Anxiety: How the Kingdom Meets Us in Our Mess

Part 1: God is Greater Than Anything You Face

If you struggle with anxiety, you are not alone. 1 in 3 Americans experience significant anxiety at some point in their lives. While fear is our body’s response to a real threat, anxiety is worrying about the potential for something terrible to happen. Anxiety causes us to live as though these types of worst-case scenarios are a reality. There are many ways we respond to anxiety. We can try to find control in other areas of our lives, attempt to escape through tv, drinking, overworking, etc., become overwhelmed, or close ourselves off emotionally to avoid our fears. The Bible offers a radically different approach to handling our anxiety. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus invites us to connect with him; when we do, he promises rest. Rest can also be described as peace or shalom. Shalom is an all-encompassing peace, wholeness, abundance, and harmony. We weren’t built for anxiety and fear. God designed us for shalom. You have an enemy that wants to make you a slave to anxiety, but God wants you to know there is nothing he can’t fix. Nothing he can’t free. If you are weary, he is rest. If you are anxious, he is peace.