7 Powerful Ways to Leave Your Anxiety at the Cross This Easter

Jesus’ death on the cross, followed by His resurrection, offered us a new life in Him—one that is free of worry and anxiety. Scripture tells us, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV). That means the old way of living—being anxious or fearful about your life—is your former mode of operation. You are now equipped to live as Jesus did, with complete trust in your heavenly Father to come through for you.

Jesus told His followers not to be anxious about what they’d eat or drink or wear because their heavenly Father feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field, and we mean so much more to Him than animal or plant life (Matthew 6:25-30). Start your day by thanking God for your new life in Christ, which was purchased for you on the cross, and ask for His help in trusting your heavenly Father for all you need instead of succumbing to fear, worry, or anxiety.

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Scripture tells us God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). And in Psalm 100, we are commanded to come into His presence with joyful singing (verse 2) and enter His gates with thanksgiving and praise (verse 4). Those verses tell us that our appropriate response in the presence of God is praise and worship. And where there is praise and worship, there is no room for anxiety.

But what if you don’t feel His presence? That’s often when we become anxious—we’ve forgotten that God is with us. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God. So, by faith (not your feelings), acknowledge His presence is always with you (Psalm 139:7-12) and start praising Him. By praising and worshiping Him, you will gain a greater awareness of His presence and ability to help you through all things. Praise Him for Who He is, and thank Him for all He has done. A grateful heart is not an anxious heart. And a heart full of worship has no space for worry, anxiety, or fear.

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After Philippians 4:6-7 tells us to pray instead of panic, verse 8 tells us what to fix our minds on—whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. In other words, focus on Christ, your risen Savior, and what He has accomplished on the cross for you, and not your imagination about the future or your desire to control your circumstances. As you focus your mind on Jesus, your anxiety dissolves at the foot of the cross, where you can align your thoughts on your new life of peace and assurance in Him.

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If Jesus could, on the cross, care for your eternal life, how much more can He care for your everyday life and your emotional life as well? Say this simple prayer each time anxiety seeks to overtake you:

“Jesus, thank You for taking care of every detail of my eternal life and everyday life when You died for me on the cross and rose again. Bury my anxiety with Your death, and raise my thoughts to the hope and promises and new life I have in You.” 

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Writing out your thoughts and requests of God is a practical way of getting your worries out of your heart and mind where they’re causing you anxiety and getting them onto paper. It’s a tangible form of releasing your concerns—and stresses—to God and practicing your faith in His promise that as you pray (or write out your prayers to Him), He will replace your panic with His peace (Philippians 4:6-7).

Of course, God already knows what you’re anxious about. But by telling Him, you are reminding yourself—and Him—that He is the One you are resting in when worries start to overtake you. Like a child who trusts a loving parent with his childlike concerns, you show God you trust Him to care for you when you put your requests at His feet. Remember, He died on that splintery cross to free you not only of your bondage to sin but to every anxious thought that would otherwise keep you from experiencing His perfect peace.

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In Isaiah 53, we are told that Jesus has “borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (verse 4 ESV). He was also “pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds, we are healed” (verse 5). It’s interesting to note that although this was a prophecy of Isaiah’s about the coming Messiah, it’s written in the past tense as if Jesus had already accomplished it. That’s because God had planned for Jesus to heal you of your sinful condition through Christ’s death and resurrection before you were even born (Ephesians 2:10). That also means if you are trusting in Jesus for your salvation, God sees your healing as already done by His Son on your behalf.

Can you begin to see yourself as healed in every way, just as God? Healed of your doubts, insecurities, and every anxious thought apart from the purity and perfection of Jesus Christ? Declare your healing aloud daily, and you will begin to live it as much as you may claim to believe it.

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Paul modeled for us a new life motto in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Suppose you identify with Christ’s death on the cross, as Paul did. In that case, you can experience that resurrection power within you, freeing you of anxiety, fear, and anything else that exists apart from the peaceful presence of God. Think of it this way: you that was anxious died on the cross with Christ, and the life He now lives is yours—one of complete trust in your Father for all that you need, knowing the One who loved you and died for you will surely provide for you.

Indeed, suppose Jesus could defeat death and the power of sin. In that case, He can dissolve and diminish any feelings of fear, worry, or anxiety that stem from your imaginations about the future or your temptation to try to control your circumstances apart from prayer and the peace that results from it. Your risen Lord is buried at Calvary, every infirmity and ailment you will ever experience, and you can now live in His hope and resurrected life by seeing yourself as Scripture describes you—a new creation in Christ. The old feelings, fears, weaknesses, and dysfunctions are gone, and His new life has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). Accept it by faith because it was won for you at the cross.

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