Worry
- May 29
- 5 min read
“When a man doesn’t have true faith in God, that there shall not an hair of [his] head perish (Lk. 21:18) without the will of God, then anxiety and worry appear in his heart, and this is the beginning of depression. He starts to be afraid of everything and thinks: “What will happen to me tomorrow? What if I get sick? How can I live on my pension? What if I get killed?...What if I lose my job and starve to death?...” Due to fear and anxiety, people are afraid of trusting each other, starting families, having babies. For example, a believer knows very well that if he wanted to have many children, the Lord would never leave them naked and hungry. If you help others, you’ll never be left without a piece of bread yourself—this is a law of the spiritual life.” (Archpriest Pavel Gumerov)
“It is good to hold fast to the principal commandment, and not to be anxious about particular things or to pray for them specifically, but to seek only the kingdom and the word of God (cf. Matt. 6: 25-33). If, however, we are still anxious about our particular needs, we should also pray for each of them. He who does or plans anything without prayer will not succeed in the end. And this is what the Lord meant when He said; ‘Without Me you can do nothing‘ (John 15:5).” (St. Mark the Ascetic)
“ ‘Therefore, be humbled under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due season, casting all your worry upon him, because your affairs are of concern to him, (1 Peter 5:6-7). According to St. Peter, we are to cast all our worry and burdens upon the Lord. We are able to present to God all our anxieties, doubts, fears and lamentations because God is concerned about us and our lives. God is not made tired by our appeals and tears, rather is moved by His love to care for us. Sometimes we may wonder if God tires of our lamentations, but He not only embraces them Himself, but God enables us to do so as well. God is not offended by our complaints. God understands our lamentations.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh)
“Since the God-Man has entered fully into death and conquered it, making even the grave an entrance into eternal life, reality is radically different from what we typically assume. If death is not a complete loss from which we need constant distraction to avoid being overcome by despair, then the basis for anxiety…driven by fear of the grave has been destroyed. Life is no longer a zero-sum struggle…for power and status. It is no longer an endless competition between people trying to prove that they are more virtuous than others. By leading us back to Paradise through His resurrection, the Savior has destroyed the foundations of the enmity and resentment that first appeared when Cain murdered his brother Abel. The brilliant light of the empty tomb reveals the blindness of those who insist on wandering in such darkness.” (Fr. Philip LeMasters)
“This Divine “drive” is also the proper direction for our own lives. Our proper attention is towards the small, the immediate, the particular, and the present. Saying this creates an anxiety for many, a fear that not paying attention to the greater and the “important” will somehow make things worse. We can be sure that our attention does not make things better in the aggregate, while, most assuredly ignoring the particular things at hand is a true failure. Our spiritual life depends on the concrete and the particular – it is there that the heart is engaged and encounters God. In the “greater” matters, our sentiments are engaged rather than our hearts. You cannot love “world peace,” or “social justice.” These are vagaries that allow us to ignore peace with those around us and justice to those at hand. God does not want “noble” souls – He wants real souls, doing real things, loving real people, dying real deaths. Follow the path of Christ...” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“Jesus commands us not to worry. But how can we avoid it? Only faith can free us from the anxiety caused by greed and covetousness. Working and planning responsibly is good; dwelling on all the ways our planning could go wrong is bad. Worry is pointless because it can’t fill any of our needs; worry is foolish because the Creator of the universe loves us and knows what we need. He promises to meet all our real needs but not necessarily all our desires.” (Life Application Study Bible, Luke 12:22-34)
“The kingdom of God is the central theme of Jesus' teaching, and His righteousness is the subject of the Sermon on the Mount. Calling us to be free from anxiety about earthly things, Jesus directs us to look to heaven, secure in the faith that God will provide needed earthly blessings.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Matthew 6:33)
"The commandment not to worry is contrary to reason. It is part of the"foolishness of God” which is"wiser than the wisdom of men,” (cf 1 Corinthians 1:25). Actually, I’ve put it badly. The commandment is not contrary to reason. It is above reason. It transcends it. It makes sense only if the horizons of reason are extended farther out than the mind, unaided by grace"can see it. In other words, the commandment"do not worry” can be kept only by people of faith and hope. Only a trusting heart can hear the Lord’s words and keep them with that peace of mind..." (Hieromonk Maximos)
"Jesus is warning against anxiety, not against thoughtful planning. Our physical well-being is directly dependent on God, and only indirectly on food, drink, and clothing. Anxiety over earthly things demonstrates a lack of faith in God's care.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Matthew 6:25-27)
"If we put ourselves and our needs last, and allow God and His grace to work through us and overcome us, wonderful things will happen! We begin to be less worried about things, because what most people worry about is what is going to happen to them, to their loved ones, to their things, etc. if we focus on the other and his/her needs blessings will flow, and God will sustain us in the work we are doing in His name.” (Marianne C. Sailus)
“Perhaps there is no more unsettling feeling in the world than anxiety. It can grip you so fiercely that you believe you will come apart at the seams.” (David Hawkins)
“Too often our minds are filled with worries or unnecessary concerns. Our hearts yearn to experience God, we long for peace and deep joy each day, but instead we feel lost. A spiritual attitude changes this, it softens our souls.” (Robert Wicks)
“Whatever is worth worrying about is certainly worth praying about…Concern draws us to God. Worry pulls us from Him.” (John Mason, Joanna Weaver)
"A certain peace can come about when we realize that God is going to provide for us. We can release anxieties from our hearts that might be injurious to our bodies, minds, and souls. After all, anxiety is never a good thing. We can only cause problems." (Marianne C. Sailus)
“The passions that create a state of unrest in our hearts cause us to forget the real purpose of our lives, which is union with God...Letting ourselves become troubled or full of anxiety does nothing to further our journey into the heart…Entrust those things to God which are humanly difficult, so as to avoid anxiety. For when Christ sees that you do not have any human help, then He will intercede by offering help. With humility and faith all problems are resolved." (Abbot Tryphon, St. Arsenios the Cappadocian)
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