not come to God in shame, and you don’t need to either. Scripture exhorts us to trust God, to banish worry in faith. Whenever I refuse to trust God’s providential care, I step into sin. My pride tells me that I can somehow worry my way to a better and faster solution than the one God has in mind on his timeline.

Whether your own anxiety is sinful depends on your circumstances and your own mental health. It’s crucial that believers avoid stepping into the role of the Holy Spirit in connecting the anxiety of others to sin when we can’t possibly know the whole situation.

When I refuse to trust God’s providential care, I step into sin. My pride tells me that I can somehow worry my way to a better and faster solution than the one God has in mind on his timeline.

What God Wants You to Do About Your Anxiety

Follow David’s lead!

Invite God to search your heart, to root out sinful motives and the insidious desire to control every stray atom. Know for a fact that there’s no one who gets through life without “being grieved by various trials” (I Peter 1:6). Take an honest assessment of your motives and ask God to reveal any root of doubt or faithlessness that might be triggering anxiety. If you believe you are suffering from clinical anxiety, take grace for that and seek the advice and help of a counselor or a physician.

On the days when I’m convinced that I’m God’s Northeast Representative in Charge of All Things, anxiety is my unwelcome companion. Habits of holiness are my safety net, because the truth is, when we’re weak, we fall into our habits.

Am I making a practice of allowing worry to find its way to prayer? Always, I find myself returning to the words of Paul Miller in A Praying Life: “Instead of trying to suppress anxiety – to manage it or smother it with pleasure – we can turn our anxiety toward God. When we do that, we find that we have slipped into continuous praying.”

Have I been sticking close to the Truth of God’s Word, or am I filling my brain with negative messages of my own design?

Is there enough margin in my day for God to speak into, or am I churning anxiety into my bones with constant activity, incessant noise, and chronic comparison?

I invite you to pause in this moment, to pray the words of Psalm 139:23-24 in faith that God is waiting to meet with you, even in the midst of your anxious heart. You may feel as if all he will find in your heart is anxiety, and if that’s the case, offer it. Make of your anxiety an offering to God. He will receive it and you with love.

Holding you in the light,

This the last post in which I’ll be offering the free Prayer Warrior Challenge Printable. Commit to praying scripture for your children every single day as one way to manage and dispel anxiety.

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On the days when I’m convinced that I’m God’s Northeast Representative in Charge of All Things, anxiety is my unwelcome companion.

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Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a Bible teacher, writer, reader, and gardener committed to the truth that women can become confident Christ-followers and students of God's Word. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty-plus years, and together they have four sons, four daughters-in-love, and five adorable grandchildren. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks, and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

37 thoughts on “What Does God Want Me to Know (And to Do!) About My Anxiety?”

  2. Thank you for this scripture. I’ve always been a worrier, and true, I didn’t use to call on God. I would just sit and worry, which solved nothing. But now, it does help when the axiety rises to go to prayer, and listen.

    Like

  4. Even though I just read through the Psalms not too long ago, The verses you featured here are ones that never “stuck”. I believe a lot of us have more anxieties than usual these days. I will add this to my nightly prayer tonight. Thank you.

    Like

  5. Such helpful takeaways in this post: 1) I don’t need to come before God in shame. (Hallelujah for his grace that looks at me with love in spite of my shortcomings and sin!) 2) “My pride tells me that I can somehow worry my way to a better and faster solution than the one God has in mind on his timeline.” (When you put it that way, my worrying looks terribly foolish–which it is!) And 3) Turn anxiety toward God and you’ll learn to slip into continuous praying. (That sounds glorious!) Thank you, Michele, for your wise teaching!

    Like

  6. Anxiety can work as an alarm to me that something is wrong and I must turn to God quickly and consistently. I love the quotes and scriptures you used!

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  7. Michele, I love those verses. God understands us, including our thoughts. How many of us truly understand the anxious thoughts that whirl within us. He knows exactly how to help us. Half the battle for me is pausing to invite His healing search of me.

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  11. “When I refuse to trust God’s providential care, I step into sin. My pride tells me that I can somehow worry my way to a better and faster solution than the one God has in mind on his timeline.”

    Well, this shot straight to my heart that’s for sure! Over the past year and a have been stepping into the sin of worry and thinking that somehow if I stop worrying and let God take care of it then somehow everything is going to get messed up. Ugh! And I know that’s not true and yet I still struggle with it. But thankfully God has been using the last year and a half to teach me to let go, to stop worrying, He has it all under control and His timing and His plan are always so much better than I would have thought.

    Thank you for this!

    Love,
    Annie

    Like

  12. Anxiety can be so hard, but I really like the idea of taking stock of everything and understanding if it’s being caused by something completely out of our control – that we ourselves are trying to control (doing a bit of the impossible). Wise words as always Michele. Thank you for joining us for #mischiefandmemories

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  13. One of the greatest things that I have learned in dealing with major anxieties is that if it is out of my hands, then I can put it out of my head. And I do that by releasing it to my higher power. It took decades to get proficient at this technique but it is so life changing! Of course, little daily annoying anxieties get me like driving at night and silly stuff like that. I just avoid those things when I can. Great post, Michele. Thanks for linking with me.

    Shelbee
    http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com

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  14. I have anxiety and my faith helps me cope with panic attacks. I pray for strength rather than a cure. Thanks for linking up with #MischiefAndMemories

    Like

  16. Anxiety takes so much energy and it is wasted energy, Thanks for your help and light on the subject. We will feature your post in the next Blogger’s Pit Stop to shed more light among our bloggers.
    Kathleen

    Like

  18. I have anxiety to the level where it has made me physically ill. I have had to cut people out of my life, including family members as I can’t deal with their drama and lack of empathy.
    Thanks for joining in with #pocolo

    Like

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