Anxious About Money?
Tags: Bible, Money, Christianity, Money Management, Christian

What is financial anxiety?

Anxiety is defined as apprehensive uneasiness or nervousness usually over an impending or anticipated ill. Most of us are familiar with that term and typically understand what it means. We experience anxiety when we have relational strains, health concerns, career struggles, and more. Anything we go through on earth has the potential to cause anxiety to rise within our hearts and minds.

Financial anxiety is when we take that definition and apply it to our financial situation. We might say that financial anxiety is when we are uneasy, nervous, fearful, or distressed about our finances. Whether it’s too many medical bills that we just can’t pay, a car that just keeps having issues, or truly not knowing where our next meal will come from, financial worries can literally steal the very life from us.

Finding ourselves with this kind of anxiety produces a mental frame of mind that isn’t always rational. There are several ways we attempt to navigate the uncertain financial roads, including avoiding the situation, medicating ourselves with substances, or sinking into hopelessness. But there is another way.

We’re taught by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4 that we can take each and every concern to our Heavenly Father. And when we do, He’ll exchange our anxiety for peace. This isn’t easy, and often takes a significant amount of effort to pray and trust instead of entertaining the toxic what-ifs we often think. But, when those anxious and concerning financial worries come to us, we just take them to Him again.

God doesn’t want us to live in a place of financial restlessness. Rest assured, hope is coming.

Identifying the Source of Our Financial Anxiety

Having anxiety due to financial struggles can be paralyzing. We want to make strides to get ahead but sometimes, we get right back into the situation we’ve been in before: we earn, we pay bills, something unexpected comes up, we panic. And we repeat this cycle.

When we go to God with our concerns, fears, and worries, He provides unexplainable peace that settles us in the midst of our financial storms. But we have a part to play. We must figure out what we’re doing financially that leads us to the same place.

Some questions that we can ask ourselves to help us figure out the source of our financial anxiety are:

Did some event occur unexpectedly?

Are my spending habits out of control?

Am I not earning enough to provide?

Have I confused my needs and wants?

Let’s break down these questions more so that there’s clarity about our financial anxiety.

Unexpected Events: Sometimes in life we’re hit by events that come from out of nowhere. A car repair, a medical procedure, a lost income. We can’t stop these events from happening, but we can be prepared for the unexpected. It’s not our fault when these happen. If you’re lacking an emergency fund, begin building one for the future.

Spending Habits: For the most part, the way we spend our money is something we have control over. We decide what to buy, when to buy it, and where to buy it. This is hard because often we struggle with self-control, which leads us to make poor spending choices. If you’re overspending, consider cutting things out.

Underearning: Most of the time our financial struggles are due to our spending habits, but occasionally, it can be due to a lack of funds. We have a job, we’re working hard, we don’t spend unnecessarily, but still have financial stress. If you need to earn more, evaluate your work situation to see if there’s a better option.

Wants/Needs: This is often the part that gets people into financial stress — confusing our needs and wants. We need food, clothing, shelter, and some other basic needs. We want fancy clothing, expensive vacations, and coffee from a barista. If you’ve confused your wants and needs, it’s time to recategorize them.

We build up treasure on earth by spending unnecessarily, and that causes strain on our relationship with God. He should be first in our lives, not money or possessions. Once you have identified the source of what’s causing your financial anxiety, begin the process of changing your situation. And understand that it will take time and not occur immediately.

It won’t take long to get back on track by beginning this process of identifying what’s caused the financial strain in your life.

Make a Plan

Hopefully, you’ve spent some time labeling the causes of why you’re in a financial predicament. Our reasons will all be different. Some of us are doing everything we know to cut spending, but may have made a poor purchase years ago that’s proving to be a challenge to repair. Others of us have a genuine struggle with spending and have created an addiction that’s hard to satisfy. Still some of us have realized that the work we’ve been doing, even though it’s gratifying, hasn’t truly provided for our needs or the needs of our family. With those newfound realizations in our back pocket, it’s time to make a plan.

Build Your Budget: Some people think of budgets as being restrictive, but in reality, budgets are meant to free you to spend without worry. So, go through your expenses from the past months and see what needs to be in the budget and what doesn’t.

Defeat Your Debt: There’s possibly nothing else that can strangle us like financial debt. We work to make payments, continue that pattern, and never really get to a place where we can be financially free. If you have small hills of debt or the equivalent of a Mt. Everest, start taking steps on ridding this from your financial portfolio. The freedom you’ll experience owing nothing but instead owning what you have is incalculable.

