Anxiety is Normal but Not Natural

Recognizing anxiety for what it is, what Scripture has to say about it, and how to walk with God through it.

First of all, hi friends. I’ve been kind of living under a rock for the majority of 2025, just starting to come out again and face the sun the last month or two.

I’ve been asked multiple times recently if I’ve been writing lately, and the answer is not really, but kind of. I have some things in the works that I can’t wait to share with you soon (you’ll be the first to know any big updates), but until then, I want to be faithful to share the words God imprints on my soul when they come to me.

I do hope to stay consistent with a monthly Truth Balm for the remainder of this year, so I hope you’ll find some encouragement or challenging thoughts here!

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I drove home the other day in silence.

Nothing sounded intriguing to listen to—no music could match my mood, no podcast could hold my attention, the radio is mostly annoying ads, and I know I’ll miss too much if I attempt an audiobook.

It made me realize how little we just sit in silence, alone with our thoughts. That can be a scary place. The last few weeks, my mind has been a jumble of worries, weighty feelings, and nothing short of overwhelm. Silence seemed like the last thing I needed.

But as I sat there, driving home in deep, open thought, I realized the irony.

We don’t give ourselves enough time to allow our minds to wander, worried they might wander too far.

We distract ourselves, over-consume information, adding more thoughts to our minds that we weren’t designed to carry.

All the over-consumption leads to overthinking, even though we over-consume intentionally at times, so we don’t overthink.

Enter: Anxiety

I’m no stranger to anxiety, but it’s not frequently active in my life. A few weeks ago, I noticed that for multiple days, I was waking up with a tightened chest, what felt like my heart racing, and a struggle to catch my breath. I knew the symptoms and started paying attention. After a week of nearly every day waking with anxiety, I decided it was time to take action.

Prayer. (More) Magnesium. Slower exercises. Baths. No caffeine (I’m mostly decaf anyway, but even decaf coffee has a bit in there). Evening walks. Sitting outside for some Vitamin D. More prayer. Talking with friends about where I was at (this was the hardest part for me—to admit my weakness).

I asked God what I was holding on to—was I not surrendering something to Him? Was I grasping for control where it’s not mine to own?

A new writer friend I met online recently was trying to convince me how natural anxiety is, that 20% of babies are born with it, and we shouldn’t avoid it; “we should embrace anxiety”. That didn’t sit right with me (the embracing part).

After two weeks, I began to consider what the Bible has to say (yes, admittedly, I did not turn to Scripture for two weeks about this matter).

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

The word for “anxious” here is μεριμνάω (merimnaō) (G3309)¹. It literally means, “to be pulled apart or divided,” “to divide the mind,” or to worry, to be pulled in different directions.

When we look at history and ourselves, we see how easy anxiety is to come by. We are currently living in one of the most anxious generations to date. I understand why people say “anxiety is natural,” but this poses a theological issue when we consider imago dei (being made in the image of God).

Anxiety is normal, but it is certainly not natural.

It’s normal for humans to feel the division of their mind, especially today in this information, over-consumption era. It’s normal for us to feel worried or concerned, especially about things out of our control. That’s the sinful nature within us, the bent of this sinful world.

It may feel natural in a fallen world, but it is not part of God's original design for humanity.

To say it’s natural is to say it’s how we were created, that it’s innately a part of who we are, and that’s antithetical to the truth of Scripture. In the same way, sin is normal because of the world we live in and how our nature falls prey to those temptations, but it’s not natural—we were not designed to thrive in sin or survive this sinful world. This place is not our home.

Before I carry on here, I find it important to differentiate between the three forms of “anxiety” or fear we see in Scripture, for clarity. Is fear the same as anxiety?

Spirit of Fear

2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

The word here for “spirit of fear” is not the same as merimnaō. It is δειλία (deilia) (G1167)². This implies a spiritual posture of doubt, cowardice, or fear; a spirit that is unwilling to trust or obey God. This is always a negative in Scripture, and not the same as anxiety.

Fear

1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”

The word here for “fear” is φόβος (phobos) (G5401)³, meaning fear, dread, or terror. It’s an immediate reaction to something of concern as opposed to anxiety, which is more ongoing, deep distress.

Multiple myths need to be debunked here:

Anxiety is natural.

Anxiety is a sin, or symptoms of a sinful life.

Anxiety should be ignored and overcome.

Anxiety can only be worked out through prayer.

Anxiety is a sin.

When discussed in the Bible, we see many people of God experiencing anxiety through different life circumstances like David, Paul, and even (most importantly), Jesus in the garden before facing the cross.

• While the word for “agony” in Luke 22:44 is not the same as “anxiety” in the Greek, the meanings are closely related. ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ (en agōnia) means an intense struggle, deep distress, inner turmoil.

• While Jesus didn’t experience anxiety from doubt or lack of trust as we might, He experienced emotional anguish—deep, crushing sorrow. That shows He understands our emotional distress, even if His was rooted in obedience rather than fear of the unknown.

That kind of proves my point in and of itself, since we know Jesus was perfectly God and could not have sinned. Ergo, anxiety is not a sin, just as no emotions are sinful.

God constantly met people amid their anxiety, and He’s still in the business of doing that today. It doesn’t divide you and God; it just divides your mind, heart, and spirit, and God wants to piece it back together for you.

Anxiety should be ignored or overcome.

