A) Anxiety over Life's Necessities
Ecclesiastes 2: 22 & 23
What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labour under the sun
All their days their work is grief and pain, even at night their minds do not rest,
This too is meaningless
Ezekiel 4: 16 & 17
He then said to me, Son of Man I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair.
For food and water will be scarce. They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of their sin.
Do Not Worry
Mathew 6: 25 - 34
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Luke 12:22-31New International Version (NIV)
Do Not Worry
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life[a]? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
Apparently God felt that worry and anxiety were enough of an issue for his people that both Mathew and Luke both quote Jesus and his response as to how Christians and people in general are to deal with anxiety.
It's easy to quote these verses but when you are in the pit of despair it is not always easy to put it into practise.
Prayer works and also an understanding Doctor and medical team can make all the difference in the world.
Next a look at anxiety over trivial and unnecessary things.