Anxiety About WorkSýnishorn

Anxiety about success

The benchmarks you face in your job can drive anxiety over success. Are you going to hit your goals this year? Is your company performing as well as its competitors? These questions can feel like a heavy burden to bear, especially if you think success is 100% your own responsibility.

Fortunately, success is not entirely up to you. God has a big hand in whether your plans succeed. Psalm 107 points out that people’s lives and livelihoods depend on many factors out of their control. You do your best, but God is the one who turns your work intro rewards. People “sow fields” on the ground that God waters, and it’s by God’s blessing that “they multiply greatly.” Whether you work on a farm or in the modern workplace, you are not solely responsible for the success of your work. God provides the foundations for successful work, and God is ultimately in charge of the outcome.

You may be anxious not only over short-term projects but about your success in the long term. Climbing the corporate ladder. Running the rat race. If these phrases make your palms sweaty, it may be that you’re anxious to get ahead in your career.

David was a bible character who demonstrated how to give God control over his career. Even though he was promised a leadership position from a very young age, David didn’t rush to oust his boss Saul. Instead, David trusted God to give him the right job at the right time. He eventually became king, but on God’s timing.

Success, whether in the short term or the long term, is a gift from God. The response to success should be, as Psalm 107 puts it, to “thank the Lord for his steadfast love.” On the flip side, if you are anxious about success, remember that God is responsible, not you. God knows what you need. He’s got the timing and the outcome under his control. 

Prayer: Thank you God for knowing what I need today and in the future. I trust in your timing. Help me seek your Kingdom today. Amen.

Option for Further Exploration: For more on God’s work in your success see the Theology of Work Bible Commentary on Psalm 107.