ANXIOUS TIMES TOOLKIT

Rooted in Matthew 6:25–34

Jesus’ words, “Do not worry about your life”, from Matthew 6 were not spoken to people with surplus or safety. They were spoken to people living under occupation, economic exploitation, and political violence. We must not spiritualize anxiety without first telling the truth about the world.

Many are anxious because:

  • Money Worries & Economic Insecurity

  • Fear of Civil Unrest or War

  • Unstable Government & Political Violence

  • The Sense That Things Are Falling Apart

When Jesus says, “Do not worry,” He is not denying collapse.

He is offering a different anchor when structures fail.

He invites us to:

  • Live one day at a time when tomorrow feels unsafe

  • Trust that care still exists, even when systems do not

  • Release the belief that our hypervigilance is the only thing holding the world together

This is not passivity.

This is holy resistance to despair.

  • Worry is not a personal failure; it is often a reasonable response to systemic instability

  • Jesus is not dismissing fear; He is inviting embodied trust in the midst of it

  • The call is not to denial, but to re-rooting our lives in daily care, dignity, and presence

This is not “don’t worry, be happy” theology.

This is psychological and survival wisdom for anxious bodies.

1. Grounding Tool: Return to the Body

“Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (v.25)

When the world is unstable, anxiety pulls us into the future. Jesus gently calls us back to the body we are already in; the first place God meets us.

Practice: Body Check-In

  • Place one hand on your chest, one on your belly

  • Ask quietly:

    • What is my body holding right now?

    • Where do I feel tight, numb, or tired?

  • No fixing. Just noticing.

2. Grounding Tool: Daily Enoughness

“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (v.27)

This is not shame; it’s an invitation to release the myth that overthinking equals control, a burden often placed on women responsible for holding families, communities, and futures together.

Practice: “Enough for Today” Statement

Say (out loud if you can):

Today, I am allowed to live on enough.

Enough breath. Enough strength. Enough grace.

Repeat slowly 3 times.

3. Grounding Tool: Look for Living Proof

“Look at the birds… Consider the lilies...” (vv.26–28)

Jesus points to creation as evidence, not escape. God’s care is not abstract—it’s visible, earthy, and persistent.

Practice: Evidence Walk

  • Step outside or look out a window

  • Name 3 signs of life continuing:

    • a tree

    • a bird

    • light through a window

  • Say:

    • If God sustains this, I am not forgotten.

4. Grounding Tool: Release the Burden of Tomorrow

“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” (v.34)

Many worry because no one else has the luxury to. Jesus is not ignoring responsibility; He is interrupting chronic self-sacrifice that harms the body.

Practice: Tomorrow Container

  • Imagine a box, jar, or basket

  • Place tomorrow’s worries inside it

  • Say:
    This does not belong to my nervous system tonight.

Reflection Questions

Grounded in Matthew 6:25–34 (Womanist Lens)

1. Naming What’s Weighing on Me

  • What is the main worry sitting with me right now?

  • Does this worry feel personal, collective, or inherited?

2. Listening to the Body

  • Where do I feel this worry in my body?

  • What does my body need in this moment

3. Reframing Jesus’ Words

  • When I hear “do not worry,” what do I think Jesus is actually inviting me to release?

  • What would it look like to trust God for today, not the whole future?

4. Enough for Today

  • What is “enough” for me today?

  • What can I gently lay down until tomorrow?

🌬️ Somatic Practices to Relieve Anxiety

1. Regulated Breathing

  • Inhale through nose for 4

  • Exhale through mouth for 6

  • Longer exhales tell the body: you are safer now

Do 5 rounds.

2. Gentle Shaking (Stress Release)

  • Stand or sit

  • Gently shake hands, shoulders, legs for 30–60 seconds

  • Let the body discharge what words cannot

3. Grounding Through Touch

  • Press your feet firmly into the floor

  • Name:

    • 5 things you see

    • 3 things you feel in your body

    • 1 thing you are grateful for

This anchors you in the present moment, where God meets us.

4. Closing Affirmation

I am not held by fear.

I am held by a God who sees.

Today, I choose presence over panic.

I seek what gives life—today.

Final Note

This toolkit is not about pretending things aren’t hard.

It’s about building daily practices that help anxious bodies survive unjust systems without falling apart.