The statistics are staggering. In recent years, the number of adults suffering from anxiety or other mental health struggles has risen to over 20%—that’s one in five. Among children and young people, the rates are even higher.
Some of this may be due to better diagnosis and reporting, but even accounting for that, there’s no denying it: we are living through a new kind of pandemic—one of anxiety. And perhaps you don’t need the data to tell you this. You may feel it yourself, see it in your family, or notice it in your friends, colleagues, or classmates.
A Pandemic of Anxiety
There are many reasons for our growing unease. Politics feels increasingly divisive. Communities seem fractured. A cost-of-living crisis lingers. Wars rage abroad while conflict simmers at home. And then there’s the endless scroll of social media, bringing global pain to our fingertips in real time, pulling us deeper into a cycle of worry.
But the truth is, anxiety touches all of us to some degree. Some carry it lightly, others heavily—but few escape it altogether. Which is why Peter’s words in the Bible are so timely. In his first letter, written to Christians facing persecution, he offers not platitudes, but a path toward peace.
The Pastoral Need
Peter begins by urging church leaders to shepherd their people with humility and care, pointing them to the “Chief Shepherd”—Jesus. This is key. Because while we all need community, wise leaders, and mutual support, our deepest need is for someone greater: someone powerful enough to help us, wise enough to guide us, and good enough to lay down his life for us.
That’s exactly who Jesus is. He calls himself the “Good Shepherd” who lays down his life for his sheep (John 10:11). Peter, who walked with Jesus and witnessed his death, reminds us that peace is ultimately found not in ourselves but in him—the one who carried our greatest burden, the weight of sin, on the cross.
The Problem of Pride
Ironically, much of our anxiety stems from pride. We convince ourselves that everything depends on us—our efforts, our strength, our ability to hold things together. But that is a crushing weight to carry. Peter reminds us:
“God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5)
Humility means we are not the ultimate rulers of the universe. That role belongs to Jesus—and there’s no vacancy.
At heart the Gospel is a deeply humbling message – it tells me the truth that I am a wayward, rebellious sinner, completely dependent on the grace of God in Christ - but what is deeply humbling, is also wonderfully freeing.
The Priority of Prayer
This leads into Peter’s famous invitation:
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
What a promise. The God who made the stars cares about the details of your life. He invites us to hand over our worries because they are too heavy for us to carry alone. Prayer becomes not just a ritual, but a release—a way of laying our burdens down with the one who loves us.
The Presence of Evil
Peter doesn’t shy away from the reality of suffering either. He warns that evil is real, describing the devil as a prowling lion seeking to devour. We may not always be able to avoid suffering or hardship, but we are not without hope. God promises that after “a little while” he himself will restore us and make us strong (1 Peter 5:10).
The Present and Future Hope
That’s the final anchor for our anxious hearts: hope. This world, broken as it is, will always bring some level of anxiety. But in Jesus, we are promised eternal glory—a home where fear and worry will finally be silenced.
Until then, we walk with the Good Shepherd. We cast our cares on him. We resist the lie that everything depends on us. And we rest in the truth that the one who loves us enough to die for us is also the one who holds us—and the world—in his hands.
In an anxious world, that is peace worth clinging to.
Series: What in the World?
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