How to Trade Your Anxiety for God's Peace
Live now and trust God for the future
Have you ever gotten yourself worked up mentally or emotionally because you’re worrying about something in the future? Have you ever made yourself miserable and ruined “today” because you’re busy rehearsing a conversation with someone in your mind...a conversation that may never even take place?
We’ve all done this to some degree or another. Unfortunately, I used to be the queen of worrying and getting ahead of myself. I spent most of my life not enjoying what I was doing because I was anxious about the next thing to be done.
I developed this habit as a child because I lived in such a volatile atmosphere. My father was an angry and unstable man, and he abused me sexually from the time I was a little girl. I didn’t feel safe, and I never quite knew what was going to happen next. As a way of trying to gain some stability, I would try to guess what he might do—I would try not to be at the wrong place at the wrong time or do things that would set him off. It became very difficult for me to learn how to live in the now. I was always worried about the future!
As an adult, I naturally worried about the “big” things...issues that are more serious. But I carried this habit into every part of my life. It was also the little everyday things that stole my joy and made me anxious.
For instance, if I was riding somewhere in a car, I didn’t enjoy the ride because I was anxiously planning what I needed to do when I got there. Or maybe you can relate to this one: I wouldn’t enjoy eating meals with my family because I was already dreading the thought of cleaning the kitchen when dinner was over.
It took the Holy Spirit many years to help me realize the only way to enjoy my life is to be a now person. Here’s the lesson: Live now and trust God for the future. Live this moment and trust God for the next one!
God’s Word teaches us that we’re not even supposed to be overly concerned about what we’re going to say to someone because God will give us what to say when the time comes (see Luke 12:11-12).
I can’t tell you how many times I literally wore myself out by rehearsing a potential conversation with my boss or a friend over and over in my mind. I’d think, Well, if they say this, then I will say that. It went on and on. Most of the time I ended up not even having the conversation. Or if I did, it was completely different than I expected. I wasted my time and energy (and my peace) for no reason at all!
You see, God gives us His grace—the power of the Holy Spirit—to live our lives. However, His grace comes with each task—not ahead of time. This is why we feel anxious when we try to figure out things that aren’t here yet.
Remember, peace and joy are the normal conditions for a Christian. The world is full of pressure, anxiety, and fear—but that’s not God’s way. He wants us to believe and trust Him for something better.
What should we believe? God wants us to believe that He loves us and that we can place every detail of our lives in His hands. He wants us to believe that He’s already been where we’re going...and He’s already taken care of everything before we get there!
Romans 15:13 says that joy and peace are found in believing. And Hebrews 4:3 tells us that those who have believed enter the rest of God.
In practical terms, this means I can enjoy my life now, believing and trusting God that He will give me the grace to do what needs to be done in the future. Refusing to be anxious shows that we have faith for the issues of life that have not yet arrived.
This principle works for every area of life—the major things and the minor things. Even when life catches you off guard and something serious is happening, the Lord wants you to give your worries to Him.
As soon as something becomes a “care,” decide to pray and give it to the Lord. Trust Him to do what needs to be done...or to show you what needs to be done in that particular moment.
In the meantime, keep your mind on what you’re doing and resist the urge to jump ahead mentally. As you do—as you choose to trust God with the details of your future and hand your worries over to Him—you’ll find that His amazing grace will be there every step of the way.
