Proverbs 12:25 (ESV)
Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down,
but a good word makes him glad.
Reflection
Scripture doesn’t minimize the weight of anxiety. It names it honestly:
it weighs a person down.
It’s a burden you don’t choose, a heaviness that shows up uninvited. The Bible refuses to shame the anxious heart. It simply tells the truth about how it feels.
But then comes the Gospel glimpse:
“A good word makes him glad.”
This is more than encouragement or positive thinking. The “good word” Scripture points to is ultimately God’s Word of grace, fulfilled in Christ. The Gospel is God’s definitive good word to the weighed-down heart.
When anxiety drags you low, Christ speaks a better word:
- “You are Mine.”
- “I am with you.”
- “My peace I give to you.”
- “Cast your burdens on Me.”
The God who names your anxiety also lifts it.
He doesn’t wait for you to climb out of the weight—He enters into it, carries it, and speaks comfort that the heart cannot generate on its own.
A good word is powerful because it comes from a good God, one who meets the anxious not with demands but with compassion. The Gospel is the word that lightens the heart because it tells us our future is secure, our sins are forgiven, and our Shepherd walks with us through every valley.
Prayer
Father, when anxiety weighs our hearts down, speak Your good word to us again. Remind us of Your presence, Your promises, and Your peace in Christ. Lift what we cannot lift, and steady us today by Your grace.
Amen.