Nothing like money to raise our anxiety level. But nothing like money to raise our trust level.

As a rising senior at the University of Tennessee, I was at home in Wilmington, Delaware on summer break. Upstairs in my bedroom, I was staring at what little money I had in my bank account—nervous about how I could afford my final year of college.

I was a young Christian then, having committed my life to Jesus just two years before. Worry always lurked in the shadows when it came time to pay college tuition. But at the same time, I was always learning new ways to trust God with my limited finances!

Like a red warning light, my balance kept flashing: $6.33. How was I going to make it? Then I started laughing. Out loud.

A verse I had just read in my devotions reverberated in my mind: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.” During His sermon on the mount, Jesus implored His followers not to worry about their lives and where their food and clothing would come from. Instead, they were to seek first His rule, His kingship, His authority for He promised that He would meet their needs.

I laughed because this verse was Matthew 6:33…the exact same figure in my checking account. Amazing timing. Stunning reminder. Right then, I bowed my head and acknowledged my lack of trust. I told the Lord to increase my faith, that I would again look to Him for His mighty provision and that I would give Him all the glory when He met my need.

The manager of the hot dog restaurant I worked at during each vacation called me into his office that next week and told me the owner was increasing my hourly salary to $2.50. Hey, that was big bucks back in 1975! I thanked the Lord.

Once back on campus, a monumental test came a few months later when my roommate and I didn’t have enough money to pay that month’s rent. We prayed and called out to God for His provision. The very next morning a good friend of ours, whom we knew in Bible study, came to me and said that God had laid me on his heart and he handed me $100. God’s provision for our rent!

Soon after that, the dean of the College of Communications asked me to see him. Dean Hileman was a strong Christian and he congratulated me on being awarded a Bickel scholarship. He said he wished it could have been more but I was grateful for that extra $300. Again, God’s provision.

God was—and is—so good. Throughout my senior year, He proved Himself faithful to fulfill His promises in His Word. When I graduated in June 1976, I was in the black—$100 was my bank account balance! God answered prayer.

My wife and I learned a similar lesson in 2000. We had been saving faithfully for close to 20 years for our kids’ college tuition. We believed we’d have enough to pay for both daughters to attend in-state universities. Then came the devastating Dot.Com bubble burst. It wiped out half of our savings.

We fretted. We thought were being good stewards of our finances, saving the best we could, but we recognized we were ultimately relying upon our own abilities to provide. We doubled down in prayer and asked God to help us to trust Him more deeply.

When our oldest daughter was preparing to go to Appalachian State University, she received word that she was accepted as a Teaching Fellow. That was a major scholarship. Better yet, that was a significant answer to prayer!

While recently memorizing 1 Peter 5:7—“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”—my wife looked at the verse’s context. The preceding verse calls for us to trust and to rest in His sovereignty. We’re to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift us up at the proper time. The verse right after requires us to take action, to practice self-control and to be alert, resisting the devil, who is like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. So we’re to stand firm in God’s power, against the temptations of pride, self promotion and self protection. When we’re obedient in both verse 6 and verse 8, that enables us to give God control of what makes us worry, which in turn lowers our anxiety level because we’re confident in His care for us.

ACTION STEP: How about you my friend? Are you finding your anxiety level rising? You’re not alone. Take some time today to read Matthew 6 and 1 Peter 5 and ask God to help you to seek Him first and to cast all your anxiety on Him. Then flip over to Philippians 4:6-7, a well-known passage on prayer. But look at it in its context: to first rejoice in the Lord, and then to meditate on whatever is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. As we are faithful in verses 5 and 8, then we can be victorious in being anxious for nothing. May God be glorified as He faithfully provides for you!