Below, we are sharing a few of the devotions from Take Heart for Teens: Daily Devotions to Deepen Your Faith that are focused on the topic of anxiety and God’s care for us. This collection of devotions, adapted for teens from the popular devotional Take Heart, was compiled from the sermons, lectures, conference talks, and interviews of David Powlison.
“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?
Luke 12:6–7 ESV
And not one of them is forgotten before God.
Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
“The Lord is near” (Philippians 4:5 NIV). If you think about your anxiety—the unhealthy worry, fretting, and churning—you will notice you have always forgotten that the Lord is near. When you worry and obsess, you’re living as if just you and your struggles are going back and forth. If you remember, in even the worst circumstances, that the Lord is near, then you will have a rock on which your heart can rest. You have a hope that’s bigger than any threat, even death. You are invited to draw near to the Lord who’s already close.
After all, this Lord created the whole universe and controls every moment of your life. He counts the hairs on your head and notices each one that falls. You’re living in his world. And this Lord is not only the all-powerful Creator, but he has also experienced firsthand the anxiety-producing fragility of life on earth.
This Lord is near to you. He is raised from the dead. He will raise you with him. When you know this is true, then you have hope bigger than any loss. What you have today in this Lord and what you will be given on the day you see his face is greater, weighs more, and has more lasting power than anything you might lose here on earth.
Take with You: When you know that Jesus is near, obsessive anxiety slows down and care and trust grow. Let this nearness and presence of Jesus grow you in faith and love today.
When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,
Psalm 94:19 NASB
Your comfort delights my soul.
Because there’s trouble in this world, we have good reasons to be anxious. In the midst of trouble our hearts forget God, and we get attached to other masters—to all kinds of desires, needs, beliefs, and quick comforts. We get anxious for bad reasons, and we overreact even to the good reasons we have to be anxious. Living in a world where there is trouble, with hearts that quickly stray, means we will always be tempted to lose sight of God. When we lose sight of God, we try to control our world on our own, and we become filled with worry.
But don’t despair: God, in his Word, gives you better and never-ending reasons for responding to the troubles of life in faith. His comfort can and will delight your soul when you turn to him. You can learn to remember God instead of forgetting him. God wants us to know him so intimately and trust him so completely that our desire to fix our troubles in our own way will no longer consume us. As we grow in our love for God and our knowledge of his character, we will experience the right kind of concern in the midst of our troubles.Take with You: In moments of anxiety, try having some go-to prayers and statements to remind you of who you are in God’s kingdom. “I am not alone.” “I am loved with an everlasting love.” “I am seen and known right now.” “I have a friend who is always near.”
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
Matthew 6:33 ESV
and all these things will be added to you.”
What are you wishing for? What are you obsessing about? What do you want most? The answers to those questions will be connected to what you’re worrying about. When your whole heart is consumed with something besides God, you’re going to worry about it. Only God can be pursued wholeheartedly without worry or anxiety.
So the biggest question you will face cuts the deepest: What do you want with your whole heart? What are you loving? Who are you loving? Are you loving pleasure, your image, or control? Are you loving being liked? Are you obsessed with wanting to escape? These questions cut deep, and your answers affect everything you feel, everything you think, how you treat people, and the way you come into a conversation.
We’re called to love God with all that we are. God wants us to seek him, his kingdom, and his good way of living first. We can make pursuing God the most important thing when we trust he’s going to take care of all the other things. And, as we grow in our trust in God, our worries will be opportunities to turn to him for the help we need.
Take with You: When you are worried or consumed by some-thing, stop and ask God to help you love him first and best right in the middle of your anxiety. Ask him to turn your anxiety into trust.
The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything,
Philippians 4:5–7 NIV
but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The Lord has something to say about what you are going through every single day. Scripture has been designed by God himself to connect to the reality of human experience. But how do you make those connections? Start with the short, straightforward passages of Scripture. Philippians 4:6, for example, says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
But it’s hard to think straight when we are anxious. What promise could anchor you so you can make such a response? One of them is tucked in verse 5: “the Lord is near.” Anxiety is the experience that you’re all alone in a world that’s too big for you. You feel anxious because you can’t control your circumstances. But if the Lord is near, everything changes. You aren’t alone. The one who is in control, who orders and provides, is near. He cares for you and he is involved.
Starting with these basic promises reminds you in the midst of your day that the Lord is with you. Simple promises, taken to heart, get you and God on the same page with each other.
Take with You: Throughout your day, when you are worried or anxious, what can you do to remind yourself that the Lord is near? Try holding your one hand with your other hand and remember that the Lord is holding you.
But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying,
Matthew 14:27 ESV
“Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
What’s the most frequent commandment in the Bible? Fear not. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be anxious. This is a very different kind of command—it’s not just “stop it.” It’s more of a voice of reassurance to you.
We have very good reasons to be afraid, because everything we value is fragile and vulnerable and out of our control. God’s “command of reassurance” is honest about all that’s fragile and scary. Fear and anxiety are responses to something that seems overwhelming and out of control.
In saying, “Don’t be afraid,” God is concerned to give us reasons to trust. The book of Philippians gives you reasons to not be anxious: “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (1:6). This helps you see your life as a journey, giving you hope that one day the struggle is going to be over. “Christ Jesus . . . did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant . . . by becoming obedient to the point of death” (2:5–8). Jesus walked into our chaos. He faced what we face. He died in our place and is alive. “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory” (4:19).
You have very good reasons to be afraid, tense, anxious, and stressed, but you have better reasons not to be afraid.
Take with You: Make this prayer your own: Lord, I have good reasons to be afraid, but better reasons to trust you. Remind me of these reasons today.
Excerpted from Take Heart for Teens: Daily Devotions to Deepen Your Faith by David Powlison ©2025 by Nancy Powlison. Used by permission of New Growth Press. May not be reproduced without prior written permission.
Take Heart for Teens: Daily Devotions to Deepen Your Faith
Friendship struggles, academic pressure, busy schedules, questions about the future—where can you turn when life presses in? Through these daily devotionals from the writings of David Powlison, you will learn how to go to God for the help you need and take hold of the grace he offers. No matter what your day holds, you can take heart because the Lord is with you. He hears your cries for mercy and knows your every need. He guides, helps, and strengthens you every day. He is your true north.