This is the most common stance in the Christian worldview, or at least it has been for the last 20-30 years, as more and more people discuss anxiety. The church likes to give a simple answer for suffering, that it must be because you’re sinning, and it’s something to just move past in life.

Like inflammation in our body, anxiety is a warning sign.

If I’m honest with myself, I know things have been askew in my mind, heart, and soul the last month or so (or maybe longer), and the anxiety is my body’s physiological response to my divided being.

Thankfully, it sounded the alarm for me to stop ignoring what’s going on within me and give myself space to process, feel, heal, and lean into God.

Anxiety is a symptom of our fallen world, and a very real reality for many people today. Thankfully, God is not an anxious being. And in Scripture, we find some of the paths to working through anxiety with God.

Ignoring any mental health or deep feelings is detrimental to our holistic wellbeing. Just as Scripture teaches that our body and soul are connected (like David hints at in Psalm 32:3-4), psychology affirms that our bodies bear the weight of unresolved emotional strain. The body keeps the score, the soul bears the weight, and the mind continuously divides if we don’t address the concerns that anxiety is pointing out.

Anxiety can only be worked out through prayer.

There are countless testimonies of people being freed from anxiety by the grace of God through prayer, petition, and miracles. That’s just not everyone’s story, and that doesn’t mean God loves those who still face the struggle any less.

It’s also important to note that there’s a difference between infrequent anxiety, like what I experience, and general anxiety disorder, which is a constant battle for many people.

If you need medicine to help keep your mind from being divided, take medicine at your doctor’s expert suggestion. God gave us minds for modern medicine for a reason.

But don’t neglect prayer just because you have medicine.

I’m not saying prayer isn’t enough, but I’m not saying medicine is enough either. Everyone is so uniquely different in their struggles with anxiety that it’s not something we can generalize.

God is for us, with us, pro-healing, and pro-union with Him.

What’s Scripture’s Solution?

Therein lies the problem with this discussion—solution implies a once and for all fix. We approach things like anxiety or suffering with a spirit of “fixer upper” and “DIY” instead of surrender, inviting God into the mess, and learning to walk through and work with God daily, even if the pain never goes away.

Peace, trust, and gratitude are some of the constant reminders in God’s Word that help combat and understand our anxieties.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

Paul didn’t say that God’s peace would take away all anxieties or pain. He said it will “guard your hearts and minds”.

When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. Psalm 56:3

David didn’t say that trusting God will mean he has a super-human ability to never fear again, but that he knows where to turn when fear arises.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you. 1 Peter 5:6-7

Peter didn’t say that casting your anxieties on God will relieve all tension on your shoulders, but that God cares about you and desires to shoulder the burden with you and carry the weight you can’t on your own.

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My temptation (and actions) to work through my recent anxiety is to disassociate (which is so unlike me). I noticed myself falling into “freeze” mode and choosing activities that turned me away from my internal thoughts or feelings, so I could just enjoy each day and ultimately pretend everything was okay.

Simultaneously, I was praying fervently, asking God to reveal what was going on within me, where I was not trusting Him, and why I was experiencing such division of my soul.

Hindsight is 20-20, I guess—I was actively choosing to keep a divided mind, ignoring the pain within me and prioritizing tasks that distract me from my inner self.

Once I admitted to myself that’s what was happening, life didn’t go back to normal. I didn’t start feeling better immediately. I didn’t have some magical, come-to-Jesus moment where the gates of heaven opened and I heard the angels singing as they lifted my anxiety away with their melodies.

But I did experience God. I remembered His presence that is with me, goes before me, and resides within me.

Anxiety might ebb and flow as a warning light to pay attention, tune in, and give your inner life space—freedom to feel and to receive peace.

God’s peace doesn’t remove the problem—it guards your heart while you walk through it.

When we face anxiety, there is a special invitation that takes an act of faith to release burdens, admit where we’re dividing ourselves, and trust that God’s love is big enough to carry the load with us.

This isn’t my testimony that I’ll never experience anxiety again. I will, AND God is with me through it, showing me where I’m holding onto things I need to release and inviting me to rest in His peace as I process through it.

Don’t underestimate the power of talking to God (all the hard things you don’t want to admit), reading Scripture (allowing yourself space for God to talk back), and confiding in a good friend.

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Maybe it’s time to shut off, not our minds, the very thing God gave us to live and reason with the world, but the noise, the chaos, the half-truths, the lies, the very things telling us we should hide.

Maybe it’s time to shut down, not our hearts, the very thing God resides within, but the phones, the computers, the television, the digital space that demands our attention at every turn but gives nothing but empty meaning in return.

Maybe it’s time to turn around to see the very thing God created for us to delight in—the ability to love, feel, help, hope, create, and endure—that ended up being drowned out by the noise we think quiets our hearts but is actually keeping us captive.

God’s not waiting for our minds to shut off. God’s not waiting for the noise to quiet within us. God’s not expecting us to shut off our anxieties.

God’s simply waiting for us to invite Him into the chaos within so His peace can overwhelm our souls and guard our hearts against the constant anxieties of our divided mind.

Praying peace over you today.

1. The Greek word for anxiety, merimnaō, comes from a root that means ‘to be divided or pulled apart.’ (See BibleHub, Strong’s G3309).

2. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1167/kjv/tr/0-1/

3. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5401/kjv/tr/0-1/