You can probably tell this isn’t our church in downtown Appleton, and this isn’t the Time of Grace studio in Milwaukee. Like many of you, I’m right here in my house. I’m about halfway through a 14-day self-quarantine because, well, the world has fallen apart. Is that the truth?
So, what does the Bible say about anxiety? The Bible doesn’t tell us to pretend we’re fine. It tells us to bring our worries straight to God instead of carrying them alone. Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). He wrote those words from a jail cell, and he wasn’t just offering advice. He was offering a promise: when we hand God our anxiety, he hands us back a peace that doesn’t make logical sense. That’s the whole message of this post, so let’s dig in.
A Trip Cancelled and a Quarantine Begun
A month ago, my wife and I were packing our bags. We were looking forward to leading a group of 84 people on a life-changing tour of Israel. I’d been planning for months, writing sermons, memorizing, getting everything straight in my head. I actually flew to Israel a couple days before the tour to get set up. It was beautiful. Seventy-five degrees, sunny, running along the Mediterranean coast.
And then the world fell apart. I don’t have to tell you the news. The coronavirus hit, one restriction after another, travel bans, emergency situations, and the trip we had planned for so long was entirely cancelled. I had to get home in a rush. We bought a very expensive plane ticket, flew through Europe, and got home just in time, but because I had a layover in Poland, I ended up quarantined in my own house. My wife and my two daughters have been amazingly generous and agreed to join me so I wouldn’t be totally alone.
I’m curious where “here” is for you. I know we have to keep our social distance from each other right now, but I’d love for you to comment and tell me where you’re watching from and how things are going.
Why Do We Feel So Anxious When Life Feels Out of Control?
Being here has actually been kind of amazing in some ways. I mean, it’s been challenging. I haven’t had the most productive week of work in my entire career. But my family has eaten dinner together at the table something like 20 straight times. When has that ever happened before? We’ve got a stack of board games we’re working through. We’ve started watching The Mandalorian, and why did nobody tell me about Baby Yoda? We’ve been reading the Bible together and singing worship songs. We’ve gotten quality time and quantity time as a family.
But there’s a darker side to living under the cloud of the coronavirus. It’s a dark cloud that makes many of us, myself included, a little anxious, a little nervous, and more than a little afraid, because we have no idea what’s going to happen next.
My two girls have been on spring break, but school is supposed to start soon. Their teachers are scrambling to teach them through a screen, but school is so much more than a screen. What happens if this doesn’t last a week or two, but a month or two? What happens to their education, their friendships, our family rhythm, our summer plans?
I think about my wife, an amazing teacher of 28 three- and four-year-olds. Parents have been texting me saying their houses are falling apart after just seven days. You can teach a fourth grader through a tablet, but a three-year-old? So much of that age is interactive play, creativity, and learning to be social with other kids. What happens to a kid like that?
And then there’s my parents. We’re blessed that they live close by, but they’re all in their 70s now, which puts them in the vulnerable population. We can FaceTime, but how do we really know they’re okay? My mother-in-law lost her husband a few years ago, so she’s going through this alone, without the dinner table, without the board games. Is she going to be okay?
I think about our ministry too. Time of Grace isn’t a church, it’s a digital media ministry, which is a blessing in a time like this. But as the stock market has plummeted, how do we rely on the generosity of people like you when you might be hurting financially yourself? How do we help our team pay their bills during an economic crisis?
A couple days ago, our own church got the heartbreaking news that a member had died of natural causes, and we had to decide whether his own grandkids could come to the funeral. I can’t even imagine that. And if this goes on, it’s going to keep happening.
So no wonder so many of us feel anxious, worried, and afraid. Our peace and our joy can feel so distant.
You’re Not Alone in This
Maybe you’d add your own list of worries to mine. Many of you have texted and emailed asking for prayer, so I get a small glimpse of what’s going on in your life.
If you already deal with anxiety, this season just adds fuel to the fire. If you’re an hourly employee working off tips, what happens when the hours get cut back? What happens if this lasts months instead of weeks? If you were just about to retire and the market has fallen apart, do you go back to work, do you retire anyway, do you cut your losses or wait it out?
And if you struggle with compulsive habits or addictions, I’ve learned over the years that we’re most vulnerable when we’re hungry, angry, lonely, tired, or bored. That describes a lot of us right now. There are so many more struggles I could name, and maybe this post is making you feel more anxious instead of less. But here’s the truth I want to leave with you today.
What Does Philippians 4 Say About Anxiety and Peace?
You don’t have to stay anxious. You don’t have to be worried about tomorrow. You don’t need to stay stuck and depressed. There is something, someone, who can change you. I’m not saying there’s no room in our faith for lament, loss, grief, or sadness. The Bible is full of that. But I am saying the Bible also gives us a rock-solid place to run to, where we can know without a doubt that we’re going to be okay. Not just okay. This exact place we’re in right now, right here, can actually be a good place to be. Let me show you why.
Before I open the Bible, let me tell you a quick story. The first day of my trip to Israel looked brutal on paper. A drive to Chicago, hours waiting at a gate, a flight to New Jersey, a long layover, then the long haul to Tel Aviv. But at the airport, I heard singing. Really good singing. Opera singing, actually. I found the guy singing, and it turned out he was a Starbucks employee delivering every order in full opera. My layover and my flight didn’t change, but his presence changed the whole mood of that gate. People were smiling, laughing, pulling out their phones to record him.
Right after that, I turned around and there, sitting right in front of me, was Stanley from The Office. Actor Leslie David Baker, just sitting there. Someone worked up the courage to ask for a selfie, and within minutes a whole line had formed. Same flight, same wait, but his presence changed how everyone felt about being there.
