These words appear in God’s Word dozens of times.  Over and over from the mouths of prophets, angels, apostles, and our Lord himself, comes the invitation to cast off fear, anxiety, and worry in all their pernicious forms.  Acting out of anxieties we often do things that create more problems instead of less.  Worry can make us sick, steal our joy, drive us to self-medicate in all kinds of ways, and turn us into people nobody wants to be around.  “Fear not,” says God to the beloved ones (that’s us). This is not a suggestion; it is both a divine commandment and a gracious invitation. We cannot by force of will keep fear and worry from coming into our minds. We do have a choice, however, in how we handle them when they come.  We can continue to let anxiety rule our lives or we can turn to Jesus.

I vote for turning to Jesus.  Instead of flailing around trying to be in control of things we have little control over, why not  give our torments over and over again in prayer to the One who can really do what needs to be done?  Intentionally and habitually claiming God’s promises in scripture for our problems is more productive than lying awake fretting. Will the worries come back? Probably.  Will the discomfort go away immediately? No.  But all spiritual victories begin from the kneeling position.
Try this approach if how you are dealing with anxiety is not working for you.  Let handing off worries to God become second nature even if you have to give them back a thousand times a day.  The spiritual discipline of putting things where they need to go instead of trying to control the uncontrollable is powerful.  Let me know how it works for you.