Anxiety Because of Financial Insecurities

According to a June 2022 CNBC report, a whopping 77% of Americans are fearful and anxious about their financial situation. There are legitimate reasons to be concerned, in today’s global climate, but the Lord does not want us to be living in a state of fear and anxiety because of financial insecurity.

There is a difference between being aware and being anxious. Wisdom dictates you be aware of the global supply chain issues, diesel shortages, massive herd deaths, fires and storms that are destroying food plants and the ever increasing prices of goods. A person not trusting in God, the creator of the universe may feel intense anxiety over financial insecurities. The same CNBC report indicated 52% have difficulty controlling the financial worries that plague them. I pray you are who knows that the God who cares for the sparrow and the lilies of the field will also care for you.

The more you keep your concerns and worries locked up in your mind, the higher your anxiety will be. It is important to research and get your information from reliable sources, which often excludes main stream media as well as the Doomsday Prepper sites. Balance is the word you should remember as you stay aware of what is going on globally and in your own region.

Signs of excessive anxiety and worry over finances include loss of sleep, difficulty concentrating, and overall fatigue. These signs can be wrongly attributed to a physical illness when in reality it is a mental health issue. Our mental health does impact our physical health and left unresolved, can lead to diseases such as heart disease, ulcers, cancer, and chronic pain.

Three Steps to Take

1. Do a realistic assessment of your current financial situation. Highlight which areas you have control over. For example, you cannot control the rising cost of food, but you do have control over what you purchase with the budget you have.
2. Write a goal for each highlighted area over which you have control. For example, because you have control over which food items you purchase, your goal could be to eliminate buying junk food snacks and put the money toward more nutritious, whole foods instead.
3. Break down your list of goals into action steps. For example, one of my current goals is to combine errands into a single trip per week on Fridays. Another is to take advantage of sales items. My action steps include creating a ‘route map’ for myself, looking at sales fliers during the week and listing out which stores I will visit, as well as planning to complete my errands after lunchtime so that I am not tempted to buy lunch out.

Do Not Worry

The Lord does not want you to worry about your finances but wants you to trust that He will take care of you. Slowly and thoughtfully read this passage. Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV)

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Remember the word ‘balance’. Wisdom says that you trust the Lord to provide for your needs, but at the same time, we have our part to play. My Pastor is fond of reminding us of that truth and recently reminded us of the part Gideon played in battle, and the part Joshua played when taking the land. Our part is to prudently evaluate and take action such as listed in steps 1-3 above. May the Lord bless you and keep you and may His face shine upon you and give you peace in the midst of the financial storm we find ourselves in!