The way you fight this “good fight” is by meditating on God’s assurances of future grace and by asking for the help of his Spirit.…The battle to be freed from sin is “by the Spirit” (Romans 15:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2) and by “the truth” (John 17:17, 19): the work of the Spirit and the word of truth—especially the foundational truth of the gospel that guarantees all the promises of God.

The Associates of Anxiety

I have learned much about the fight against anxiety. I have learned, for instance, that anxiety is a condition of the heart that gives rise to many other sinful states of mind. Think for a moment how many different sinful actions and attitudes come from anxiety. Anxiety about finances can give rise to coveting, greed, hoarding, and stealing. Anxiety about succeeding at some task can make you irritable, abrupt, and surly. Anxiety about relationships can make you withdrawn, indifferent, and uncaring about other people. Anxiety about how someone will respond to you can make you cover over the truth and lie about things. So if anxiety could be conquered, a mortal blow would be struck to many other sins.

The Root of Anxiety

I have also learned something about the root of anxiety and the ax that can sever it. One of the most important texts has been the one I underlined when I was fifteen—the whole section of Matthew 6:25–34. Four times in this passage Jesus says that his disciples should not be anxious:

Do not be anxious about your life.
—Matthew 6:25

Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
—Matthew 6:27

Do not be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?”
—Matthew 6:31

Do not be anxious about tomorrow.
—Matthew 6:34

Anxiety is clearly the theme of this text. It explicitly identifies the root of anxiety: “But 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?” (Matt. 6:30). In other words, Jesus says that the root of anxiety is inadequate faith in our Father’s future grace. As unbelief gets the upper hand in our hearts, one of the effects is anxiety. The root cause of anxiety is a failure to trust all that God has promised to be for us in Jesus.

I can think of two kinds of disturbed responses to this truth. Let me tell you what they are and then give a biblical response to each of them before we look more closely at the battle against the unbelief of anxiety.

Is This Good News?

One response goes something like this: “This is not good news! In fact, it is very discouraging to learn that what I thought was a mere struggle with an anxious disposition is rather a far deeper struggle with whether I trust God.” My response to this is to agree but then to disagree. Suppose you had been having pain in your stomach and had been struggling with medicines and diets of all kinds to no avail. And then suppose that your doctor tells you, after a routine visit, that you have cancer in your small intestine. Would that be good news? You would say no, emphatically! And I would agree.

But let me ask the question another way: Suppose the doctor discovered the cancer while it is still treatable, and that indeed it can be very successfully treated? Would you be glad? You would say yes, you would be very glad that the doctor found the real problem. Again, I would agree. So finding out that you have cancer is not good news. It’s bad news. But, in another sense, it is good to find out because knowing what is really wrong is good, especially when the problem can be treated successfully.

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