Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World

by Max Lucado

Worry takes a meat cleaver to our thoughts, energy, and focus. Anxiety chops up our attention. It sends our awareness in a dozen directions. We worry about the past—what we said or did. We worry about the future—tomorrow’s assignments or the next decade’s developments. Anxiety takes our attention from the right now and directs it “back then” or “out there.”

But when you aren’t focused on your problem, you have a sudden availability of brain space. Use it for good.

You cannot control the circumstances, but you can always control what you think of them.

Today, I will live today. Yesterday has passed. Tomorrow is not yet. I’m left with today. So, today, I will live today. Relive yesterday? No. I will learn from it. I will seek mercy for it. I will take joy in it. But I won’t live in it. The sun has set on yesterday. The sun has yet to rise on tomorrow. Worry about the future? To what gain? It deserves a glance, nothing more. I can’t change tomorrow until tomorrow. Today, I will live today. I will face today’s challenges with today’s strength. I will dance today’s waltz with today’s music. I will celebrate today’s opportunities with today’s hope. Today.

A new day awaits you, my friend. A new season in which you will worry less and trust more. A season with reduced fear and enhanced faith. Can you imagine a life in which you are anxious for nothing? God can. And, with his help, you will experience it.

PRAYER OF SAINT PATRICK I arise today Through the strength of heaven; Light of the sun, Splendor of fire, Speed of lightning, Swiftness of the wind, Depth of the sea, Stability of the earth, Firmness of the rock. I arise today Through God’s strength to pilot me; God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me, I arise today Through the mighty strength Of the Lord of creation.1

“Your Father has never dropped anyone. He will not drop you. His grip is sturdy and his hands are open. As the apostle Paul proclaimed, ‘And I know the Lord will continue to rescue me from every trip, trap, snare, and pitfall of evil and carry me safely to His heavenly kingdom. May He be glorified throughout eternity. Amen.’”22

In the form of his Spirit, he comforts, teaches, and convicts. Do not assume God is watching from a distance. Avoid the quicksand that bears the marker “God has left you!” Do not indulge this lie. If you do, your problem will be amplified by a sense of loneliness. It’s one thing to face a challenge, but to face it all alone? Isolation creates a downward cycle of fret. Choose instead to be the person who clutches the presence of God with both hands. “The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Ps. 118:6 NIV).

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6–7).

Notice, this verse does not ask you to forget or set side your anxieties. It acknowledges that your anxieties are real. Instead of pushing them aside, you are putting them literally on God. He tells you to transfer the burden from yourself to him.

Determine a time each day when you will choose to list your anxieties. Physically fold up the list and place it somewhere (in a basket, drawer, etc.). When you start to feel anxious, remember that you have placed your burdens on God for the day.

Christ-based contentment turns us into strong people.

If you kept your focus on gifts that you already have and that you cannot lose, how might your attitude change?

“Death, failure, betrayal, sickness, disappointment—they cannot take our joy, because they cannot take our Jesus. 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.”

You may be facing the perfect storm, but Jesus offers the perfect peace.

“All human nature vigorously resists grace because grace changes us and the change is painful.”44 Painful experiences in life are often amplified by the fact that they change or disrupt life as we know it and leave scars of change on us.

“When you have Him you have all; but you have also lost all when you lose Him. Stay with Christ, although your eyes do not see Him and your reason does not grasp Him.”6

Your problem is not your problem but the way you see it.

“You didn’t select your birthplace or birth date. You didn’t choose your parents or siblings. You don’t determine the weather or the amount of salt in the ocean. There are many things in life over which you have no choice. But the greatest activity of life is well within your dominion. You can choose what you think about.”

“Your challenge is not your challenge. Your challenge is the way you think about your challenge. Your problem is not your problem; it is the way you look at it”?

Is the source of your anxiety true? Has it become a reality, or is it something that might happen? If it hasn’t happened, don’t dwell on it!

“Jesus, this anxious, negative thought just wormed its way into my mind. Is it from you?” Ask Jesus to take away whatever thoughts are not from him.

O God, early in the morning I cry to you. Help me to pray and gather my thoughts to you, I cannot do it alone. In me it is dark, but with you there is light; I am lonely, but you do not desert me; My courage fails me, but with you there is help; I am restless, but with you there is peace; in me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience; I do not understand your ways, but you know the way for me. Father in Heaven praise and thanks be to you for the night.7 —DIETRICH BONHOEFFER, A PRAYER WRITTEN IN TEGEL PRISON, BERLIN

We bear fruit by focusing on God.

The secret to fruit bearing and anxiety-free living is less about doing and more about abiding.”

“God does the same with us. Don’t load yourself down with lists. Don’t enhance your anxiety with the fear of not fulfilling them. Your goal is not to know every detail of the future. Your goal is to hold the hand of the One who does and never, ever let go.”

For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matt. 6:25–34).

Choose the tranquili-tree over the anxie-tree.

Although Jesus was intimately acquainted with anxiety, he never let anxiety sway his purpose. He acknowledged it and brought it before his Father (Luke 22:42) but chose his actions based on predetermined will and logic.

What do you need to remove from your life to keep your mind focused on good things? What practices can you implement that will daily remind you of what is true, good, and beautiful?

Do not fret—it only causes harm. —PSALM 37:8

Be anxious for nothing. —PHILIPPIANS 4:6

“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with… the anxieties of ...

There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD. —PROVERBS 21:30 NIV

Who can act against you without the Lord’s permission? It is the Lord who helps one and harms another. —LAMENTATIONS 3:37–38 TLB

[He] is the same yesterday, today, and forever. —HEBREWS 13:8

In everything God works for the good of those who love him. —ROMANS 8:28 NCV

I [Paul] am right with God, not because I followed the law, but because I believed in Christ. —PHILIPPIANS 3:9 NCV

I [Paul] am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us. —PHILIPPIANS 3:13–14 TLB

And I know the Lord will continue to rescue me from every trip, trap, snare, and pitfall of evil and carry me safely to His heavenly kingdom. May He be glorified throughout eternity. Amen. —2 TIMOTHY 4:18 THE VOICE

[He] works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. —EPHESIANS 1:11 NIV

“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.” —GENESIS 50:20–21 NIV

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything. —PHILIPPIANS 4:5–6 NIV

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you. —GENESIS 26:24 NLT

Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” —JOSHUA 1:9 NIV

The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? —PSALM 118:6 NIV

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. —1 PETER 5:7 NIV

Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. —EPHESIANS 6:18 THE MESSAGE

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. —PHILIPPIANS 4:11–13 NIV

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. —PHILIPPIANS 4:7