Anxiety and Worry.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Paul wrote this from prison. Turn every worry into a specific request, add thanks, and God’s peace will stand guard over your heart and mind like a soldier at the gate.

Live it: Don’t rehearse the worst case. Name the one thing pressing on you, pray it out loud as a request, and thank God in the same breath. Worry doesn’t get the last word today. God does.

“Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

“Cast” means to throw something heavy onto something stronger. It’s the same word used for throwing cloaks onto the colt Jesus rode. You were never meant to carry anxiety. You were meant to throw it on Him.

Live it: Every time that worry comes back today, throw it right back: “That’s Yours, Lord.” Then go handle what’s in front of you. You were not built to carry this.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.”

Jesus isn’t saying tomorrow doesn’t matter. He’s saying grace comes for today. Live today fully and let God handle tomorrow when it arrives.

Live it: Tomorrow isn’t your assignment. Plan it once, for ten minutes, then shut it down and win today. Every time your mind runs ahead, drag it back.

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

God spoke this to a people facing powerful enemies. Five promises in one verse: I am with you, I am your God, I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will hold you up.

Live it: Before your hardest moment today, say all five promises out loud. Walk in like someone God is holding up, because you are.

“Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.”

David wrote this after a close friend betrayed him. The promise isn’t that the burden disappears. It’s that God holds you up under it.

Live it: Name the burden out loud and hand it over by name. You’re not weak for letting go. You’re obedient.

“Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

Jesus points at ordinary birds. If God feeds them, He won’t forget you, and He values you far more.

Live it: Step outside, look at what God feeds without a worry in the world, and settle it: if He takes care of them, He’s got you.

““Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well.”

Jesus said this to frightened disciples the night He was betrayed. The cure for a troubled heart is trust, placed in a Person.

Live it: When anxiety rises today, shut it down with one sentence: “Jesus, I trust You with this.” Say it as many times as it takes.

“When anxiety overwhelms me, Your consolation delights my soul.”

The psalmist doesn’t pretend the anxiety isn’t there. He found that God’s comfort met him right in the middle of it.

Live it: Write down three times God came through for you. That’s your evidence. Read it every time worry tries to argue.

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.”

David wrote this while he was being hunted. He doesn’t claim he was never afraid. He tells you what he did with the fear: he put it on God.

Live it: The moment fear shows up today, say this verse out loud. Fear can knock, but it doesn’t get to drive.

“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

Jesus asks a plain question: has worry ever added a single hour to your life? It takes energy and gives nothing back.

Live it: Catch yourself worrying today and ask Jesus’ question out loud. Then turn that energy into one thing you can actually do.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

Pilgrims sang this on the road to Jerusalem. They looked up at the hills and declared where their help really comes from.

Live it: Before you look at your phone, look up. Say it: my help comes from the Lord.

“Anxiety weighs down the heart of a man, but a good word cheers it up.”

Anxiety is heavy, and Scripture admits it. A good word lifts what anxiety weighs down, and you can be that word for someone.

Live it: Send one person an encouraging word today. Lifting someone else lifts you too.

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.”

David, a shepherd himself, pictures God as the shepherd who leads, feeds and restores. A sheep with a good shepherd has no reason to panic.

Live it: Let the Shepherd lead today. When you feel the pull to control everything, say: “The Lord is my shepherd.”

“Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; do not fret—it can only bring harm.”

David tells us to let go of anger and not to fret, because fretting only leads to harm. Worry and anger feed each other.

Live it: Notice what you keep fretting about today, and refuse to let it turn into anger. Hand it over instead.

“Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah”

David invites God’s people to pour out their hearts to Him at all times. God isn’t bothered by what you bring. He’s a refuge for it.

Live it: Pour it out today. Tell God everything that’s in you, without filtering it.

“He does not fear bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.”

The person who trusts God isn’t afraid of bad news, because their heart is steady and fixed on Him.

Live it: Before you open the news or your messages today, steady your heart: “My heart is fixed on You, Lord.”

“When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you rest, your sleep will be sweet.”

Wisdom and trust in God bring rest. You can lie down without fear, and your sleep can be sweet.

Live it: Before bed tonight, give God the day and the night. Then rest like someone who’s covered.

“We demolish arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Paul talks about taking every thought captive and making it obey Christ. You don’t have to follow every thought that shows up.

Live it: Catch one anxious thought today, name it, and replace it with something God has said.

“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it.”

Commit your way to the Lord, trust Him, and He will act. Worry tries to carry the outcome. Trust hands it over.

Live it: Name the outcome you’ve been gripping, and commit it to God out loud.

“The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.””

Moses told Joshua the Lord goes before him and will be with him. You never walk into tomorrow first. God is already there.

Live it: Picture the day ahead and remind yourself that God got there first.

“Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.””

God tells His people to say to the fearful: be strong, don’t fear, your God will come. Hope is something we speak to each other.

Live it: Say this verse to someone else who’s anxious today. Then say it to yourself.

“The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— whom shall I dread?”

If the Lord is your light and your salvation, who is left to fear? David asks it as a challenge.

Live it: Write down what you’re afraid of, then cross it out and write: “The Lord is my light.”

“I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.”

David sought the Lord, and God answered him and delivered him from all his fears. Seeking is the first move.

Live it: Seek God before you do anything else about the fear today. Talk to Him first.

“Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm. “Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still have no faith?””

Jesus calmed a storm with a word, then asked His disciples why they were afraid. The storm obeyed Him, and He was in the boat.

Live it: Whatever storm you’re in today, remember who’s in the boat with you.

“So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?””

Because God has promised never to leave, we can say with confidence: the Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.

Live it: Say it out loud before the moment you dread: “The Lord is my helper.”

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.””

Whoever lives in the shelter of the Most High rests in His shadow. Safety is a place you choose to stay.

Live it: Start today by declaring it: “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

“What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Paul asks: if God is for us, who can be against us? The question settles who’s really in charge.

Live it: Name the thing that feels against you today, then ask Paul’s question over it.

“The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.””

God is with you, mighty to save. He delights in you, quiets you with His love, and sings over you.

Live it: Sit quietly for two minutes today and let God’s love quiet you.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.”

David invites God to search him and know his anxious thoughts. God isn’t shocked by what’s in there.

Live it: Ask God today to search your heart and show you what’s behind the worry.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love.”

There is no fear in love. God’s perfect love drives out fear, because fear expects punishment and love doesn’t.

Live it: When fear says you’re on your own today, answer it with God’s love for you.