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Christian Anxiety About the Future: A 15‑Minute Practice to Walk with God

 

This letter is for you if you genuinely want to follow Jesus, but you still feel deeply anxious when you think about your future.


1. “I Believe in God but I’m Still Scared” — Does That Mean My Faith Is Fake?

“I already believe in God. I know I’m supposed to cast my anxieties on Him.
But when I think about my job, money, my parents’ health, my children’s future, I still feel so tense that I can’t sleep.
Does this mean my faith is not real enough?”

If that sounds like you, I’d like you to write down one simple sentence in your heart:

Feeling anxious does not automatically mean you don’t believe. Very often, it simply means your soul has reached a place that is far beyond your control, and it is longing for someone stronger to hold your hand.

The Bible never says that a truly spiritual person will never be afraid of the future. In fact, it records many people who feared God, yet still trembled, ran away, or repeatedly cried “Why?” in front of Him.

In this article, I want to do just a few simple things:

  • First, to help you admit: your anxiety is real, not “just overthinking”;

  • Then, to look together at how God speaks in the middle of anxiety;

  • And finally, to offer a very practical 15‑minute way of walking with God when your future feels uncertain.

You don’t have to fix everything at once. We are simply trying to give your soul a little breathing space, starting today.


2. What the Bible Really Says About Anxiety

If you open the Scriptures, you’ll see that many people we consider “spiritual giants” felt enormous pressure when they faced an unknown future:

  • David writes about his heart trembling and his bones shaking in the Psalms.

  • Elijah, even after a great victory, became so afraid that he prayed to die.

  • Paul openly admits that he “despaired of life itself” in Asia.

These stories are not there to make you feel worse. They are there to show you something very important: God did not cancel their faith because they were afraid.

God did not say to David, “How dare you still be afraid? You don’t deserve to be a man after My heart.” He did not say to Elijah, “You are so weak. I won’t use you anymore.”

If even these people—whose stories were written down in Scripture—were allowed to be brutally honest about their fear, worry, and desire to give up, then you are allowed to be honest too.

The deeper root of anxiety is often not “I don’t believe God exists,” but rather:

“I don’t know how He will lead me through what is coming next, and I’m terrified of what I might have to walk through.”


3. From Controlling Outcomes to Walking with God in the Unknown

Many of us subtly believe that the goal of prayer is to get a clear answer from God:

  • Should I take this new job or not?

  • Should I stay in or leave this relationship?

  • Will this surgery go well or not?

When we don’t receive a detailed answer quickly, our anxiety often grows. We may even assume that God is silent, distant, or punishing us.

But the Bible reminds us again and again: God’s greatest promise to us is not a full, detailed life map. His greatest promise is: “I will be with you.”

That phrase can sound spiritual yet abstract when you are actually anxious. You might think: “Yes, I know He is with me. But I still have to face the bills, the test results, my child’s rebellion.”

So we need to let this promise move from something abstract to something we can touch in everyday life. To do that, we need a shift:

From demanding a specific outcome, to practicing how to walk with Him in the process.

Picture Someone who sees the road far more clearly than you do, holding your hand as you walk. You can’t see the turns ahead; He can. You will stumble; He already knows and is ready to lift you up.

Your anxiety may not disappear overnight. But you can slowly begin to experience this:

  • Even when my body is still shaking,

  • Even when tomorrow is still uncertain,

  • God’s love and presence are real in this very moment.


4. A 15‑Minute Christian Practice for Anxiety About the Future


You don’t need a huge spiritual breakthrough all at once. You just need to give this a small space every day—15 minutes.

Here is a simple practice you can start today.

Step 1 — 3 minutes: Write your anxiety out, instead of pushing it down

  • Find a quiet corner where you won’t be interrupted. Take a few deep breaths.

  • Take a notebook (or your notes app) and write down your most honest fears:

    • “I’m afraid that … might happen.”

    • “If … happens, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

  • Don’t explain it away. Don’t judge yourself. Just put your real fears into words.

At the end, you can add a short, honest prayer like:

“Lord, these are my real fears right now. Please help me first to admit them, and then to meet You inside them.”

Step 2 — 7 minutes: Let one short passage slow your heart down

Choose a small passage (for example, Philippians 4:6–7 or Psalm 46:1–3) and read it this way:

  1. Read the whole passage slowly twice. Don’t rush to “finish today’s reading plan.”

  2. After each sentence, pause for a second and ask:

    • What does this sentence say about who God is?

    • If this is really true, what does it mean for my anxiety today?

  3. Write down one simple phrase or sentence from your reflection, even if it’s just a few words, like:

    • “You are my refuge.”

    • “You know my fear.”

    • “You will not leave me.”

This is not about producing a beautiful devotional note. It’s about gently turning your eyes from just staring at the problem to seeing who God is in the middle of it.

Step 3 — 5 minutes: Hand tomorrow to God, but live just today

In the last few minutes, pray like this:

  • Go through the fears you just wrote down, one by one, and speak them to God.

  • Then say something like:

“Lord, I don’t know what will happen tomorrow.
But today, in these areas,
please help me take just one small step with You.”

Make it concrete:

  • “Today, I just need to finish this one email.”

  • “Today, I just need to call the hospital and confirm the appointment.”

  • “Today, I just need to get some real rest tonight.”

We are not pretending the problems don’t exist. We are learning to walk more slowly but more steadily with Him.


5. You’re Not a Failed Christian — You’re Someone Who Needs Companionship


If you often accuse yourself because of your anxiety—

  • “My faith must be terrible.”

  • “I’m not worthy to be called a Christian.”

  • “God must be tired of me by now.”

—please remember this:

God is not standing at the finish line with a score sheet in His hand.
He is more like a guide who has walked this road far longer than you,
who knows every bend that will scare you, and knows how to lead you through it.

You are allowed to fall, to cry, to repeat the same prayer—“Lord, I am so afraid”—again and again. None of this makes Him step away from you. Very often, it is in our weakest moments that He comes closest.

Your anxiety will probably not vanish after one article or one prayer. But starting today, you can believe this:

You do not have to become the “ideal Christian version” of yourself before you are worthy of God’s presence.
He sees you trembling as you are now—and He is willing to walk with you.


6. A Gentle Invitation to Start Today


If this 15‑minute practice is helpful to you, consider making a small commitment to yourself:

  • For the next week, try it once a day;

  • Each time, write down your anxiety, one phrase from the Scripture, and one short prayer.

You can record this in any way you like: a paper journal, a notes app, or a tool you already use. The tool itself is not the main point. The main point is that your journey with God is being noticed, remembered, and treasured.

I’m building ScriptureSide.app because I wanted a small, dedicated space for Bible reading and reflection—a place to connect Scripture, prayer, and everyday life, so that spiritual growth doesn’t stay only in our heads but becomes something we can actually see over time.

If you’re looking for a tool like that, feel free to take a look at ScriptureSide.app when it makes sense for you.
But even before you choose any tool, my prayer is that you would not miss those 15 quiet minutes with God today. That is what He cares about most.

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