Here’s where I’m going with this. Even when a situation doesn’t change, the right presence can give you back your peace, your joy, and your contentment. That’s exactly what I want to show you from the apostle Paul.
If you read the book of Acts, you’ll find that Paul was basically quarantined too. He was a famous first-century missionary, starting churches and spreading the message of Jesus. He came back to Jerusalem, was falsely accused, and ended up in jail for years, waiting to find out if he’d be convicted, condemned, or worse. Paul had every reason to be anxious and afraid. But in the middle of all that, he wrote something powerful:
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4–9)
And a few verses later: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).
Paul could sit quarantined and alone and still have a peace that doesn’t make sense to people, because the God of peace was with him. God was near. If you know my teaching, or you’ve read my book, Three Words That Will Change Your Life, you know I got those three words from Paul: God is here. Maybe your old routine isn’t here right now. Maybe your old job or your time with friends isn’t here. But right where you’re sitting, God is here. Not some small, distant God, but the one Paul says is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. That was Paul’s secret to contentment, and it’s the secret I want to put deep in your heart too. If you’re wrestling with what your own pain is teaching you right now, this post on how your pain has a purpose is worth reading next.
What Does It Mean That “God Is Here”?
I want to take you on a quick tour of my house and show you a few reminders of why God being present changes everything.
Stop One: The Picture Above Our Fireplace
This is a painting by Christian artist Christopher Powers, based on Ephesians 5, which talks about how husbands should love their wives. It’s a great reminder for how I want to treat Kim every day. Here’s Jesus, bursting with light and love, and here’s us, like the bride of his church, wrapped in his gentle embrace. You can see the wounds that prove the depth of his love. This reminds me that no matter what people think of me, no matter what’s happening with my family or my church, Jesus, the God of love who died on a cross, has me. He delights in me. And the same is true for you. You might be socially distant from the people you love most right now, but this God, a God of grace, compassion, forgiveness, and mercy, is with you. If you’ve ever wondered what your worth is really based on, this post on the most important thing about you goes even deeper into that.
Stop Two: Our Chalkboard Door
This is our hallway, and this door has six family values we come back to again and again. One of them just says, “God’s got this.” Whenever we’re afraid or worried about something, we remember that God isn’t surprised by the coronavirus, or by whatever you’re dealing with right now. It wasn’t a shock to him. The Bible says God works all things for the good of his people, even this. Ephesians 1 says all things are under the feet of Jesus. So when you’re worried, look up and remember: God’s got this. He’s not a heavenly Father who’s panicking right along with you. He sits on the throne of heaven, and nothing is out of his control.
Stop Three: My Daughter’s Room
This is Maya’s room, and I got to introduce you to my two daughters, Brooklyn, my sixth grader, and Maya, my fourth grader. Above Maya’s bed is another picture from Christopher Powers, of Jesus holding a little lamb, looking right at it, writing something down. I asked Maya how that picture makes her feel, and she said, “Very happy, because it reminds me that we don’t have to be afraid, since God has a plan for all of us and he’s watching over us.” That picture is based on Psalm 139:16, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Before the coronavirus ever happened, God had already written it down, with compassion and love, the same pierced hand that hung on the cross. His plans for this year, and for you, are totally in his control.
How Can I Remember God Is With Me When I’m Afraid?
Here’s my homework for you. The next time you’re worried about something, your finances, your health, your family, the news, I want you to name it out loud. “I’m scared about _.” And then finish the sentence like this: “But God is here.”
I don’t know what’s going to happen with my wife’s preschool classroom. But God is here. I hope my parents and my mother-in-law stay healthy, but no matter what, God is here. No matter how complicated things get with our ministry or with your life, God is here. Not some small God, but the God who brings joy with his very presence. Paul says the Lord is near, so rejoice, and don’t be anxious about anything.
Let me leave you with one more story. On that trip to Israel, our film crew and I got to the ancient synagogue site of Magdala early, and shockingly, no one else was there. It felt surreal. Normally tour buses show up every ten minutes, so we rushed to set up the camera before we got flooded with people. I got to preach the very message Jesus likely preached in that same spot, and I kept glancing down the road, waiting for the bus that never came. For almost two hours, we were nearly alone in that place, an unexpected blessing of the coronavirus. At one point I thought, God was here. Who am I, some average guy, standing exactly where God once stood? I got choked up thinking I wasn’t worthy of that moment.
But here’s the amazing part. You have something even better than “God was here.” Through faith in Jesus, through his perfect life, his death, and his resurrection, you get to say, “God is here.” So when your life feels like a long layover in an airport, when the hours are crawling by, remember you have something better than an opera singer or a celebrity sighting. You have God, and he is with you.
Do not be afraid. Do not be anxious. Cast your anxiety on him, because he cares for you and he is with you. I know it’s a worrisome time, but never forget those three words that can change everything: God is here.
FAQs About Anxiety and Trusting God
Is it a sin to feel anxious?
No. Feeling anxious is a normal human response to uncertainty. The Bible doesn’t shame us for feeling afraid; it invites us to bring that fear to God instead of carrying it alone (Philippians 4:6).
What Bible verse helps most with anxiety?
Philippians 4:6–7 is one of the clearest: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
How do I stop being anxious as a Christian?
You probably won’t stop feeling anxious altogether, but you can bring each worry to God in prayer, remind yourself that he is near, and focus your thoughts on what is true and good (Philippians 4:8). Over time, that habit reshapes how you carry your fear. A steady, unhurried life, like the one described in this post on living a good, quiet life, can help create space for that habit to grow.
Does God care about small, everyday worries, or just big ones?
God cares about all of it. Paul doesn’t say “be anxious about the big stuff but handle the rest yourself.” He says “do not be anxious about anything.” Nothing is too small to bring to him.