Start Your Savings: This aspect of our finances could not be more important! There will be unexpected things that come up that we’re not financially prepared for. This is why we have emergency savings — to be ready for the unexpected. Start saving today by adjusting your spending and also by seeing what you have that can be sold. You could easily build up your savings by selling some items online. Having a savings account, or emergency fund, is for things that are deemed emergencies, not shopping, eating out, or traveling.

These three things are all great steps to take in planning your finances, but you may still feel confused or overwhelmed. That’s where people come in! Look for people around you whom you know are financially free and ask their advice. Spend time learning from them so that you can gain their wisdom and insight. It will take time to see your plan come to fruition, but it will be worth it.

Fix Your Mindset

The way we view money and possessions is just as important as how we actually spend and use them. If we dread this aspect of our lives, we’ll be less likely to make changes and have a better outlook on money. However, if we see it as an opportunity to not only have a stronger financial future but also to look at it with fresh vision, the sky is truly the limit on how God wants to use us.

The passage at the end of Matthew 6:19–34 is possibly the most popular in the New Testament when it comes to money and worry. Clearly, this has been a struggle since Jesus walked the earth, because He addressed it back then. There’s so much insight and wisdom in these sixteen verses, but let’s break down the key points so that we can fix our mindsets when it comes to financial anxiety.

Earth Isn’t Home: There’s a reason Jesus tells us not to “store up treasures on earth.” It’s because earth, though we currently reside here, isn’t our final destination. For the follower of Jesus, the amount of time we’ll spend on earth holds no comparison to our eternity in heaven. That’s why we’re encouraged to look at the big picture in loving God, others, and sharing Jesus because eternity is longer than our finite minds can grasp.

Serve God: Money and possessions are flashy and fun. No wonder we desire them! The problem with money is that we often get confused by it. We end up loving it when we should love God. Money and possessions can be enjoyed, but the moment they take up residence in our hearts, we’ve replaced God. We can’t serve both. Let’s love God wholeheartedly and enjoy the blessings He’s given us, not the other way around.

Push Worry Aside: Jesus taught that worry is futile. It produces no fruit. There’s absolutely nothing that comes from it. Worrying would make sense if it was productive. But it isn’t. Worrying about a situation doesn’t prevent it from happening. The moment we sense ourselves worrying about money, let’s recognize it and go directly to God with that concern.

Think Of The Birds: Jesus told us that the birds in the air and the flowers in the field are provided for. And they’re just birds and flowers! How much more does He care for us? An immense amount! He cares for us more than He cares for other created things. He didn’t die on the cross for them — He died for us! So, when you see a bird, remember how much God loves you.

There is nothing God isn’t capable of doing. He’s mighty, loving, and faithful to His promises. Let’s renew our mindset and trust Him at all times.

The Remedy for Financial Anxiety

When we’re struck by anxious thoughts about our financial provision, it’d be great if we could just wish our predicament away by thinking happy thoughts. Unfortunately, it will take more than that to help us climb out of such mental distress.

In the latter part of Acts, 2, Paul writes about the early church community. These new believers in Jesus didn’t grasp tightly to their possessions or money. They allowed whatever they had to lay loosely on their outstretched hands. It was all God’s provision in their lives. They didn’t trust in what He gave them; they simply and powerfully trusted in Him as their sole provider.

So, what can we gain from this passage and others throughout the Bible about finding a remedy for financial anxiety? While there are plenty of ideas, here are two that will truly revolutionize the way we see our financial outlook.

Gratitude: You’ve probably heard the phrase “thankful people are happy people.” There’s so much truth in that. Think about it. Have you ever met a person filled with gratitude who is unhappy? When we set our minds on being thankful for what we have, we’re less likely to worry, fret, or whine over what we don’t have. Every time you feel anxiety approaching, write down or speak aloud what you’re thankful for. As you do this, you’ll come to the realization that what God has provided for you is truly a gift.

Generosity: When we have a generous mindset, we’re choosing to be free in our giving. Much like the early church believers, we’re open handed with what we have, hoping that it can bless another. The moment we begin to clench our fists around money or possessions, we’ve lost sight of a generous lifestyle. Exhibiting generosity doesn’t mean that we have an abundance of possessions or even money. We don’t wait to win the lottery, receive an inheritance, or land a six-figure salaried career. Living with a mindset of generosity means that what we have, we share. Look for ways to be generous with what you have — big or little. What you consider unwanted may be an answered prayer to someone else.

Incorporating gratitude and generosity in our lives will shift our mindset from “I’ll never have enough and can’t help anyone” to “I’m thankful for what I have, so I will bless others.” As we make this mental shift, we’ll begin to live our lives with God’s overwhelmingly abundant peace, which will in turn erase any financial anxiety.