Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World

by Max Lucado

Anxiety is a meteor shower of what-ifs.

Fear sees a threat. Anxiety imagines one. Fear screams, Get out! Anxiety ponders, What if?

Anxiety disorders in the United States are the “number one mental health problem among… women and are second only to alcohol and drug abuse among men.”2

“The average child today exhibits the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the 1950s.”

“Don’t let anything in life leave you perpetually breathless and in angst.” The presence of anxiety is unavoidable, but the prison of anxiety is optional.

This much is sure: It is not God’s will that you lead a life of perpetual anxiety. It is not his will that you face every day with dread and trepidation. He made you for more than a life of breath-stealing angst and mind-splitting worry. He has a new chapter for your life. And he is ready to write it.

Anxiety is often the consequence of perceived chaos.

Perceived control creates calm. Lack of control gives birth to fear.

Anxiety increases as perceived control diminishes.

Rather than seeking total control, relinquish it. You can’t run the world, but you can entrust it to God.

Rather than rehearse the chaos of the world, rejoice in the Lord’s sovereignty, as Paul did.

“In everything God works for the good of those who love him” (Rom. 8:28 NCV).

Guilt frenzies the soul. Grace calms it.

Unresolved guilt will turn you into a miserable, weary, angry, stressed-out, fretful mess.

Guilt sucks the life out of our souls. Grace restores it.

There is a reason the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror. Your future matters more than your past. God’s grace is greater than your sin.

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children” (Gen. 50:20–21 NIV). Two words at the heart of this passage reveal the heart of providential hope: but God. “You intended to harm me, but God…” What was intended as harm became good. Why? Because Joseph kept God in the middle of his circumstance.

I was an anxious, troubled soul, but God has been giving me courage.

But if the story of Joseph teaches us anything, it is this: we have a choice. We can wear our hurt or wear our hope. We can outfit ourselves in our misfortune, or we can clothe ourselves in God’s providence. We can cave in to the pandemonium of life, or we can lean into the perfect plan of God. And we can believe this promise: “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28 NIV).

“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything” (Phil. 4:5–6 NIV).

You are not alone. You may feel alone. You may think you are alone. But there is never a moment in which you face life without help. God is near.

“The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Ps. 118:6 NIV).

Did it occur to anyone to ask Jesus for help? The stunning answer is no! They acted as if Jesus weren’t even present. Rather than count on Christ, they had the audacity to tell the Creator of the world that nothing could be done because there wasn’t enough money.

Before you lash out in fear, look up in faith.

This business of anxiety management is like pulling stumps out of the ground. Some of your worries have deep root systems. Extracting them is hard, hard work. In fact, it may be the toughest challenge of all. But you don’t have to do it alone. Present the challenge to your Father and ask for help. Will he solve the issue? Yes, he will.

God doesn’t delay. He never places you on hold or tells you to call again later. God loves the sound of your voice. Always. He doesn’t hide when you call. He hears your prayers.

As you sense anxiety welling up inside you, cast it in the direction of Christ. Do so specifically and immediately.

Find a promise that fits your problem, and build your prayer around it. These prayers of faith touch the heart of God and activate the angels of heaven. Miracles are set into motion. Your answer may not come overnight, but it will come. And you will overcome.

The good life begins, not when circumstances change, but when our attitude toward them does.

Grateful individuals demonstrate less envy, materialism, and self-centeredness. Gratitude improves self-esteem and enhances relationships, quality of sleep, and longevity.

Worry refuses to share the heart with gratitude. One heartfelt thank-you will suck the oxygen out of worry’s world.

Can death take our joy? No, Jesus is greater than death. Can failure take our joy? No, Jesus is greater than our sin. Can betrayal take our joy? No, Jesus will never leave us. Can sickness take our joy? No, God has promised, whether on this side of the grave or the other, to heal us. Can disappointment take our joy? No, because even though our plans may not work out, we know God’s plan will.

what you have in Christ is greater than anything you don’t have in life. You have God, who is crazy about you, and the forces of heaven to monitor and protect you. You have the living presence of Jesus within you. In Christ you have everything.

Those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. (Isa. 40:31)

But we do have the assurance that we will not live one day less than we are supposed to live. If God has work for you to do, he will keep you alive to do it.

No life is too short or too long. You will live your prescribed number of days. You might change the quality of your days but not the quantity.

God has never promised a life with no storms. But he has promised to be there when we face them.

“Mama, Jesus catched me.”

You can be the air traffic controller of your mental airport. You occupy the control tower and can direct the mental traffic of your world. Thoughts circle above, coming and going. If one of them lands, it is because you gave it permission. If it leaves, it is because you directed it to do so. You can select your thought pattern.

“Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life” (Prov. 4:23 NCV).

Do you want to be happy tomorrow? Then sow seeds of happiness today. (Count blessings. Memorize Bible verses. Pray. Sing hymns. Spend time with encouraging people.) Do you want to guarantee tomorrow’s misery? Then wallow in a mental mud pit of self-pity or guilt or anxiety today. (Assume the worst. Beat yourself up. Rehearse your regrets. Complain to complainers.) Thoughts have consequences.

Your challenge is not your challenge. Your challenge is the way you think about your challenge. Your problem is not your pro...

Exaggerated, overstated, inflated, irrational thoughts are the devil’s specialty.

What lugubrious, monstrous lies! No problem is unsolvable. No life is irredeemable. No one’s fate is sealed. No one is unloved or unlovable. But Satan wants us to think we are. He wants to leave us in a swarm of anxious, negative thoughts.

Satan is the master of deceit. But he is not the master of your mind. You have a power he cannot defeat. You have God on your side.

Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus.

Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7).

When anxiety knocks on the door, say, “Jesus, would you mind answering that?” Reduce your request to one statement.

replace anxious thoughts with grateful ones.

gratitude keeps us focused on the present.