It should come as no surprise that people today are struggling to find happiness in life. In fact, a 2024 Gallup Poll reported that only 47% of US citizens report being “very satisfied” with their personal lives, just slightly above the record low for the past twenty years.1 Although we may be tempted to blame the COVID-19 pandemic, today’s challenging economy, or the United States’ ongoing political polarization for the decrease in happiness, doing so would ignore a longer, more complicated trend. Unhappiness has been rising globally for over a decade.2
Write About It: In what ways do you feel unhappy in life? Why?
Undoubtedly, mental health issues are part of the cause. The World Health Organization estimates that over one billion people worldwide live with mental health disorders.3 However, George Barna believes that we are facing a worldview problem more than a mental health crisis, at least among young adults in the United States. He noted that over 90% of 18–24-year-old Americans have embraced a mixture of worldviews known as syncretism, while rejecting many of the tenets of the Christian worldview.4 Syncretism may appear comfortable and nonconfrontational, but by merging incompatible ideas, it fails to provide a coherent or stable foundation for life. When this faulty worldview meets real problems, such as financial troubles, relationship difficulties, jealousy, death and grief, or other types of loss, it fails to provide meaningful solutions.
When a worldview cannot offer stability, we respond with uncertainty and doubt. Those anxious feelings leave us comparing our lives to others’ and trying to assert control over situations that we cannot hope to fix. The Bible offers a better foundation.
The Christian worldview anchors confidence in the unchanging character of God and his love for us in Christ.
When life is rooted in this reality, fear loosens its grip, comparison loses its power, and trust replaces the exhausting need to control. Let’s consider five shifts everyone can make to regain confidence in Christ.
Shift #1: From Anxiety to Trust in God’s Provision
Anxiety generally shows up in very ordinary ways. It begins to creep in when the numbers on the bank statement don’t look the way you hoped, or when a difficult conversation approaches with no clear path to a good outcome. Anxiety grows when we embrace the belief that everything depends on us getting it right. Scripture pushes back against that assumption. Proverbs urges us to trust the Lord rather than lean on our own limited understanding (Proverbs 3:5–6). Jesus reminds us that our Father already knows what we need and calls us to stop worrying about tomorrow (Matthew 6:25–34). Isaiah agrees, grounding our confidence in a God whose purposes cannot fail (Isaiah 46:9–10). When the spiral begins, a simple question can interrupt it: Why am I acting as though this rests on me alone, rather than on the God who will meet all my needs?
Write About It: Do you feel anxious about life? Why or why not? How does your faith intersect with your anxiety?
Shift #2: From Cultural Metrics to Scriptural Measures
Social media has a way of subtly redefining what constitutes a good life. With enough time spent scrolling, success begins to look like unattainable measures of productivity, fitness, beauty, and wealth. Those standards are arbitrary and exhausting, however, and Scripture offers something far more solid. God is not impressed by appearances or public recognition, but by faithfulness to the responsibilities he assigns (1 Samuel 16:7). Jesus praises servants who are trustworthy with what they are given (Matthew 25:21), and Paul reminds believers to examine their own work without measuring themselves against others (Galatians 6:4). When you feel the pull to evaluate yourself by the crowd’s standards, stop and ask: Was I faithful today with what God entrusted to me?
Write About It: What makes a good life? What do you want your life to look like? Why?
Shift #3: From Comparison to Calling
Comparison usually begins the moment someone else’s life becomes the measuring stick for our own. A friend’s promotion at work, relationship milestone, or new car or house can quickly make it feel as though we are falling behind. At its core, comparison is the quest for approval. Scripture redirects our attention, however. Paul challenges believers to live for God’s approval rather than the praise of people (Galatians 1:10). Jesus’ sharp response to Peter reminds us that another person’s path is not our assignment (John 21:22).
God does not call us to keep pace with others, but to be faithful where he has placed us.
When comparison starts to take hold, ask instead: What has God entrusted to me in this season, and am I tending to that calling with care?
Write About It: Whose approval are you seeking in life? Why?
Shift #4: From Control to Surrender
When life begins to feel uncertain or scary, we want to tighten the reins and assert control over whatever is happening, forgetting, in the moment, that we are not powerful enough to change certain outcomes. We plan, manage, and tighten our grip because letting go feels too risky. However, Jesus calls his followers to surrender themselves daily to him, not to control life’s outcomes (Luke 9:23). The psalmist reminds us that work done without the Lord’s help is ultimately empty (Psalm 127:1). James offers a similar warning against assuming control over a future we do not command (James 4:13–15). God calls us to obedience, not control. When the urge to take over begins to rise, it helps to ask: What am I afraid of losing, and what would it look like to trust God with the results?
Write About It: What do you think will fall apart if you let go of trying to control it? Why does it matter to you?
Shift #5: From Performance-Based Worth to Security in Christ
Performance-based thinking quietly teaches us that our value depends on how productive and excellent we are. As a result, when our best efforts go unnoticed or the results fall short of expectations, it is easy to assume that we are the problem. However, the Bible reminds us that before we ever achieved anything, God had already chosen, adopted, and loved us in Christ (Ephesians 1:3–6). Paul also reminds believers that there is no condemnation for those who belong to Jesus, not because they performed well, but because Christ did (Romans 8:1). When discouragement sets in, pause and ask: What does the gospel say about my value to God?
Write About It: What are you striving to do well at and why? Do you think performing well gives you value? Why or why not?
Anxiety, comparison, and the desire to control tend to take over when we allow outside influences or our own insecurities to determine what makes a life successful or admirable. When we are in that frame of mind, we measure ourselves unfairly by earthly standards. The biblical worldview offers a different perspective on the world, however.
When we rest in God’s great love for us, we stop feeling the pressure to prove ourselves.
Our confidence grows slowly as trust replaces fear and our identity takes root in what God says about us. The Christian life is not free from difficulty, but it is grounded in a Savior who holds our lives together. In him, we can live faithfully rather than fearfully, resting in the assurance that we are known and valued.
By Dr. Jason Barker
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