Episode Transcript  

One

The Command – Do Not Worry

Three times in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus does not merely suggest that we stop worrying. He commands us, “Do not be anxious.” Why does Jesus repeat this command? Because repeated acts of worry become a habit, and that habit destroys our trust in God, our Father.

But we must define our terms carefully. Fear is a feeling, an automatic emotional response to a real and present danger. It prompts us to act: to brake for a swerving car or step back from the edge of a cliff. Fear is an alarm telling us to take action to be safe. We can experience that same alarm when we imagine something bad happening in the future and react as though it were happening now. That initial feeling is not a choice. The feeling is not a sin. The question is what we choose to do next.

Worry or anxiety begins when we choose to remain in fear instead of doing what is within our control and trusting God with what is beyond our control. That choice is a sin because it refuses both prudent action and trust in God. Each time we make that choice, we strengthen the bad habit of anxiety. That bad habit is a vice.

Two

Is the Danger Real?

When we feel fear or worry or anxiety, stop and ask, “What exactly am I afraid of?” Then ask, “Is this danger real and present, or is it only a possible future danger?” If a car swerves into your lane, the danger is real and present. Brake immediately. But suppose your boss sends a message, “Can we talk tomorrow?” You immediately think, “I’m going to be fired. We will lose the house. Everything will fall apart.” None of that is happening now. Your brain has taken one unanswered message and created an entire catastrophe.

Thinking correctly means separating what is actually happening from what you fear might happen. What is happening? Your boss wants to speak with you tomorrow. What are you imagining? That you will be fired and your life will be ruined. Do not treat a possibility as though it were already a reality.

Ask three questions: What is actually happening? What am I imagining? Is there anything reasonable I should do now?

Truth brings the alarm back down to its proper size.

Three

Do What You Can

Anxiety often grows because we avoid something we need to do. We are afraid to open the bill, schedule the doctor’s appointment, answer the email, begin the difficult project, or have the necessary conversation. Avoidance gives us temporary relief, but it makes the anxiety worse. Suppose you are worried about your finances, but you keep avoiding your bank statement. The solution is not to sit and worry. Open the statement. Look at the numbers. Make a budget. Ask for help if you need it.

If you are worried about your health, make the appointment. If you have offended someone, apologize. If you have a difficult project, identify the next step and begin. If there is something reasonable and responsible you can do, then do it. Do not remain in fear while avoiding the action that fear is telling you to take.

Prudence asks, “What should I do?” Anxiety just chooses to worry.

Four

Entrust the Rest to God

After we have done what we reasonably can, we reach the boundary of our control. You can prepare for the meeting, but you cannot control what your boss will say. You can care for your health, but you cannot guarantee that you will never become sick. You can guide your children, but you cannot control every choice they make. You can work hard, but you cannot control whether everyone approves of you or whether everything succeeds. At that boundary, we must stop trying to control the future and trust God to take care of it.

This does not mean pretending that nothing painful will ever happen. It means believing that whatever happens, God will not abandon us. He will give us the grace we need, and He will work all things for our ultimate good. Maybe you have prayed, gone to Mass, confessed your sins, and still you are plagued with anxiety. Why did prayer not work? Because anxiety and worry are bad habits. Bad habits are not overcome by grace alone.

Grace enables us to practice the two actions that overcome anxiety: doing what we reasonably can and trusting God with everything beyond our control. We must practice those actions while we still feel afraid. We cannot wait for the feeling to disappear before we act and trust. As we repeatedly choose the right response, the habit of anxiety weakens, the virtue of trust grows stronger, and the feeling of fear begins to fade.

The saints did not develop trust because they never felt fear. They developed trust by choosing, again and again, to act when action was possible and trust God with everything else. Every responsible action combined with trust in God weakens the habit of anxiety.

Five

Act or Entrust

Whenever anxiety rises, remember two words: act and trust. First, ask, “Is there something reasonable and responsible I can do?” If there is, do it, or decide exactly when you will do it. Do not procrastinate. Do not avoid it. Take the next concrete step. Then ask, “What remains beyond my control?”

Give that to God, “Father, I have done what I reasonably can. What I cannot predict, change, or control, I entrust to You. You will not abandon me. Give me the grace to live peacefully in Your care.”

Then return to the duty of the present moment. The bottom line is simple: “Do what you reasonably can and entrust the rest to God.” “All things work together for good for those who love God” (Romans 8:28).

Today, when I begin to worry, I will ask: What exactly am I afraid of? What can I reasonably do about it? What must I entrust to God? Then, I will act and trust, and refuse to remain in worry.

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