Anxiety feels like it’s about your circumstances. You’re anxious because you have bills to pay, because your child is making bad choices, because you don’t know what will happen next week. But underneath the circumstances, anxiety reveals something deeper happening in your heart.
Anxiety exposes that you’re believing lies about God’s care. Deep down, you don’t really believe He’s sovereign over your circumstances. You don’t trust that He’s good and that He’s in control. And because you don’t believe He’s managing things well, you’re desiring to control the situation yourself. You want to be able to fix it. You want guarantees. You want certainty.
Think about the anxious parent worrying about their child’s future. What are they believing? That their child’s success and happiness depend on them making all the right decisions right now. What are they desiring? Control over their child’s life and outcomes. The emotion that flows from this? Constant anxiety and sleepless nights.
But God invites you to a different way. Philippians 4:6-7 doesn’t promise that your circumstances will change. It promises that when you bring your requests to God with thanksgiving, His peace will guard your heart and mind. Peace comes not from gaining control but from trusting the One who already has it. The truth you must preach to yourself is this: God loves those I love more than I do. He is sovereign. He is good. I can trust Him with what I cannot control.