How to Attack Anxiety and Win, Part 1

By Robb Brunansky

Published January 5, 2026

Anxiety cripples many people. There are more than 40 million Americans who suffer from an extensive list of diagnosed anxiety disorders. Additionally, millions of people have never been to a doctor for diagnosis or treatment, and many others suffer from intermittent worry, fear, and anxiety. We are, perhaps, the most anxious culture in world history.

Despite this epidemic, the best solutions the world can offer these worried, depressed, or anxious people are temporary coping mechanisms. Many anxiety disorders are treated with psychotherapy to develop a more constructive response to fear. Anxiety disorders are also treated with medications, which only mask the symptoms. A third treatment, known as self-management strategy, encourages people to concentrate their anxiety to one specific time to free up mental capacity to be less anxious the rest of the day.

These strategies are what the world offers: no solutions, just ways to manage sin, anxiety, and worry. John MacArthur summarized our culture’s approach to worry, saying, “No worry goes unnamed, undefined, uncatalogued, undiagnosed, or unmedicated; worries only go unrelieved.”

Thankfully, Jesus has a better way to handle anxiety. His strategy is not to cope with, manage, or merely limit our anxiety. Instead, His strategy is to eliminate anxiety – by attacking it and winning (Luke 12:22-34).

It’s important to underscore that in this passage from Luke’s Gospel, our Lord gave this message to His disciples – or to Christians. Those who are not followers of Christ have great cause for worry, anxiety, or fear, because of the eternal damnation awaiting them should they remain outside God’s kingdom. The good news of the gospel, though, is that everything applying to Christians from this text would apply to unbelievers if they would but repent and trust in Jesus for salvation (John 3:16).

So, all Christ’s disciples are called to hear His command: Do not worry. So, how do we obey, stop worrying, and attack and defeat anxiety? The answer comes from several things we must understand – about God and worry.

First, we should understand God’s purpose (Luke 12:22-23).

And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.

Worry and anxiety often arise because we do not know, or we forget, God’s purpose for us. Yet, Christians must not worry because our lives are temporary; what really matters is what we have stored in heaven. Thus, Jesus says, we should not worry about what we will eat or wear.

In this time, these issues – food and clothing – were the overriding concerns of nearly everyone. People were literally consumed with fear over how they would eat the next day or survive the elements with their clothing. However, Jesus forbids His disciples from worrying about these things because life is short. Like these individuals, many of our worries stem from the physical realm: health and financial concerns, or anxiety about what others think about us or our future provision. Yet, God has a purpose for us that transcends the temporal affairs of our physical lives.

This truth leads to the second thing about attacking anxiety, which is God’s provision (verse 24).

Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!

If God has a purpose for us as believers, then He will provide our needs to fulfill this purpose. Here we get to the first example of God’s provision, relating to our need for food. Ravens are detestable creatures (Leviticus 11:13-15, Deuteronomy 14:11-14). Yet, Scripture teaches us that God provides for these abominable birds (Job 28:41, Psalm 147:9). This fact is more remarkable because ravens have no storeroom, which was a direct reference to the parable of the rich fool, who had many large barns.

To solidify the point, Jesus concludes: “How much more valuable you are than the birds!” Christians belong to God, because He sacrificed His Son to save us from our sins. The Lord created us for a purpose, and we see that He provides for even irrational beasts and birds – so we need not worry; the Lord will provide.

Third, to win the battle over anxiety, we must understand that worry is pointless (verses 25-26).

And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?

Jesus makes a simple point: worrying doesn’t accomplish anything, and it isn’t useful. No one can extend their life span by worrying. As Jonathan Edwards noted in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Providence can end our lives at any time. Death is ultimately in God’s hands, and He has determined the timing of that moment.  This reality doesn’t let us off the hook for properly stewarding our bodies. However, God has a purpose for us, and He will maintain our lives until we fulfill those purposes.

Jesus’ words make theological and practical sense, as worry and anxiety have long been known to create medical problems for people and damage their quality of life. Worrying is pointless. We can’t extend our lives by even a few minutes from what God has purposed. So, if we can’t even determine or affect our life span, why worry about anything?

Now, Jesus again reminds us of God’s provision (verse 27-28).

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! 

The lilies now show God’s care for our need for clothing. The Lord’s creation once again teaches us vital theological truths, this time about flowers. Flowers don’t sew or make garments. A flower doesn’t wring its leaves over how to become beautiful in the spring. The Lord takes care of the flowers, causes them to grow, and gives them their beauty.

The stunning aspect about this example is God’s care for flowers that last just a day or two. If the Lord cares for these flowers, will He not clothe us? He will! God faithfully cares for what is insignificant, and He will most certainly care for His people.

As this passage proves, the Lord’s provision is clearly seen in nature. What we should consider, which is enjoined twice in these verses, is the nature of the real world. Is the real world that of the ravens and flowers, where God cares for His creation? Or is the real world that of our worries, where we are anxious over whether God will care for us? To permanently defeat our anxiety, we must humble ourselves, so ravens and flowers become our teachers.

Our lives are not just about our provisions, possessions, food, and clothing. The Lord provides for the birds and flowers of His creation, so how much more can we be certain He will provide for people purchased by His Son’s blood? Here is a pragmatic reminder from Christ’s teaching that worry accomplishes nothing.

The Lord has a purpose for His children but worry does nothing to help fulfill it. So, what is that purpose, and what contributes to fulfilling it? How do we store treasure in heaven, so we are rich toward God? And how do these answers eviscerate anxiety? We will find out in the next post.