I want to begin personally, because anxiety is not something I only speak about as a pastor—it’s something I know from the inside. I feel it around very ordinary things: finances, family dynamics, friendships, commitments I’ve said yes to too quickly, and concerns about my health and wellbeing. I feel anxiety vocationally, too—in deadlines, leadership decisions, and the weight of responsibility that comes with caring for a community. And yes, I feel it spiritually: wondering if I am acting with integrity as follower of Christ, listening well enough, and truly discerning and following God’s call rather than my own fears or expectations. Anxiety has a way of touching every layer of life, even when things are outwardly “fine,” and I suspect I’m not alone in that. 

We often talk about letting go of anxiety as if it only becomes possible once things get better—once the relationship heals, the conflict resolves, or the grief settles into something manageable. But much of life doesn’t work that way. Some wounds remain tender. Some losses don’t get tidy endings. And anxiety has a way of filling the space left by uncertainty, replaying the past or racing ahead into feared futures. 

Scripture does not pretend anxiety is a failure of faith. The psalmist names it plainly: “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you” (Psalm 55:22). Paul, writing from prison—not from peace or comfort—urges the church, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). These words are not offered from a place where anxiety has vanished, but from within it. The promise is not that hardship disappears, but that God’s peace meets us there. 

Our United Methodist tradition offers a way to hold this truth through the Wesleyan Quadrilateral. 

Scripture shows us again and again that God meets people in moments of fear, worry, and distress. Anxiety is not hidden from God; it is named, prayed, and carried into God’s presence. 

Tradition reminds us that the church has long understood anxiety as part of the human condition. Prayer, worship, and communal life were never meant to eliminate worry altogether, but to interrupt its power—to remind us that we are not alone and that our lives are held by more than our own thoughts. 

Reason helps us recognize when worry has moved beyond concern into something that drains our spirit. It allows us to ask honest questions: Is this something I can act on? Or am I rehearsing the same fears again and again? Releasing anxiety is not ignoring responsibility; it is refusing to let constant worry become the voice that shapes our days. 

Experience tells us how real anxiety can be. Many of us know what it is like to lie awake, replay conversations, imagine worst-case outcomes, or feel unable to rest even when nothing immediate is wrong. Experience also teaches us that anxiety often lessens not all at once, but gradually—through prayer, breath, movement, conversation, and the steady presence of others who help ground us in the present moment. 

If you find yourself not just carrying something heavy, but feeling overly worried—mentally stuck, preoccupied, or unable to let your mind rest—know that this, too, is something God invites you to release. Jesus’ invitation, “Do not worry about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34), is not a command to stop caring; it is an invitation to live today without being consumed by what may never come. 

Releasing anxiety does not mean the problems are solved or the past erased. It means loosening the grip of fear on our hearts and trusting that even in uncertainty, God is present and faithful. As Paul reminds us, “Nothing…will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39)—not loss, not unanswered questions, and not anxiety itself. 

Grace does not wait for calm circumstances. Grace meets us in anxious moments and gently teaches us how to breathe again – this is what makes the love of God so amazing, it does not wait for our completeness or perfection. 

I pray for peace of God in the places of life where we feel anxious. Take a deep breath in, hold it, know that God, who is greater than all time and place is wildly in love with you – exhale. We got this, because God’s got us. 

Grace and Peace, 

Pastor M@