Worry in the Bible: Moving from Fear toward Trust

Have you ever found yourself thinking about what could go wrong or what is going wrong right now? Maybe you are thinking about it repeatedly. You may find yourself feeling uneasy or being overly concerned about a situation or problem you are facing, but you find that all that thinking does not help you find peace or resolution. Instead, you end up feeling anxious and apprehensive, with the problem looming larger in your mind.

That is what worry does to us. Our lives are full of situations and circumstances that are out of our control. Try as we might to make our lives predictable and safe, it is hardly possible to buffer ourselves from the challenges that inevitably come our way. All of us worry to some extent, even if we find ourselves worrying about different things.

We can try to deal with our problems in many ways, but one thing is certain: worrying generally leaves us feeling anxious. We do not find peace that way. Even though we know this, when a bill comes in the mail, you start feeling poorly, when you are due for a checkup, or before an important event or deadline, you find yourself hopping onto that hamster wheel of worry.

Why do people worry?

Jesus said of worry, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:27, NIV) Worry is counterproductive because, instead of benefiting us, it negatively affects our mental and emotional health. Anxiety and worry also affect our bodies. But if worry is so counterproductive, why do we do it?

Worrying feels like we are doing something. If you’re confronted by a problem, even if there is no immediate or obvious solution, we feel that by thinking about it repeatedly, we are at least doing something. The alternative seems like being passive, or it just feels uncomfortable. As Americans, we have a can-do mindset that can feed into the human propensity to want to control our lives.

We also worry because it’s part of our learned behavior. Our parents, siblings, and other significant individuals in our lives may also have been worriers, and we learned from their behavior. We become conditioned to believe that this worry is helpful.

The danger of worry comes from understanding what worry does to our brain. When we worry or are anxious, our brain does not discern worry/anxiety from reality. If you find yourself living in the past with what has happened or in the future with what might happen, our brains do not know that we are not there. It believes we are truly living in those moments, which adds extra, unnecessary stress to our brains and bodies.

In addition to these things, the Bible adds another element when it speaks of our lack of trust as the root of worry. In Jesus’ teaching about worry, He instructs us to “look at the birds” (Matthew 6:26, ESV) and “consider the lilies” (Matthew 6:28, ESV). If God cares even for the birds and the lilies, how much more will He care for his own children?

In this teaching, Jesus emphasizes the need to trust God and His care for us and our needs. Thus, to be anxious might demonstrate a lack of trust in the God who promises that He will graciously care for “all these things” (Matthew 6:33 ESV).

Worry in the Bible

The key theme of radical trust in the face of trying circumstances is what makes up the bulk of what the Bible teaches about worry. Worry and anxiety rob us of peace and of our rest. Rest in the Bible means more than just taking a break. It’s partly that, but it also refers to taking a posture of trust.

When we allow ourselves to rest, we are demonstrating our belief that God cares for us and will provide for the details of our lives. Because we believe this, we live it out by resting and refraining from striving in our every waking moment, as we are inclined to do.

In Philippians 4:6–7 (ESV), Paul writes, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

This passage from Paul resonates with what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. Instead of anxiety and worry, believers are to entrust themselves into the hands of their loving heavenly Father. God’s peace guards believers in Christ Jesus. They refrain from worry, entrusting their troubles to him through their prayers and thanksgiving. Giving thanks contributes to inward peace; it reminds us of all that God has already done for us.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:6–7, ESV

When we undergo suffering of some kind, it is in those moments that we can begin to wonder about God’s love and affection toward us. After all, if He loved me, why would He allow this struggle into my life? We then feel like we need to take matters into our own hands. We stop trusting that God is good, or perhaps we believe the subtle lie that God is not paying attention or does not care.

In contrast to that mindset, Peter reminds God’s people to put themselves in God’s hands and trust in His wise and good ordering of their lives. Our struggles do not last forever, but in the midst of them, we can take our concerns and place them on Him because we recognize His loving care. Instead of trusting ourselves to take on our concerns, we ought to humble ourselves and put them in God’s hands.

Through the book of Proverbs, we are reminded:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, 
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him, 
and he will make straight your paths. 
Be not wise in your own eyes; 
fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones. – Proverbs 3:5-8, ESV

When you are in a pinch, who or what do you trust to resolve the situation? We may rely upon our own skills, expertise, social capital, financial resources, connections we have made, or the favors we can call in. There is nothing wrong with these things, if we do not turn to them first. God gives us many gifts that we are to use wisely and in recognition of his generosity.

What can happen subtly is that we begin to trust in the gift and not in the Giver of the gift. When we lean on our own understanding, we are walking with the idea that our perception of the situation and the right course of action is what is right and true. However, God knows better than we do what is going on and the best course of action in any situation.

We can have a deep, heartfelt confidence in God’s wisdom and faithfulness, which leads us to defer to God’s view of the situation. Trusting the Lord means not setting our own limited understanding against His. With Him, we have healing and refreshment, the very opposite of what worry does to us.

The weeping prophet Jeremiah struggled and lived a difficult life. He was rejected by God’s people, imprisoned, and thrown down a well, and while he wept for them to accept God’s words, the people didn’t listen.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream, 
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit. – Jeremiah 17:7–8, ESV

When times are tough, the things that ground and shape us show their true mettle. If we have deep roots that are in good soil, they can withstand a storm. Trusting in God is like being a tree that is planted by water. No matter what happens, whether there is drought or some other hardship, that tree survives.

Despite his difficulties, Jeremiah continued to trust the Lord and stood up to the people who rejected both him and the God who had sent him. If our roots are planted in the soil of our own gifts or strength, when hardships come, we do not have any other resources to pull from. Worry is often a symptom of placing our trust in our own plans and purposes.

Break Through Worry to Trust

From the previous passages, it seems as though trust in the Lord is a big part of breaking down worry. Life is going to get rough, but a deep and abiding trust in the Lord allows us to relinquish our anxieties and find rest in His good plans and purposes for our lives. The last two passages speak about this.

Hardships will come, but they will not ultimately triumph over us or overwhelm God’s intentions. Jesus told his disciples on the night He was betrayed: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NIV) Even in this, we can find hope. If we know that hardships will come, we can be better prepared for them.

Additionally, Jesus promises His peace. He has overcome the world. He is saying this before His crucifixion, likely the darkest time in His and the disciples’ lives. But after the crucifixion came the resurrection, and our lives may take that same shape.

Aligning with what Jesus said is what Paul reminds Christians:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39, NIV

Whatever we go through, no matter how scary, it can never sever us from God’s love and presence. These verses list the things in creation that tend to terrify us, then remind us how God’s love in Jesus Christ overcomes these realities. It’s a love that is stronger than all our fears, and because of that, there is no need to worry.

If you find that you want help to overcome worry or anxiety, contact us. Our reception team can help you set up an appointment with me or another Christian counselor in our online directory. Call or email today.