Wednesday Read: Anxiety or Trust - You Choose Daily

"Do not be anxious about anything" (Philippians 4:6). Paul wrote this from prison, facing possible execution, with no certainty about his future. His command to avoid anxiety wasn't naive optimism from someone living in comfort - it was hard-won wisdom from someone who'd learned to trust God in the worst circumstances. Immediately after commanding against anxiety, he offers the alternative: "In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

Anxiety and trust cannot coexist. They're mutually exclusive responses to uncertainty. Anxiety says, "It all depends on me, and I'm not sure I can handle it." Trust says, "It all depends on God, and I know he can handle it." Both are faith statements - anxiety is faith in your own inadequacy; trust is faith in God's adequacy.

Jesus addressed anxiety directly in the Sermon on the Mount, using nature as his textbook. Birds don't stockpile food obsessively, yet God feeds them. Lilies don't stress about appearance, yet God clothes them beautifully. His conclusion? "If God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 6:30). Anxiety reveals misplaced faith - trusting in our ability to control outcomes rather than God's commitment to provide.

Martha's anxiety made her miss Jesus's presence. While Mary sat at his feet, Martha was "distracted with much serving" and "anxious and troubled about many things" (Luke 10:40-41). Her worry about providing for Jesus prevented her from receiving from Jesus. Anxiety always does this - it focuses on problems until we lose sight of God's presence in them.

The antidote to anxiety isn't positive thinking or denial of problems - it's prayer combined with thanksgiving. "In everything by prayer... with thanksgiving" (Philippians 4:6). Gratitude for God's past faithfulness anchors us when present circumstances threaten to unravel us. Every worry is an invitation to pray, every anxiety a reminder to give thanks for God's proven track record.

What are you anxious about today? What if, instead of catastrophizing about what might happen, you thanked God for what he's already done? What if each worry became a prompt to pray rather than permission to panic? Peter's instruction is simple but profound: "Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). Your anxiety accomplishes nothing except robbing you of peace. Cast it on the One who can actually do something about your circumstances.